November 9, 2009 – Day 318 – Jaisalmer, India

We got into a dusty jeep mid afternoon to begin our camel safari. Odd way to start a camel safari perhaps but after an hour’s drive with a brief stop at an abandoned village, we found ourselves boarding our goofy, furry mounts to head farther into the Thar desert.

The true Mr. Desert, our guide

We spent about 15 minutes at an abandoned village that was terribly uninteresting. Another short jeep ride took us to our goofy, furry mounts where we learned that “hold on tight and lean back” is the best way to stay atop a camel while it stands up with you on its back.

Lindsey and Papu in the desert. BTW camels are awesome

The next hour and a half was a very fun, quiet ride through a different kind of desert than we have seen before. It is full of scrubby, dusty green bushes and shrubs, mostly squatty short things but good enough for a little, er, privacy (unless you are going to the Sam Dunes where they have tents with actual toilets in them). We were heading toward the backside of Khuri Dunes, the “non-touristy” dunes we were informed. Aside from the initial 5 minutes or so of figuring out the camel’s stride and rhythm, the ride was not at all painful or uncomfortable as we had read and heard so much about. In fact, it is much like riding a horse so you can easily get into the rhythm and avoid getting beaten to death in the saddle.

Camel out for a stroll

We arrived at camp about an hour before sunset which gave us plenty of time to run up and down the dunes snapping photos like crazed Chinese tourists. We played with a few angry dung beetles and slide down the tallest of the dunes.

Oddly enough it doesn't taste like chicken, more like something that eats crap.

Lindsey and the Dunes at sunset

Just waiting for that sand worm

We watched the sunset, a typical rapid and relatively colorless event, but made some nice light changes on the dunes. Almost immediately afterward, the sand was starting to cool down very quickly. We made ourselves comfortable by the fire where our guide was preparing a tasty dinner for us. It took a while to make enough food but it was worth the wait.

Our hotel for the evening

The air had cooled down so much that we were wishing we had brought sweaters and socks along with us! We had chapati (Indian flat bread), rice with lentils, and mixed vegetables—a hearty warm meal that really hit the spot on a cold night. The fire started to die down about an hour after dinner and we took the opportunity to retire to bed early to look at all the stars. We were sleeping on metal bed frames with a simple woven cot covered with a sheet, a pillow and a very thick blanket outside under the stars. What a great view! (p.s. no dung beetles were harmed during the filming of this episode. Though some were thoroughly pissed off and one or two might need counseling after a close call with Saben’s mouth)