As the train rolled out of the city and closer to the desert, it was like we were travelling to another country. The land outside became sparse and dry, and the air cleared (marginally) as we left the polluted cities behind. We only had a short delay of about an hour this time, and as usual we made friends on the train - this time with a young couple from Bangalore who'd just been to Jaipur for a wedding and are now spending a week touring Rajasthan. Apparently it's wedding season here in Rajasthan, which explains why we've stumbled upon so many - we watched a ceremony take place on the Ganges in Varanasi, and a traditional buffet party was taking place in a house opposite our hotel in Jaipur a few days ago (they played drums and sang loudly in the street outside ALL night!) We could have gone along as apparently they're keen for as many guests to turn up as possible, but we were too sick at the time. Anyway, we finally arrived in Jaisalmer and were stunned with how clean the station was - no rats or huge piles of litter in sight. This was pretty much the same for the city, although there was still a network of open sewers to navigate around. Our hotel was lovely - built to look like a traditional havelli. It felt like we were backpackers again though, as it was a little more low key. But that suited us as it meant we could meet like-minded travellers.

The entire city is built in golden-yellow sandstone which is why it's called The Golden City - and this time it really is golden. It's so remote, and it became clear straight away that the only thing keeping it going now is tourism. Apparently it was once on the main camel-train route between India and Central Asia, and with the rise of sea trade under British rule, the city became pretty useless to anyone …Until us tourists came along anyway. Now the main attraction here is the camel safaris which take people out into the Thar Desert. Most of them take you over night and you have to sleep under the stars. Sounds romantic but this is India, so we were expecting it to be pretty filthy out there with a severe lack of facilities and had planned to do just a one day trip. For some strange reason though, we threw caution to the wind and decided to use the money Ryan, Di and co gave us for Christmas to book up for a two day safari leaving the following afternoon.

Until then, we had time to explore the old city, and the impressive fort (yep, another one!) with the help of an audio guide so we're hoping we've not been misled with the facts this time. The fort was the focus of a number of battles between the Bhatis, Mughals of Delhi and Rathores of Jodphur. The views from the top were up there with some of the best views we've enjoyed in India. And it was up there that we realised just how remote the city is. Down below the narrow streets between the tall and oddly shaped havelli's, crumbling houses, and traditional temples, were heaving, but mostly with people and cows - rather than rumbling traffic. But beyond the town, there was nothing but sandy landscapes.

Later it was back to the hotel for our pick up for the camel safari. When we booked we were told five other tourists were coming with us, which we preferred because we didn't like the idea of being in the middle of nowhere with just some strange Indian camel guide for company. So we were a little concerned when no one joined us in the jeep to the camel pick up point. When we questioned it, we were told the other people were all sick, leaving us wondering what we'd let ourselves in for…

After a random stop at our driver's mates house (hut) to meet his family, we drove along a dusty road to the desert and saddled up after becoming acquainted with our camels. Bret's camel was called Desert Boy, and Nat's was called Rocket. With nothing to hold on to other than one tiny handle, Nat insisted she wouldn't be running anywhere so the guide insisted "slowly slowly" only. Poor Rocket wasn't too keen on "slowly slowly" though and as we plodded through the desert towards the beautiful sand dunes our camel guide taught us camel language - crucially "stop" - to keep Rocket on track.

Bored of slowly slowly, Rocket decided to eat every bush we passed, sending Nat flying - while Bret was in his element, enjoying the peace and quiet of the desert as he followed behind.

After an hour on the camel we were wondering how much longer we could last as our legs had started to ache - it was worse walking down the dunes. Thankfully our guide then pointed next to a bush and said "home for the night". We left him, Rocket and Desert Boy to unload, while we wandered around the dunes and watched the sunset. It really was beautiful, and so peaceful with no one else around. Four other tourists then arrived and we were asked if we'd like to join them and make camp together. We gladly accepted as the desert suddenly became creepy when the sun went down.

Our guides lit a bonfire and cooked curried mixed veg, chapattis, and rice for us while we huddled up to keep warm as the temperature dropped suddenly. We wondered where plates and pots would be cleaned afterwards as there was not much water in supply - but then the guides simply rubbed them clean with sand (probably contaminated by camel poo!) Looks like Delhi Belly is finally on the agenda…

We felt bad for the other four tourists who'd been told they would have a nice tent to sleep in, especially when our guides said it might rain overnight. Luckily we paid an extra couple of quid for a rubbish tent, but they were to sleep under the stars with just a few blankets.

The joke was on us though when the heavens opened just as we went to bed. The wind began to blow a gale, and a thunder and lightning storm erupted. (Just our luck - rain in the desert!) While the guides managed to dig out a plastic sheet to keep the others dry - our tent proved utterly useless. We had to use our stuff to plug leaks and it was blowing so hard, the roof was pushed down to a foot above our heads. Then the wild desert dogs started howling and scratching at our tent for shelter. It was only 9pm - and looked like it would be a long night….

It rained like that until 3am, but the dogs wouldn't leave us alone all night. It didn't help that Bret was too tall for the tent so we were huddled in the middle trying to stay dry. By the time the sun rose, we were so sore we had no idea how we'd get back on a camel again!

But no time to grumble, as after breakfast it was back on the camels for another hour of riding. Annoyingly it was then that the guide decided to show us that we had stirrups made from rope to rest our feet in… Great, he could've told us sooner!

Back in Jaisalmer with very sore legs, we walked rather awkwardly around some of the ancient havelli's and rested up on a rooftop restaurant with a cold drink, before our last night train of India to Jodphur. We're so tired, we're sure we won't have trouble sleeping on this one…