Staying at Mala Ki Dhani was definitely the highlight of our Jaisalmer trip
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An authentic village life away from the crowd, a perfect host (Mr. Om), clean private huts made with locally available materials with basic amenities, bonfire lighting up the surroundings and stars lighting up your eyes. It's like carefree childhood all over again....!!
What else can you ask for, in this overburdened running life..??
Ours was a short trip and also we were not sure about the place, so we booked our stay at Mala Ki Dhani just for a day. But that was a big mistake..!! Well, actually I couldn't be satisfied even if I have booked it for a week. It was such an amazing experience.
Mr. Om and his family (wife, three cute kids, brother and 4 dogs) are the best host one can get.
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Initially it might have been difficult for some people but now they have electricity in their home, which is a bit away from the huts we booked. The huts don't have electricity (which make them even more authentic). They can provide battery lights if you want (we didn't take them). There is a small temple on a nearby hilltop, which gives a panoramic view making it a perfect spot to watch sunset and sunrise (we did both). They have basic Indian-style washroom and a drum outside as basin. They will give you normal but tasty home cooked food (You can also ask for additional things to eat like maggi or frtitters).
We reached there at 4:30 in the evening. Mr. Om was already there at the diversion from the main road to guide us further (he has a 7 seater vehicle if you are travelling via public transport). We booked two huts which were clean and ready for us. We were the only ones staying there at this time. He made us tea as soon as we reached there. There is a large open space among the huts where you can park your vehicles.
Half an hour before sunset we started climbing the temple top. It's quite easy and took us just 10 minutes to ascend. We sat there and enjoyed a peaceful sunset time. After returning back, we requested for some tea and fritters (extra charge). After sunset, they arranged bonfire surrounded with beds and chairs. The entire evening passed and sky started twinkling, but we couldn't get enough of this place. We just sat around the bonfire, sometimes talking and sharing our memories and at times in silence.
It was a new moon night (first moon after no moon) so it was quite dark and as the night fell upon us, the dark sky got filled with twinkling stars. There were no house and no light around us. The only sources of light were bonfire on the ground below and millions of stars in the sky above.
Dinner arrangements were at their home, a few meters away from our huts. We walked in our mobile flashlights and it seemed like I was shooting cam rip of some low budget movie. HaHa..!! One of their dogs brushed his tail on my feet and I screamed bloody murder like I was dead in that moment...
Mr. Om's wife was preparing food for us. We gave the kids a goodies basket I brought for them. We sat on the floor and enjoyed our meal. When we returned back to the bonfire, my sister and brother-in-law went to sleep in their hut but the three of us couldn't sacrifice the opportunity of a night-long star gazing, so we shifted our khatiyas (beds) from huts to open area around bonfire. Mr. Om's brother and all the dogs slept alongside us (in case we got scared at night).
Lying on my back, starring at the stars, thinking about my childhood and realizing how happy one could feel when your heart is all settled and at peace..!!
Later when everyone fell asleep..I realized it was too quiet and the dry grass fencing behind us was making scary noises due to wind. A few times our dog made some noises which reminded me that they do so when there is something around, we can't see. Overall, it was kinda pernoctation for me and I ended up frequently raising the head and checking my surroundings.
We woke up an hour before dawn for some astro-photography and later went hiking up the hill top to watch sunrise. Two of the kids and dogs followed us (we were friends by now)
(NOTE: Watch the full vlog of Mala Ki Dhani on our YouTube Channel - RovitaS)
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RovitaS
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