Woke early as the sky started to brighten. 
 
 Got up before the sunrise and walked around in the dunes for a while.
   

There was a car waiting for us at the foot of the dunes but we opted to walk back instead. Saw some deer on the way.
 
Back at the hotel we were served breakfast and then led to one of the fancy tents and given two large pails of hot water so we could bathe.
 
Then our driver took us on another trip through more miles of wind turbines into Jaisalmer. At our hotel we checked into our room and tried to FaceTime with the kids but it didn't work very well because the wifi there was crap.

Our guide met us at the hotel and we drove to the nearby fort for our walking tour.
 
First we walked around in the streets outside the fort gates looking at the detailed stonework on the old mansions. 
 
All the old houses have screens carved from sandstone covering both windows and balconies. (This was so the women of the house could look outside without being seen.)
 
Mostly the guide's contribution was to point at each house we passed and say "Look at the beautiful architecture! Each house is different!"
 
One new thing here is all the wild pigs roaming the streets. The guide says they don't eat these pigs because the pigs eat filth.
 
Saw a cow getting chased out of a house. People feed the cows here to get good karma. Sometimes the cow will go into a house looking for a meal. In between donated meals. They seem to like eating garbage off the street.
 
We also saw a woman going door to door with a bowl collecting people's left-overs. Again, people give for the good karma.

Then we followed the serpentine path up the hill through the 5 gates to get inside the fort. Bought our tickets and went on a self-guided tour of the palace.
 
From the top there were good views of the city.
 
We also learned that the purpose of the giant wind farms is to power a high voltage electric fence that runs along the India-Pakistan border.

After we finished in the palace, our guide walked us around inside the fort for a while. There are over 5000 people who live inside the fort, so it's even more crowded and busy than the city below. The government has been trying to get people to leave because all the water they use is weakening the foundations of the fort. At least there are few cars as most of the streets are too narrow for them to fit. Lots of cows and motorcycles though!
 
Also a neat looking Jain temple.

After leaving the fort we walked around looking at more houses ("Look at the beautiful architecture! Each house is different!"). Passed a home where someone had died, with men in white sitting on a circle on the front step and women dressed in colorful saris sitting inside.

Then walked though a market area looking at this and that. Our guide also took is to a textile sales place ( as had our last guide on Bikaner) where a salesman laid dozens of carpets, shawls, table cloths and wall hangings at our feet. As always, we bought nothing.

Our guide DID help us find a working ATM and we were able to take out a total of 6000 rupees ($120) so now we are rich!

Met our driver and he drove us out to the edge of town to see the Bada Bagh cenotaphs. It was very pretty there in the setting sun and we took pictures until the battery in the camera died.
 
 
 
Then drove back to town and picked up our clothes from the laundry before heading back to the hotel for supper.

As usual, the restaurant was on the roof. Here it shared the roof with a staff dormitory. The restaurant was deserted and there were pigeon feathers and droppings on all the tables. To top it off, the air was starting to get really smokey which made it hard to breathe. We considered finding another restaurant (one for people, rather than pigeons) but it seemed like too much work and we were tired. Turns out it was pretty good. Heather asked for it to be spicy, so it was a bit too hot for Ken's liking.

After supper we went on a short expedition to stock up on bottled water. Passed a small fair ground with a Ferris wheel that was spinning way too fast.
 
Then home to bed.