Camel Safari, Day 1

We had packed a small bag with a change of clothes the day before, so we didn’t have to wake up too early. At 8 AM, we were picked up from the hotel in a jeep. The heat hasn’t quite reached Rajasthan yet, so it was pretty chilly riding in an open jeep. We borrowed some blankets from the hotel to keep warm. At night, it’s about 10 degrees, which is cold even for a Dane :) On the way to the camels waiting for us further out in the desert, we saw a Jain temple and a burial site for 104 kings. Both were stunning places, but unfortunately, our driver wasn’t very good at English, so the only thing he could tell us about the sites was their names. At one of the stops, we struck up a conversation with an Indian girl who showed us her home. We took some pictures of her family, and then we got their address so we could send them copies later. By 10 AM, we finally arrived at the camels, which was what we had been looking forward to all morning. Our guide was named Salim, and he had received great recommendations in the guestbook at our hotel. He turned out to be really skilled and took good care of us. Once we were on the camels, we set off into the desert. It was amazing to be up high and enjoy the view. The camels were very well-behaved and seemed to be well taken care of. They were between 4 and 7 years old. After about an hour, we reached a small well in the middle of the desert. Here, we filled up jugs with water that would be used for cooking lunch. We had lunch in the shade of a tree, and it wasn’t long before we were suddenly surrounded by sheep. A shepherd was looking after his flock in the desert, letting them find some dry, free grass and bushes to munch on. Our lunch consisted of vegetables and chapati bread cooked over a fire. It was spicy but really good. Before Salim prepared lunch for us, he unsaddled the camels and tied their front legs together so they could wander around a bit and find something to eat—without straying too far away. After lunch, we rested in the sun, which had gotten quite warm. Even though the camels had their front legs tied together, they had wandered quite a distance. No worries, Salim went out to find them so we could continue our journey. We were becoming experienced camel riders, and after seeing the Royal Sand Dunes, which looked just like the desert often portrayed in movies, we trekked the last stretch to the camp where we would be spending the night. Trotting isn’t too hard on a camel, so we glided through the final part of the desert to the camp at a nice, brisk pace :) After many hours in the saddle, it felt great to get down and stretch our legs. We were assigned a little luxury tent with a toilet in a small side tent. Well, there was a lovely porcelain toilet set up, but it didn’t quite work optimally. Water was coming out from the bottom where it shouldn’t be. But what can you expect out in the desert? :) The best part was seeing our beds with lots of nice warm blankets, so we could hopefully stay warm at night. Before dinner was served, there was entertainment with music and belly dancing. We were all bundled up in blankets to keep warm under the cool starry sky. There was also another couple, an Indian couple, who were staying in the camp. They wanted to chat, but their English was pretty poor, so the conversation was a bit confusing at times :) After a long day on the back of a camel, we were exhausted, and we went to bed early. By 9 PM, we were snuggled under a pile of blankets to keep warm.