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Published: February 24th 2008
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Hi from the depths of Rajasthan, the desert state of India.
Since our last post we have visited Jaisalmer and Jodhpur - both homes to their own respective Maharaja about 500 years ago. Each town is looked down on by its resident fort, which usually includes the Maharaja's palace. However, before we get stuck into buildings, we have to tell you about the camel safari we did.
It was three days in the great Thar Desert; with a camel mount for each of us. Unluckily our guides had their camel taken back by their boss on the last day to help find a runaway camel, so they had to walk for the last day!
It was a trek with a really nice pace through the desert with the lunch stop providing a welcome respite from the heat.
Day one we started out with another couple, and got to grips with the daily routine of the lunch stop/siesta and then camping out for the night in the sand dunes. Our first lunch was a bit of a wake up call, when we were provided with our plate of vegetable curry, and a couple of chapattis each - but
no spoons or other utensils in sight.
Simon spent the trip riding Johnny Walker, the 'seasoned safarier' who lead off quite happily without any need of direction.
However, the camel with the most personality on the trip was Sandra's mount, Raj. He was nicknamed 'Raj the horny camel' during our trip. Apparently Raj had a problem with running away to find a mate if one was smelt out (up to 5 km away) so had to be kept tethered to either another camel or one of our guides the whole time. He was also very prone to wandering off (to find a mate we assume) during our lunch breaks when the other camels were hobbled with two legs, Raj generally had 3 legs hobbled together (rather tightly)... however he still managed to do a very fast 'two step shuffle' and get quite a distance away. This lead to rather long tracking down and catching procedures.
Our first night in the sand dunes was really magical. We spent sunset clambering around the tops of the large dunes - only occasionally having to check out another portion of the view if the odd tourist (from another safari) popped up
on a neighboring dune.
After dinner (including more vegetable curry and chapattis) we were entertained in front of the campfire by a couple of the local guides singing accompanied to the beat of an empty 20 L water bottle. When everyone was feeling sleepy, we were built up large mountains of blankets and quilting around the fire under the stars. As our guides bid us goodnight they casually told us to put our backpacks by our heads to protect them from wild dogs which may wander though the camp during the night.....luckily we didn't have any food in our bags as at least one dog was sighted.
Our second day started with the other couple we set out with heading home. From then on we had our two guides, Delboy and Naru to lead us through the desert.
The days were spent wandering at camel pace through a variety of broken landscapes, varying from sand to scrub to rock sheets while keeping our eyes peeled for any of the desert wildlife about. Periodically we dropped into desert villages to allow the camels (and our guides) to drink from the local well. These villages were a real eye-opener
in terms of how basic the lifestyle in the desert is, and how little the people make do with. Our guides in particular were keen to point out that they love working camel safaris during the season, as when it gets too hot; their only other option of employment is breaking rocks.
Sometimes while stopped for lunch we were also adopted by a grazing herd of goats - requiring us to stay awake and make sure they didn't have a chew on our bags or shoes (or get into the camels oil wheat).
Too soon our second night in the desert had passed and we were walking on tarmac towards our pick up jeep. We really enjoyed our time in the desert, especially as we did not follow the usual safari route or stay at the most popular sand dunes.
During our time in Jaisalmer, we also visited the fort (which looks like a giant sandcastle), the nearby cenotaphs (burial grounds for the Maharaja's) and were in town for the first day of their yearly desert festival.
The fort sits, and almost falls off the top of fairly eroded local hill. The streets were really narrow,
and you needed to look up the whole time to spot the heavily detailed carved windows of the silk merchants. 1/4 of the residents of the old town reside inside the fort which has lead to major problems with water drainage, and lead to the fort starting to sink.
The cenotaphs were the first stop before we headed out on our camel safari, consisting of row upon row of memorial covered platforms. These looked really great in the early morning light, all being carved from white marble.
The day after we finished our safari the desert festival kicked off with a parade down the main road from the fort to the stadium. All manner of costumes and animals made an appearance, including the first camel mounted brass marching band that we have seen.
We next jumped a bus south to Jodhpur, another Rajput Maharaja's stronghold. Again (like in Jaisalmer) we had a hotel with a great rooftop restaurant and view of the fort and the blue city sprawled at its feet.
The fort here was formidable, and it doesn't suffer from the water drainage and sinking problems of Jaisalmer (admittedly nobody lives within the Jodhpur fort
now which probably accounts for this). Thanks to the English, Jodhpur also has a marvelous clock tower which is lit up at night with a change in back light colour every few seconds.
We are currently experiencing the joys for queuing for India Rail as, energized by the success of our camel safari; we have decided to invest more time in a longer trek in Nepal - while still managing to be back in India for Holi (a massive Hindi festival). We are presently on a waiting list for our preferred train tickets (after having to pay the full price already!) as the flights are booked up ages in advance.
We have another week or so in Rajasthan before hopefully heading off to Nepal. During this time we will be checking out Udipur, some more forts and temples, and maybe spotting one of the 15 or so remaining tigers in one of the national parks.
S&S
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Roy
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Looks like a brilliant adventure- amazing camel parade!