JAISALMER (Day 4)

We walked up the long path to the old city on the hill which was completely surrounded by the old fort wall. There were plenty of textile shops, magnificently carved stone buildings and temples. Cows meandered everywhere.

Cows in the alley

Ron tries on a turban.

Jaisalmer Fort is one of the largest desert forts in the world. It was designed as a defensive complex and built in 1156 by regional leader (and namer of the city) Rawal Jaisal.

Screen windows inside the fort

A view of the city. Everything was the same color:.. desert beige, hence the city's nickname of the Golden City.

Mukesh then drove us to Gadsisar Lake (man-made in 1367) where many abandoned temples and shrines now sit. We walked around the lake and explored a few of the old structures.

It was soon time to depart on our camel safari. We piled in an old jeep with several guides and had a 45-minute VERY bumpy ride out to a small complex comprised of several white clay bungalows with thatched roofs and pounded dirt floors.

We then each got to ride our own camel with one of the camel drivers walking in front, leading the camel by the rope reigns... usually attached to a small stake or metal ring driven through the camel's nose. Some of the camels had several huge holes through the bridge of their noses as if the sticks sometimes got yanked out. They also had many scars and tufts of their coarse fur missing. The saddle was comprised of two long pieces of wood and lots of padding in between creating two distinct seats (this always made it difficult to see that they were actually the one-humped dromedaries as opposed to the two-humped camels). There was a horn to hold on to in front and a strap under tail to hold the seat on. The camels were covered with decorations hanging from around their necks such as beads, chains, or bells.

Loaded up! ... Kiss me!

Ron got to ride on Kalu; I got Sonu. Actually they didn't really have real names other than by color. The camel drivers just kind of made them up for us there on the spot. It was an interesting experience getting on the camel. They first pulled the large animal down to a sitting position; it was still rather high to swing your leg over onto the saddle. They then pulled the camel (who usually only begrudgingly obeyed) up to its feet. Of course, camels stand up with their back legs first, causing you to lurch suddenly waaaaay forward, and then their front, causing you to then lurch back. It feels like you're going to be launched right from the saddle, but the animals move slowly enough so that you can hang on and adjust your position fast enough.

We were led to the small (albeit highly touristy) neighboring village of Khuri. Here we were helped down from our camels (repeat lurching process but in reverse) and given a 'tour'. Basically they tried to sell us everything from carpets to purses to ceramic pots. Finally, after they were convinced that none of us were going to buy anything, we were returned to the camels to continue on our ride. This time, Manga (one of the camel drivers) sat behind me He tried to make conversation but I just couldn't understand him. I did learn the word for camel though ("oot").

We left the village and headed out into the Thar Desert (or Great Indian Desert) for our sunset ride. On the camel, we were taller than several trees in the area (I must admit, one feels very tall on a camel). Eventually the flat landscape dwindled down to shrubs and eventually we approached a very large sand dune which rose right up out of nowhere. Unfortunately it was covered with hundreds of other tourists... all on their camels. There was hardly a speck of actual sand to be seen. The sound of camel bells filled our ears.

Camels are capable of a wide arrange of sounds.

EXPERIENCE THE SOUNDS OF A CAMEL SAFARI

Heading toward the dune in the distance

We began our climb up the dune... veeeery slowly. Not only was I last, but we were waaaay behind. But the driver didn't want to run when I asked him to (all the other camels were running; it only seemed logical that I could ask). He just kept repeating "will fall"... which I at first assumed he mean that I'd fall off but later realized he meant the camel would fall!

From the top of the long dune, we watched the colors of the desert change as the sun set. The minute the sun was gone, so were almost all the other tourists. We wandered the dunes by foot for a little while until the sudden chill in the air drove us back to the camels. It was almost completely dark as we started back. For this reason, the camel drivers decided to have their large lumbering beasts run back. Fortunately I was on a different camel, named Ratja. Suddenly I didn't mind the fact that we hadn't run before! It was VERY jarring and scary!

Wandering on the dune

The rest of the evening was spent having chai and dinner around a wood and benzine campfire, being entertained by some local musicians and chatting with the camel drivers. They told us about 'ak', an abundant plant with milky sap that the local men rub on their faces so that a beard won't grow. Eventually we retired to our own private bungalow, hoping desperately not to have to make a trip in the pitch black to the outhouse which was a good 5-minute walk away.

return • continue