Our friends, Stefan & Elise, are in town visiting and we took them to the western part of Rajasthan for a little side trip. They wanted to go somewhere off the beaten path and I think we found it in Jaisalmer. The landscape is breathtaking and the city’s fort is incredibly imposing.
We stayed at a little hotel outside the fort which was written up as having the best camel safaris in the area. So, we loaded up and took a jeep ride for about 45 minutes to a “ranch” (I use this term loosely…it had a small main building and a few camels tied up) where the camel hands took over. Luckily, the camels lay down in the sand so we can saddle up. Actually, there is no saddle, just a metal frame which is covered with blankets. It takes the camel three steps to get up. First its back legs stretch out and he “kneels”. Then he pushes up on his front legs and straightens them and the back legs straighten, too. It’s kind of this weird motion and you don’t think the camel will stand, but he does.
So the hands took us through the desert and we didn’t see anyone else…so, the book was true. We headed for the dunes and that’s where we camped for the night. We were served a dinner of pakoras, these crispy “chips”, lentils, rice, vegetables and homemade chapati (flat bread). The sun had set and we sat around the campfire talking, the hands sung us some songs and enjoyed a very dark sky with very bright stars. Even the quarter moon was bright and we could see our shadows.
Mark and I opted for a tent last minute but Stefan & Elise braved in the open air.
Coming up: The rest of our trip + PICTURES!!!
Delhited 