[SJM1214]

We drove fast and reached our campsite in time at Sam Village. We had plenty of daylight to do the activities offered in the camp package. After all, we got a traditional Rajasthani welcome at sam village. Ziva always loves this kind of stuff.

Welcome to Sam.





It was a Saturday night. So, all the camps and their tents were booked. We did an advanced booking for two tents. However, due to some reason, they provided us one big tent with extra beds. They charged us for only one tent. That was ok with us. After all, it was a question of only one night.

The camp was good. The tent was spacious with all the modern amenities. Hot water was only available during the morning. The one-night package included a camel safari, dinner, and folk dance. Jeep Safari was not included in the package. We asked the camp manager to arrange a jeep for us.

Welcome to Campsite.











Within 15 minutes, the manager told us that our jeep was ready. The jeep was going to take us to the dunes and, get the Camel Safari done at the dunes. I was excited about this jeep Safari. We asked the driver to give some tips. He told us to have fun, that's it. We got ready and boarded in the Thar.

Ready for the Jeep Safari.







We started with a bang. There was a big speaker in the Thar and, loud music was going on. We all were having fun. The jeep was cruising on the nice road. Ziva was dancing and enjoying the ride. And then, the Thar took a turn and started doing offroading in the Sand. Well, normally I love this kind of experience. Fast offroading on the loose send by a 4*4 vehicle with an experienced driver, that's like a dream came true.

That happened to be a nightmare for me. The driver was fast and tackling those big dunes with the highest possible speed. I was worried about Ziva. In fact, all of us were worried about her. At each and every slope, Thar used to bounced like a ball. We had to hold Ziva tightly. I wanted to tell the driver to keep it slow but, due to loud music, we were not able to communicate with him. After a while, I leaned forward and told the driver to stop the vehicle. I instructed him that we have a 5 years old kid on board and he needs to keep it slow.

He tried to drive slow. However, his slow was fast for us. Overall, it was a bad experience for me. My entire attention was on taking care of Ziva and holding her properly. The silver lining was Ziva loved the experience.
We were not able to take any pics neither we shot any VDO.

We reached the dunes. It was overcrowded with lots 4*4 and camels. Our jeep driver arranged our came Safari and told us that he would pick us up after sunset.

Sam Dunes.






Ziva, my five years old daughter trying to make herself strong. However, we were able to identify fear on her face. We gave her some time to get relaxed. We told her the same kind of desert Safari happens in Dubai but by a more comfortable vehicle. I have never been to Dubai. I can relate this experience with one of my offroading excursion on a dry river bed with this kind of loose sand. (Offroading excursion with the Offroad Club of Gujarat (OCG))We were pretty slow but, this driver was fast. I wanted to do it again. I made a mental note to do a Night jeep safari (without Ziva).

Sacred Ziva.



Ok, these kinds of things happen to kids and, after some time they forget it. Kids love sand and we had plenty of sand just in front of us. We let her play in the sand for a while.

Ziva and Sand













Ziva loved playing in the sand. She forgot the offroading shock. Time was running out. We got ready for our camel safari. Camel Safari was part of the package. so, we didn't fix a rate for it.

Camel Safari.







Ziva loved camel Safari. At the end of the Safari, the camel guy asked for the payment. We said it was part of the package. However, he was not ready to listen to anything. We tried to search for the jeep driver. He wasn't there. In the end, we had to pay for him. We wrote down the name and number of the camel guy. Later, we took it up to our camp manager. The camp manager was co-operative and, he paid us back. This is a scam going on with the camel guys at Sam duned. Don't ever ride on a camel without fixing the rate or confirm that it's part of the package.

Anyway, we didn't want to spoil our mood for that incident. We forgot it and once again started playing with sand. Many 4*4 were doing rounds on the dunes. It was fun to watch them. We were waiting for the sunset. We witnessed an amazing sunset on Sam dunes.

Sunset









After sunset, The jeep driver was waiting for us. This time, I clearly told him to take it slow. He assured me that way back to the campsite won't pass from dunes. I took his number. I wanted to try a night Safari in the desert.

We reached the Campsite. We got freshen up. The central area of the campsite was ready for a folk dance performance. We love Rajsthani folk songs and dance. They are always energetic and passionate. Ziva got the company of other kids. The artists were good. They were always ready to sing all the songs requested by the tourists. The wife also sang a song with their music setup. Overall we had an amazing time followed by a good Rajsthani traditional dinner.

At Campsite.









