Camel Safari - Thar Desert

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After relishing in the sights of the Pushkar Camel Festival, we decided to take the less-traveled route to Osian for a camel safari. The 2-hour bus ride from Jodhpur to Osian was an exhilarating drive. We were only carrying 2 small bags and 2 sleeping bags but even that seemed like it was too much luggage. People shoved their way into every conceivable inch of space. Seats that were meant for 3 people became seats for 6. 😊 Once we arrived in Osian, things quickly fell into place - we found a family of 4 brothers who conduct camel safaris and who provide accommodation at their home. We slept in a camel cart under the stars. It was the perfect way to absorb the essence of the desert. The Thar Desert wasn’t really what we expected though; it was more barren fields with sparse villages than sand dunes. We only saw one sand dune on the last day on our way back to the city.

Living with the Bhati family was a heart-warming adventure. All 4 brothers were wonderful hosts. They lived in a small brick house with 3 camels, goats, sheep, cows, and other assorted animals. In those 2 days, we were able to see what daily life was like for the locals. I learned a lot about camels on this trip. The females are the preferred gender because they are calm and responsive. They do their work without any problems and they provide milk for the family. The male camels are stubborn and aggressive. They grunt and growl whenever asked to do anything. The first day of the safari, I was sitting on a male camel and every step of the way was a struggle. After a while, our host sat behind me and he started making all kinds of noises too. He burped and grunted just like the camel - I couldn’t tell whether the noises were coming from the animal or from him! On the second day, Homyar and I switched camels - he sat on the male one and I sat on the calmer female camel. What a difference! I had a pleasant, graceful walk through the desert without any problems 😊

I’ve heard that Jaisailmer has the more picturesque desert with the sand dunes and is therefore more popular with the tourists, but I was happy we decided to take the less popular option. We likely wouldn’t have been able to have such a genuine experience in Jaisailmer. We were given simple, delicious home-cooked meals, awoke to the sounds of cows and goats, drank camel's milk, and slept under the stars. What more could you want?

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Photos

Hello!
The children in Rajasthan were adorable! They would come running out of their homes whenever they would see us and yell hello!

Camel cart
We slept in a camel cart under the stars :D

That's camel's milk!
It's supposed to be much healthier than cow's milk but it tastes gross!

Comments

[Bapsy]

Thar Desert...
Hi Jen, Good to receive all your blogs, as always pictures look great specially the one "Camel Cart" and sleeping under the stars sounds wonderful. Homyar is looking good too with all that food in front of him. Have fun..........