Into The Thar Desert-Part III

More From March 12, 2010

……....…we collected ourselves after our siesta in that little bit of welcomed shade those scrawny trees provided, the carts were loaded and we hopped onto our trusty camels to continue our journey into the desert. We noticed how the landscape started to change a bit. The foliage was getting a bit thinner and there seemed to be higher mounds of sand appearing. The heat was also making itself very noticeable. Thank goodness we know it will only get cooler from here on out. Here is a movie of our afternoon journey that took us to our evening camp where we will have dinner (It’s a longer movie so give it a minute to load).

You can see our evening camp below. Vijay, The Camel Man, owns this little piece of land (out here in the middle of NOWHERE!) and has constructed a semi-permanent camp that he uses for overnight camel trips as well as full day camel trips like ours. We came into camp, the Raikas got things unloaded and the camels undressed as this will be the end of their trip with us into the desert.

Our evening camp. The two thatched buildings are where the caretaker lives.

The kitchen is in the cement building.

Here is a well-head. These can be found here and there throughout the desert. Water is not found at the little lake surrounded by palm trees one sees in old movies. Water is collected from here and carried to wherever it needs to go.

Our first order of business in camp was to have a rest and a cool drink and then, of course, a cup of tea!

As dinner was being prepared, we took a walk in the surrounding dunes to find a good spot to view the sunset. We came across a little bit of desert life along the way.

Jenni of Arabia :o)

This is a green-bellied Rowan warbler. :o)

Shri and Charan

The sand is so incredibly fine. For every three steps one takes forward, there are two steps back.

This Dung Beetle was very busy looking for any sign of a camel poop

We weren't sure what this Desert Ant was looking for, maybe the Dung Beetle!

We weren't lucky enough to actually see this lizard, but at least he left a nice imprint of himself in the sand.

As we got to the top of the dunes we looked off to the west, towards Pakistan, where you can see the desert gets pretty barren. We are glad our journey in that direction ends here. :o)

The four of us with our Raikas.

The Raikas headed off on foot, back to their village, a number of miles away. We will stay at the camp and have dinner.

The sun as it sets in the west. We were all very glad not to have it beating down on us any longer.

As darkness fell, the caretaker of the camp and his 13 year old assistant came out in their turbans and sat on their magic carpet, laid down on the sand, to play some traditional Rajisthani folk music for us. The older gentleman was playing a Harmonium and the young boy his Dolka Drum. It made for a really special moment as it was getting dark. The beginning of a perfect end to an incredible day.

The music continued as our dinner was served in complete darkness, only a candle lantern to light the table. The stars more than we have ever seen, so close you could touch them. In this second song, the musicians can't be seen because of the total darkness, only the candle lamp on the left is visible. The young boy is now singing (just priceless). Since you can't see the musicians, you can continue to read the blog after you start the video.




Poppadom (crispy bread) and soup broth was the first course. YUM!

Dhal, peas & carrots, cabbage curry and chippathi for the main course. Everything with a chili kicker! Simple and delicious.

A few comments on our visit to Bikaner, Rajasthan and the desert:
We had no idea what to expect on our way getting here and then going into the desert on camels with desert guides who looked like, especially from an American perspective, terrorists!
Well, the 'type' or 'look' was exactly what we have been taught by our media to be a terrorist and that is just plain silly. Being an Persian/Asian is not a crime. The natural dress here is head wraps and twisted fabrics around your body. It is the only thing to keep you cool and protect you from the relentless heat here so why wouldn't people wear this? We never felt threatened once. Never in danger once (unless you qualify being run down by a cow on the street!) The US State Department was more freaked out about me coming here than I was (naturally, being so close to the Pakistani border). We did make sure we were aware of our surroundings, but that was never at the front of our minds and something we didn't dwell on (remember, India is not our enemy). This place is so beautiful, in landscape, architecture, culture and people, especially the people, they are all so friendly and engaging. It would be a shame for anyone to miss this. We are so glad we made this trip up north. We would do it again in a heart-beat.

Here is a clip showing our one headlight jeep ride out of the desert in the pitch black darkness of the desert. Shrikant is talking in Hindi with the driver and guide.

The adventure continues........
Next up, we are back to Jaipur and then on to Agra and the Taj Mahal.
STAY TUNED....................