After the dance and dinner, the ladies went to sleep. And we called up the Jeep Safari guy. Ok, now we asked him to make it as tough as possible. I also told him to let me drive a bit. The Thar guy was ready for it. We had an amazing time in the dunes under the lights of the headlight and moon. I tried my hand on the Thar. I was not able to drive as fast as the driver. However, as per the driver, I did well. This time we loved it.

We got back to the campsite and, tried to search the Milkyway. There was plenty of pollution due to all the 4 *4's crazy offroading. Milkyway was not visible at all. We called it a day.

[SJM1214]

Our initial plan was to spend 24th & 25th nights at the fort hotel. 26th night at a campsite at Sam village. We planed to spend one more night on 27th in the fort hotel and drive back home on 28th. However, it didn't make any sense to spend one more night in Jaisalmer. I inquired around and, it was safe to drive at night on Jaisalmer to Ahmedabad route. We decided to spend the last day in Jaisalmer shopping, walking in the fort, and visit some pending attraction. And start driving back to home on 27th evening.

We checked out from the campsite and started driving back to Jaisalmer. The Sam dunes without those 4*4, camels, and tourists were looking great. We bid farewell to them.

Goodbye Sam.










The road, Sam to Jaisalmer was dotted with many excellent hotels made in traditional style. We stopped at one of the hotels for breakfast.

Breakfast stop.



Our next stop was Kuldhara village. Kuldhara Village has located around 25 KM from the Sam village em-route Jsailmer. Kuldhara is one of the most interesting and intriguing attraction sites that you should absolutely include in your itinerary. The village, rich with its fair share of legends and myths Kuldhara today is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India as a heritage site.

Welcome to Kuldhara







In an era of powerful kings and ministers, about 200 years ago, Kuldhara was home to the Paliwal Brahmins. It was during this time that Salim Singh, the Diwan of Jaisalmer, known for his debauchery and unscrupulous tax-collecting methods, set his eyes on the beautiful daughter of the village chief. The Diwan was absolutely hell-bent on having the girl and he told the villagers if they came in his way he would levy huge taxes on them.

Fearing the wrath of the Diwan, the residents of the entire village fled one dark night, leaving behind their homes and everything within them. Kuldhara was abandoned by its very own people. No one saw the thousand-odd members of the village leave. For generations now, no one knows where the Paliwals have resettled. All that is known is they cursed the town when they left – that no one would ever be able to settle down in Kuldhara again.

We paid 30/- to a ten-year kid to know this story in local language and local flavor. And that kid got a bonus of Oreo and KitKat from Ziva.

Kuldhara: The Abandoned Village















We drove back to Jaisalmer. We spotted some more premium hotels.

Hotel Jsaisalkot

[SJM1214]

We reached Jaisalmer. It was a Sunday. The streets of Jaisalmer were overcrowded with tourists. There was no space to park our car. We tried to find a nearby hotel and selected one of the nice hotels for lunch. We approached the hotel manager and told him that we are going to have lunch in this hotel but before that, we want to park our car. So, we can have a walk in the market. The manager was ok with it.

We walked out of the hotel and one of the tuk-tuk guys approached us. I said, "hum ne sab dekh liya". He told us that "Madir palace bhi?". This was something new for me. As per him, the Madir palace is the current king's residence and half of the property is converted into a heritage hotel. Ofcrpuse we wanted to see it.


Built for the royal family of Maharawal Moolraji, Mandir Palace is the newest addition to the rich cultural and heritage sites of Jaisalmer. Mandir Palace is still in their league with its prodigious exquisiteness and grandeur. The architectural design and construction are beyond any doubt, exquisite. With overhanging balconies and canopies, the Mandir Palace is awe-inspiring.

Mandir Palace.















Thanks to that tuk-tuk guy that we were able to visit this palace. The palace was amazing. However, half of the property is converted into a hotel. So, we were not able to see it. We spotted one battery-operated vehicle too. Maybe the first electric car of India.

Electric Car?





The tuk-tuk guys offered to take us to a government-operated heritage shop. I knew he was going to get some commission out of our purchase. We didn't have any problem with it. After all, the last day was dedicated to shopping. We didn't find anything exciting in that shop. The rates were higher than the street shops. We asked the tuk-tuk guy to take us back to the hotel. We fulfilled our promise made to the Hotel Manager and had lunch at The Desert Boy Dhani restaurant. The food was excellent, we had one of the best Dalbati of our life.

The Desert Boy Dhani.









