Yesterday we encountered monkeys in a memorial park. We went for a walk and found a huge group of monkeys hanging around. it was a little strange being so close to them. They were non-aggressive and tended to avoid us. It was fun to watch them play, It was also clear how strong they are. We kept our distance. We particularly enjoyed the monkey that was grooming the cow!

Our journey today took us to Jaisalmer in the western part of the Indian desert. We are approximately 160 km from the Pakistani/Indian border. The 7-hour journey from Jodhpur went by quickly. The terrain was very different from other parts of India.

Today we met camels, goats, water buffalo and cows on the road. Wild camels were a common feature standing beside the road or roaming off in the distance. We also moved from granite in Jodhpur to red sandstone. We stopped briefly at a sandstone quarry and watched them cut stone from the ground.

The fact that we were travelling through desert became very apparent when we encountered sand dunes. We saw many trees without any undergrowth. The villages had different kinds of house/huts and there were relatively long distances without people (i.e., three or four minutes). The road suddenly got very smooth about one hour outside of Jaisalmer. We eventually figured out that a prime reason for this was the presence of a huge military base. It covered at least 40 km. The tension between India and Pakistan is ongoing. There is no passenger air traffic into Jaisalmer because of this. The only airplanes belong to the military.

Our hotel is on the outskirts of the city in the most amazing “hotel village”. There are several resort like hotels that all resemble palaces. Ours is very scenic and we have a view of the fort! Tomorrow we have an action packed day that includes a tour of the oldest fort in this part of India. We are also scheduled for a sunset camel ride in the desert! Definitely a day of firsts.