Sandcastles in the desert

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We paid in advance for a double sleeper berth on the 'deluxe' overnight coach to Jaisalmer, and sit waiting by the side of the road covered in dust from the constant stream of trucks trundling past. When it pulls in at 11pm it is far from deluxe and already jammed full of people...three people squeeze into seats for two and even the floor space is knee deep in slumbering bodies, and it smells like it's been this full for many hours already. The ticket guy assures us he will have our sleeping berth empty and ready for us in no time. We watch as, like some awful magic trick, a family sleepily emerge, one after the other, from our cabin. There are at least 3 adults and 5 kids squeezed in there, and I feel bad evicting them. But we've paid for this berth, and the family knew they were keeping reserved seats warm, as it were, and I'm glad when we can finally clamber in and close our little door. It's a bit like being in a double coffin...god knows how it was for eight...hot and sweaty, I can deduce. Thankfully our upper bunk box has windows that open, so we slide them wide and the fresh air fills our little cabin and we bed down using our sarongs as sheets.

We're so knackered that we actually sleep for most of the journey...I wake after dawn and watch the desert until we pull into Jaisalmer around 9am. It is already seriously hot...easily over 45C and it's only going to get hotter. After the rat experience we decide it's time for an upgrade, and when we find the Golden City Hotel has air con and a pool within our budget, we're sold. Whilst checking in, the guy starts his sales pitch for camel treks. My first instinct is 'leave me alone...I'll go shopping for a trek when I haven't just got off an overnight bus'...but the deal he's offering actually sounds good, and the reception is covered with awards from the tourism board, so we end up buying an overnight camel trek for the following day.

It's different here in Jaisalmer; we're deep in the Thar desert now, less than 80kms from the Pakistan border, and there is a frontierland atmosphere. In the bazaar, groups of desert men in white robes and pointy decorated shoes chat over chai and cigarettes. They wear red, pink or orange turbans and elaborately twirled moustaches...the finest we have seen in Rajastan, which is saying something...Rajastan is home to the most fantastic moustaches in India and therefore the world! It is easy to imagine that they are discussing smuggling routes for gun-runs across the border, although they're probably just talking about when the rains are going to arrive and offer some respite. It is ridiculously hot and dusty, but with a swimming pool and air con to retreat to for the hottest part of the day, we cope admirably!

Jaisalmer, 'The Golden City', is like a scene from Arabian Nights, with cobbled lanes winding uphill to the sandcastle-like fort. Unlike other Rajastan cities named by colour, this one lives up to it's golden ticket. The narrow streets of honey yellow sandstone buildings are decorated with facades of intricate latticework and topheavy balconies with carved elephants, peacocks and flowers. They house busy leather and metal-work studios, chai shops and barbers, all overlooked by the storybook fort and palace.

It is one of the few 'living' forts in Rajastan, with more than 2000 people living within it's 900 year old walls. It is possible for tourists to stay inside too, but the fort is now one of the World Monument Fund's 100 Most Endangered Sites, because of a huge increase in water consumption over the past two decades due to tourism. At the height of the tourist season, twelve times the usual volume of water is pumped through the fort's antiquated drains, most of which seeps into the foundations. This giant sandcastle is doing exactly what you'd expect it to do when the sea comes in...it's crumbling.

To escape the fiercest heat of the day, we start out for our camel trek at 3pm...along with two Canadian girls, Diane and Shelly, we travel by jeep to our desert rendezvous. Our camel driver Isaac is accompanied by 'Boy", who is never properly named (despite asking), hasn't been a boy for over a decade and remains silent throughout, never answering questions or joining in conversation. Unlike Isaac who loves to talk...mostly about his beloved camel, Mr Rocket, esteemed winnner of numerous camel shows and races. The camels are actually quite nice...long lashes and gentle temperments going a long way to compensating for constant farting and pooing. They are fully loaded up with colourful blankets, pots and pans and coolboxes, but there's only four of them.

Isaac tells us that two of us will have to double up with a guide if we're to make it to the dunes by sunset, and the camels will still have to run most of the way. We're all a bit pissed off with the hotel, who set the departure time and promised it'd be one camel, one person. But if they drive the four camels on foot then we won't make it to our planned camp before nightfall. Reluctant to saddle share, but not wanting to cause a bad vibe with the two men about to lead us into the desert, Ritch volunteers and Shelly, joking that she's been single for awhile anyway, gets onto Mr Rocket in front of Isaac and we set out.

It's not long before the road is far behind us, and there's nothing but desert shimmering on the horizon. Apart from a couple of camels and a dog who follows us all the way, we see no other sign of life. A running camel, although fast, is a very bumpy ride and the saddle is made from wood. Yes, wood. A couple of empty sacks and blanket do little to cushion my quickly bruising behind. The desolate landscape is very beautiful and riding in a camel train is everything I'd imagined and more...the more being the pain of bouncing out of a wooden saddle for 3 hours!

When we reach the rippling dunes where Isaac and Boy set up camp, I discover that I now walk like John Wayne as the four of us stagger up the highest dune to watch the sun disappear into a haze on the horizon. The Thar Desert is predominately rocky terrain but here we are completely surrounded by high sand dunes. We recover, sipping hot sweet chai, whilst they cooks dinner over the fire...an impressive spread of dhal, curry and chapatis. By the time we've had three helpings the sky is darkening and the stars are coming out. With the nearest town 50kms away, the darkness is quickly complete and we can see millions of stars.

Isaac has been doing these treks since he was a small boy, his English in excellent and he knows all the tricks to keep us entertained. A magic circle drawn in the sand round our beds; magically cold beers from the icebox; stories of snakes and desert adventures; plaintive singing (wailing?!) and bad drumming; and jokes (we think) of taking Shelly on a midnight border-run to Pakistan. Then we watch the moon rise and all is quiet as we lie on our blankets and try to sleep. The wind blows little dunes of sand round my head and I have to wrap my scarf over my face to keep my airways clear as I doze off.

Wake in the dark to dogs barking...they're fighting really close by but I can't see what's happening...takes a moment to remember my scarf is wrapped round my head! Turns out the dog that had followed our camel train, and been fed our scraps, has fought off some competition. It's getting light now and I don't fall back to sleep. With the moon still in the sky we watch the sunrise. It's cosy under my blanket (which is itself blanketed in drifts of sand) but we know it'll get hot quickly, so we get up soon after the sun. Isaac already has the chai brewed, and we eat toast and fruit whilst the camels chomp on the bales of hay they carried in.

The thought of that wooden saddle does not fill me with joy, and if I was offered an epidural at this point, I probably would. Instead we settle on travelling at walking pace only...you can tell the desert boys think we're total wusses, but none of us can face the prospect of a running camel again. Even a walking one is punishment enough, and after a couple of hours and a secret vote, we tell Isaac that we cannae take nae more! The jeep pickup point is easily rearranged and we sit in the shade feeling sore but relieved. So we end up missing out on an hour or so camel riding (though terrain we've already crossed once) but we save any future prospects of fertility.

I spend most of that afternoon bathing my bruised butt in the cool water of the hotel swimming pool. We get talking to a lovely English couple, Andrew and Helen who, like us, are heading to Jodhpur next...we arrange to meet them for dinner in a couple of days time, as we continue our tour of Rajastan.

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Comments

[maria afonso]

Desert trip
Hi!!! i'm thinking to do a desert trip, anda i loved your descripition. Can u tell me how can i find Isaac?