After the early Lunch, at one point we separated from the Ladies. Ladies went shopping. We went to the fort. We wanted to have a walk in the streets of the fort and experience the lifestyle by exploring each & every corner of the fort.

The Market.

[SJM1214]

Strangely, Ziva wanted to join us, boys. We warned her that we are going to walk a lot and no one gonna carry her. She was ready to walk with us. It was a welcome change for me.

A row of tiny shops selling trinkets near the main gate does give you that regular fort feeling, but once you pass the boundary walls, there is the buzz of a lively market, the familiar sights and sounds of home - clothes being put out to dry, children running around, the occasional whistle of a pressure cooker.











Walking up the stairs of these Havelis or down the lanes that meander through the fort walls is a tricky thing — they are very narrow. They were constructed this way so the enemy could not enter the lanes with their elephants. The houses, similarly, have narrow staircases and low doors “so that if soldiers attacked the homes they would have to lower their heads to enter.”











Princely states may have ceased to exist, but in Rajasthan, some royal traditions continue. “During Dussehra, there is a big fair organized here and, the king comes to grace the occasion. We witnessed some temples which were not open for tourists.







We visited many narrow lanes and some of the private residences. People were always smiling and welcoming. We visited some cannons too. It claimed that those are some of the oldest cannons of India. We walked in almost all the streets of the fort and reached the other part of the fort. We bought some souvenirs. We wanted to witness the sunset from the other side of the wall. However, we had to keep a sharp eye on the time. We wanted to leave Jaisalmer before dusk.









Once we were done with the fort, we called up the ladies. They were still busy shopping. I asked them to do it fast. We got into one corner of the fort, had some buttermilk and, watched the tourists and guide for more than half an hour.

Waiting.



It was time to pack up and leave Jaisalmer. We got our luggage from the hotel and got down from the fort. We dumped our bags into the car. Ladies were still busy shopping. They met us at the parking. They asked us to dump the shopping bags into the car and went back to give a final touch to their shopping. We had nothing to do. We waited for more than one hour.

Waiting.



Finally, the ladies arrived at the car with some more bags at 1930. I didn't want to waste any time. We left Jaisalmer at 2000. We decided to have late dinner somewhere around Barmer. We got out of the city. We stopped at the fuel bunk and re-managed our luggage and converted backseats into the bed. We got on the road. The road till Barmer was excellent and we wanted to cover that distance as soon as possible to have dinner.

Back to bed.



We didn't wait till Barmer. We stopped at a nice hotel just after 80km from Jaisalmer. It was a good idea. I wanted all of them to sleep. So, I could cover as much distance as possible before I feel sleepy. The climate was freezing outside the car. Thanks to the hotel manager who arrange a bonfire for us. We had our dinner next to the bonfire. I only had some tea and avoided any food. So, I don't feel sleepy

Apna Fauzi Dhaba.







After dinner, all of them slept. I started cruising back home. The road was empty. However, I deliberately kept my speed under 90kmph. I drove till 0400 in the morning. We were just 200km far from our hometown. I gave the car to my cousin and slept for one hour.



When I woke up, we were just 100 km from home. We stopped for some tea. And I drove the car back home. We reached home at 0700 after 11hours of driving including one and half hours break.

Overall, we had an amazing trip. We gave more than enough time to Jaisalmer that worked well for us. We carried more than enough stock of masks, hand sanitizer, and spray sanitizer. We used to use sanitizer very frequently. We always used to sanitize the surface of rooms and hotel tables on our own. We removed the mask to have photographs only. Today, it's been 10 days since our trip. Every one of us is fit and healthy.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Highh5]

What a detailed and wonderful write up. Jaisalmer or say the whole of Rajasthan is on my list of must-visit places for so long.
Totally enjoyed reading the travelogue. Wonderful set of pictures and looks like Ziva had a great time.

[SportsMedicine]

Fabulous trip and excellent write up SJM1214. Your pictures do a lot of justice to the beauty of Jaisalmer as almost felt like i was right there. Rated 5 stars.

[UP!!!!]

Simply amazing!!! Excellent writeup and lovely pictures.

It seems Ziva has enjoyed the entire journey. IMO, it's very important to travel to such locations with kids. It provides an opportunity to learn in real world that no home/school education can match.

I also plan (read: dream ) to have a similar setup in the car and keep driving without any worry for next destination, accommodation etc.

[Abbas]

Excellent Write up!

