On December 18th I went on a camel safari in the Thar dessert. I drove with a group of six others in a jeep for about 30 minutes outside of Jaisalmer where we met up with our camels. Upon arrival to the starting point, which is the home of a native tribe who do this particular safari, I witnessed a lamb being born. This happened about two minutes after I stepped out of the jeep. We were invited into the the native Indians huts to see how they live and as I was walking from one hut to another I could see a new born cow calf being licked clean by it’s mother. Frankly the sight of a lamb birth and the sight of a new born cow calf were not pleasant sights. My favorite part actually was when one of the other travelers asked how I could tell the cow had recently been born and I pointed to the placenta hanging out of mother cow. The fellow traveler had the most awesome look of horror on his face.
After our brief tour of the natives lifestyle we mounted our camels and set out into the Thar dessert. We were only on the camels for about an hour and half which was fine by me and then we setup up camp. Actually the guides setup camp and the other tourists and I kicked it on top of a sand dune and watched the sunset. After sunset we had dinner. It was nothing to get excited about. In fact I consumed a little dessert along with my meal. It was impossible not to. The rest of the evening was spent hanging out around a campfire under the stars while the guides sang songs and asked where we were from, and made fun of previous tourists they had been through the routine with before. When it came time to sleep I tossed and turned in the blankets that were provided, which were stiff and had the lovely smell of camel. I was inside a very small tent that had its door open and about an hour into my tossing and turning I sensed something outside my tent. I looked at the tent opening and discovered the silhouette of three wild goats poking their heads in and looking at me. Frankly it scared the heck out of me and I made some weird well that hardly scared them off but did get the attention of my fellow tourist friends. The rest of the evening I didn’t get any sleep but I did finally get out of the smelly blankets just before sunrise to witness the dessert awake with amazing color. Despite the lack of sleep and stinky blankets it was a great experience.
The most surprising part of the camel safari was during our time around the fire when out of nowhere the sound of a cell phone ring was heard. We all looked at each other with surprise and suspicion as to who could be receiving a phone call let alone who dare bring out their cell phone on a camel safari in the middle of nowhere. It turned out that one of the Indians had a cell phone hidden in what seemed to be in his underpants. We where all very shocked to witness him take the call. Very surreal. I had hoped to visit this place before it changed too much but I guess I am late.
Tomorrow I am hiring a car and driver and heading to Jodhpur.