Day 81-89: Jodhpur to Ranakpur.

And what a change of colour, atmosphere and sights Rajhastan brought. The India that people conjour up in their minds before they've visited the country I am sure will be made up of the exotic looks of this vast desert state. Swaggering moustaches, heavy silver anklets, bulky red, yellow or orange turbans, pleated veils, mirror-inlaid saris and desert towns and cities, each painted their own colour, housing extravagant palaces and forts. Nowhere else in India is this traditional flamboyance more vividly expressed than Rajhastan.

Our first stop was in the Blue City, Jodhpur. We spent the day weaving in and out of the eccentrically narrow and windy streets of the old town before making our way up onto the hill where the city's famous fort looks down on all that goes on below it. From the forts’ walls, it's quite a sight to stare out into the yellows and reds of the desert shrubland which lays beyond the city and to then bring your focus down to the houses and buildings below and see only blue. To paint your house or shop blue is now definitely the fashionable thing to do in Jodhpur but the buildings were originally painted with white limewash. It was only when indigo was added (as it was thought to protect the buildings from termites and other insect pests) that the white walls disappeared and blue walls began to spring up all over the city. Over time the distinctive colour caught on and there is now even a blue-wash mosque.

Another bedtime spent on a train and we arrived in the Golden City of Jaisalmer. I just have to quickly mention about the travelling overnight situation in Rajhastan. Although we'd entered desert territory and much to our delight our days were suddenly warm again (Agra, Delhi and of course Nepal had all been pretty cold) the nights in the state of Rajhastan were CHILLY. On each of the train journeys we ended up emptying our rucksacks and clambering onto our bunks wearing everything we had. That was just about the same amount of clothes that we were wearing whilst trekking in the Himalayas (minus the down jackets) and the nights were still spent open-eyed and shivering. Poor Jonny sleeping on the bottom bunk by the two windows really suffered the worst with a seriously naughty draught whipping in, under and out of his sheet.

Jaisalmer's old town looks a little like a movie-set with its magnificent golden fort dominating the area. Every part of it, from its outer walls to the palace, temples and houses within are carved from soft, yellow, Jurassic sandstone. I couldn't believe that it hadn't been erected to enable Harrison Ford to come running through the (literally golden) streets with an Indian beauty slung over his shoulder, followed by a mass of screaming, multi-coloured turbans, wielding glistening scimitars. It’s quite spectacular and I only wish that we had been able to stay longer.

Rajhastan is famous for its rooftop cafes and restaurants and it was on top of some of the exquisite sandstone architecture of the Golden City that we sampled a selection of really fine dishes. I don't know how the Rajhastanis do it but the vegetables in their dishes are bursting with flavour and we savoured each mouthful of their traditional curries in a way that we haven’t done before or since.

Next on the agenda were camels. Lanky, ugly (apart from Jonny's which was rather beautiful), farty, belchy, sometimes temperamental, bumpy, humpy, lumpy and fly-ridden camels. Jaisalmer is the starting point for camel treks into the 'desert' and we decided to do as the tourists do and book a two day excursion. After being horribly hassled by our hotel manager (a creepy, sleazy con-man) to use his trekking company we shopped around and managed to find a company called Adventure Travel with a very sound reputation and a decent manager. We were aware that many companies charge ridiculous prices only to take you to local dunes where every other tourist has been brought and before you know it, your peaceful-get-away-from-it-all safari has turned into a bit of a nightmare but the chap at Adventure Travel ensured us that he only took clients to dunes further afield and we wouldn't see any other groups.

Our morning started with an early breakfast in an arranged hotel and then an hours’ jeep ride with the rest of our group to meet the camels and our guides. There were another three in our group, Houston and Eric from Chicago and David from Switzerland. I have to say, it was rather exciting when we pulled off the main road into the shrubland and saw our camels under the trees waiting for us; I don't think I've ever seen a zooless camel before. We waited for a short while and once saddles and supplies were firmly attached it was time to hop on. Our three scrawny, local guides rode one together (poor camel, it really wasn't happy and spent the whole two days moaning and groaning and trying to fling them off) and we all had one each. We quickly established basic camel riding etiquette and headed off to the dunes. Well, we imagined that we would reach dunes quite quickly and spend the day riding through barren, golden sand but I think for that kind of experience you have to be in the Sahara or Kalahari. It' really just sandy shrubland around Rajhastan with the odd cluster of small dunes and sparsely dotted villages so it didn't quite look like the "Lawerence of Arabia" desert that we'd been expecting.

Lunch was a three hour job (it's too hot to travel between the hours of twelve and three) and we happily laid out on rugs and read our books whilst our guides whipped up spicy vegetable curry with rice and chapatis followed by chai and fruit. Then it was back on board the towering beasts for a couple more hours of painfully bumpy riding. By the time we finally reached the dunes at five o'clock, I think the lads had definitely had enough. Unfortunately for them, I was the only one riding a camel with stirrups and therefore was able to take a lot of the strain and weight in my feet and lower legs. They had to take it all in the balls. I have to smile, just a little.

The dunes were beautiful- small but still beautiful. We dismounted, removed our shoes, ran through the undisturbed sands (undisturbed only since the last group was there- a girl called Debbie had left her sandy signature a few feet from our camp) and after writing names in the sand, (the boys all drew willies), we perched on the crest of one to watch the sunset.

Dinner was served around eight and we washed it down with a bottle of local whisky. Afterwards we came to the conclusion that 'local whisky' must mean 'cloudy water' as that is all that it looked like, tasted of and had the effect of. Bit of a shame as a night under the stars isn't quite the same without a warming drink inside of you, so we bedded down for the night a little earlier than expected. Once in our desert beds (bulky, Hessian, type mattresses with fold away compartments containing two thick duvets, blankets and pillows: brilliant) the sky and its billions of sparkling diamonds became our entertainment for the remaining part of the evening. Simply magical.

The next day was a repeat of the first, only heading back to base, and at one point, for a change, we decided to walk for a bit and lead the camels by their reins. The trip was an experience, I wouldn't want to do it again unless in a real desert but glad we did it and glad we had great company. David was a little strange but the other two were lovely and interesting and considering we had to spend so much time together and the number of weirdoes we've met along our travels, we were extremely lucky to be with people that we could have good conversations with and a good giggle.

Our next move took us to the south of Rajhastan to a tiny, little village called Ranakpur, famous for its four Jain temples. The complex is the largest of its kind in India and boasts immaculate and dumbfoundingly intricate marble work; we were actually more impressed with this place than the Taj Mahal. The sacred spot is hidden in the bottom of a glorious, wooded valley and its isolated position has kept it well off the travellers trail so we didn't bump into any other backpackers. However, large, five-star hotels and lodges have recently cropped up a little way from the site, bringing with them the more affluent, package holidaying tourist. We decided to skip the five-stars and paid ten rupees each (eight pence) to stay with the pilgrims in the temple grounds. A simple concrete room with a mattress on the floor was all it took for a jolly good nights sleep.