Advertisement
Published: August 7th 2007
Edit Blog Post
Rocket and I
Rocket steals the show as he looks on elegantly. He lets me think I'm in charge but we both know who is really doing the driving. At first I was a little skeptical about the idea of taking a camel trip into the desert. It just didn't seem like a very enjoyable thing to do! In fact it turned out to be one of my best experiences yet. And having never ridden one before I hadn't realised just how wonderfully charismatic camels can be.
There were three camels on our trip - Rocket, Djoomra and Pepsi, each with very individual looks, behaviour and temperament. Djoomra, the oldest, had an air of grace and experience about him accompanied by a distinctly grumpy old boy mood. Pepsi was younger and darker, was in training and threw tantrums whenever he didn't like being told what to do. My camel Rocket was possibly the slowest camel in all the greatness that is the Great Thar Desert. But he is also possibly the most friendly and well tempered camel that lived. Rocket is normally very lazy, but with a few words of encouragement and a little gentle persuasion he would explode into life and take off across the desert - admirably living up to his name. But then as quickly as he came alive he would decide that it's much more
Camel's Behind
Hey Ingbert, why does Rocket insist on following closely behind you all the time? And what on earth has your camel been eating? to his liking to return to his usual somber dawdle. Rocket and I, I thought, were very much alike.
I had three days with Rocket and he was a real pleasure to be with. After just the first day he would run, walk, stand and sit pretty much on command or more likely because he felt like it and knew what to do before I'd even given the word.
Most of the day was spent riding on sore bums and so meal times were something to look very forward to. It must be said that our guide Laloo along with his helper Aman were without doubt the greatest cooks there ever was at the end of a days desert riding. It was amazing what they managed to cook up with a simple box of basic ingredients and a few spices.
The Great Thar Desert is mostly arid scrub land with the occasional square kilometer of pure sand dune dotted here and there and this is where we would settle down for the nights and make camp. My travel buddy Ingbert and I were lucky to land a trip with just the two of us as groups can
Rocket, say cheese!
"What's all this junk you're bringing with you?" be much larger. On our first night we met up with a french couple from another trip and sat round the camp fire chatting and listening to the locals singing traditional songs of love, marriage and fortune. We even had a guy turn up selling cold beer much to our amazement and delight. Otherwise there were few creature comforts. The camp facilities consisted of a wind brake in the form of a dense bush, three well selected large stones (for placing the cooking pot) and an out the way prickly bush where you go to do your curly wurly squirlies and names in the sand.
Our second night in the desert was even more tranquil and blessed with an amazing sunset, clear starry skies and the occasional shooting star. It quickly became cold once the sun went down but I found myself quite comfortable staring up at the night sky cocooned in thermals, t-shirt, jumper, jacket, woolly hat, 2 blankets and a duvet. All we could hear were insects and the distant jangle of bells from the odd herd of goats passing by on their way home to a remote village.
The peace and serenity adds a new
Dune
Don't make any vibrations man, there are worms in this desert. dimension to travelling in India and although there is plenty of time to contemplate the mysteries of the universe (because in reality our guides are doing all the hard work), at the end of the day there seems to be little time left to do anything except the basic necessities such as building fires, cooking food and caring for the camels.
Caring for camels it turns out is not as straight forward as it might seem. One night Pepsi the poor thing apparently ate too much, blocking his digestive system and had to be made to stand and sit a hundred times to get things moving again. And unless this had been spotted by the keen wits of his carer he could actually have died from it. Then there is the problem of them running away. So instead of being set completely free their front legs are bound together enough so that they can't physically run. This induces a kind of cruel looking hop, skip and stumble as they bounce off to the nearest bushes to eat but ensures they can't get too far away during meal times. And at night they are tied again but this time in
Can we go a bit faster please Rocket?
"Maybe when you stop kicking me in the ribs like a girl." a sitting down position so that they can't get up and sneak away. It might seem a bit harsh but this is the life of a camel and justifiably necessary as it ensures we don't end up stumbling through the desert ourselves envisaging mirages and lush oasis in the attempt to get back to civilisation.
The best experience I found about the Desert Camel Safari was simply the whole sleeping in the open thing. I just didn't quite appreciate how much warmth and comfort the sun provides when it's so cold and barren without it. It seems only natural to wake just before sunrise and for me witnessing the sun both set and rise each day adds a new dimension to life. It brought me that bit closer to nature than ever before and I could begin to appreciate why we worship the sun. Riding through the desert has provided me with such a simple yet fulfilling experience and I absolutely must thank our guides Laloo and Aman for such a great journey. It's a trip that I certainly won't forget in a hurry. All things considered it is easily the highlight of my time spent in India so
Scrub Land
As far as the eye can see. Which is just to the next hill actually. far.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.118s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 20; qc: 87; dbt: 0.0761s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb