JAISALMER has a lot going for it as a tourist destination. A massive hilltop fort that seems to float over the surrounding countryside, and glows an eerie gold at sunset! The atmospheric fort and its equally atmospheric old city built of the same yellow sandstone, once made this an exotic destination to linger for days. An outpost in the desert, with several beautiful havelis, a lake surrounded by arid desert, several temples of varying aniquity in the fort proper.
When I visited this town 30 years back, it had a small town feel, a lot of colour and the hustling for desert safaris was good-natured. Now touts of assorted colours and self-proclaimed 'guides' ruin your solitude and quaint experience. Civic disorder - uncollected garbage, open urinals and trash cans, haphazardly parked vehicles in narrow streets and traffic on steroids, ruin the once-vaunted atmosphere of this fort-town first established in the 12th century.
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