We were on the same circuit in early Dec covering Jaisalmer - Bikaner - Jodhpur. On such trips, its better to select Weekdays from Monday to Friday to beat regular tourist inflow at all POI`s.

Great log. It was fun reading.

[Venkat_Figo]

Fantastic travelogue, refreshed my memories, had visited Jaisalmer a few years ago.
The only thing missed is the Indo-Pak Border, I had managed to get permission on the same day & was lucky enough to go till the border.

[satishchugh]

Awesome travelogue SJM1214. Thanks for penning down, it reminded me of our own Jaisalmer trip in Dec. 2010 - we hiked from Jaisalmer to Kuldhara to Sam Dunes on foot and from there to another campsite inside the Desert National Park on Camels. I think it took us 3-4 days. Here is a pic from that trip -



One thought I have is, how safe it is to sleep in a moving vehicle? I am quite tempted by how you converted your car into a Deluxe Room but at the same time worried about the safety of the occupant esp. kids, so wanted to ask you and others in the group of their views.

[AlphaPetrolhead]

Great thread SJM !
Looks like your daughter really had a good time, she will be cherishing the moments

The Covid closures is a real thing, we too missed many tourist attractions closed due to Covid restrictions on our Kutch Trip last week.

[san2]

You seem to have had a blast with this trip, always liked your travelogues but this is extra special as you have taken extra care in this troubled times and have shown us that with all precautions sensible tourism is always possible.

Its unfortunate that you could not visit the border.

Ziva is the rockstar of this trip.

[haisaikat]

Wonderful travelogue SJM1214, rated well deserved 5 stars for the lively pictures and the way you described in detail how well an MPV can be utilized to its best in situations like these in making the family comfortable, and this is coming straight from one family man to another

I have few questions, that will help me implement this in any upcoming trip

1. Did you put any luggage under the mattress except the ones in the leg space of the second row seats and the ones at the extreme rear? How did they take the body weights?
2. In some of my previous TLs stating my mother utilized middle row for lying down, a lot of valid concerns were raised by fellow BHPians citing safety which I do not deny but cannot obey completely for the situation and end up still doing it for the convenience. In your case how did you plan for some safety against sudden braking or bad road impacts? Did you ask them to always lie sideways or feet pointing to the front of the vehicle?
3. When unloading at the hotel, did you feel a air mattress could have given any situational advantage in terms of keeping it folded in the car when not in use?
4. The middle row seats, when folded down flat instead of tumble forward and put weight on top, did they show any deformity on its back (flat) side when unfolded and made upright again? I saw this in my 3rd row seats once when weight was put on top and it return to original shape on its own. The service center told me not to do that unless absolutely essential. Seats are made to take the weight from the front and not back is what their rational was.

[SJM1214]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

Wonderful travelogue SJM1214, rated well deserved 5 stars for the lively pictures and the way you described in detail

Thanks, haisaikat

Did you put any luggage under the mattress except the ones in the leg space of the second-row seats and the ones at the extreme rear? How did they take the body weights?

I used a mattress & some cushions to make the surface flat and more comfortable. I was worried about the strength of the seats. However, I must say they are strong enough to take three person's body weight.

In some of my previous TLs stating my mother utilized middle row for lying down, a lot of valid concerns were raised by fellow BHPians citing safety which I do not deny but cannot obey completely for the situation and end up still doing it for the convenience. In your case how did you plan for some safety against sudden braking or bad road impacts? Did you ask them to always lie sideways or feet pointing to the front of the vehicle?

Very much agree. After all, the passengers are not going to wear the seat belt in this kind of setup. So, there are safety concerns. The maximum we can do is to drive slow and remain alert. Yes, we slept in the car front facing only.

When unloading at the hotel, did you feel a air mattress could have given any situational advantage in terms of keeping it folded in the car when not in use?

That depends on how many persons are in the car. That's the beauty of the Ertiga. If you are not using the third-row seats, that's a large space to accommodate anything you want (with third-row seats folded). I got the air mattresses, and thats not comfortable at all.

The middle row seats, when folded down flat instead of tumble forward and put weight on top, did they show any deformity on its back (flat) side when unfolded and made upright again? I saw this in my 3rd row seats once when weight was put on top and it return to original shape on its own. The service center told me not to do that unless absolutely essential. Seats are made to take the weight from the front and not back is what their rational was.

If seats are only made to take the weight from the front side then 40: 60 folding or seat folding to make the boot larger doesn't make any sense. I sed my Brezza for many airport pickups and many other things. The backside of the seats is sturdy.