Camel Safari

We departed Jodhpur on Friday evening for Jaisalmer- the Golden City- to take our camel safari in the Great Thar Desert. Arriving in Jaisalmer at 5:15 in the morning we were able to call ahead and negotiate a tour with a hotel, so they picked us up at the train station. We proceeded at 6 in the morning to haggle over the price of the tour that we thought we had already negotiated. I thought we got a fairly good price when he said that we couldn't tell any of the other guests what we were paying- this was contigent on the price.

Our budget safari departed at 9am where we took a 2 hour tour of the sites between Jaisalmer and the drop off point which included a 700 year old Hindu temple and an city that was simply abandoned 400 years ago by thousands of people. Pretty cool stuff.

We got dropped off and each rode our own camel, soon realizing that when they say that camels are not as comfortable to ride as horses that's exactly what they mean. I don't think I could ever do a 5 or 10 day safari across western Rajasthan- ouch! Our guides were low key, cooked our meals and occaisonally sang traditional songs while we were riding.

We got to see the Royal Sand Dunes- a highlight- my first real experience in the dunes and the desert. Most of the Thar Desert is simply scrub brush with these sections of sand dunes popping out of no where. Very cool.

We had upgraded to real tents for the night instead of sleeping out under the stars as well as a bottle of cheap whiskey with our fireside dinner. Thank God for real tents because the desert is cold. (Something Melinda very much underestimated but remedied by spending a little money on textiles!)

The following day we took a leisurely tour back to the pick up point and were able to return to the hotel to shower and visit the fort before departing on the night train back to Jodhpur. The fort in Jaisalmer is very cool because it's actually a little neighborhood with homes, shops, restaurants, and crazy motorcycles. This was unlike the fort in Jodhpur which was preserved as a museum and tourist site by the Maharaja.

We've now arrived in Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, for some final meetings before taking off for our "travel portion" of the trip. Yet another great shopping destination, it's well known for its jewels and jewelry. Margaret and I have very similar taste and both willing to spend quality time shopping with each other. This is probably a bad thing, but we're having fun!

No pictures with this connection, but I'll try as soon as I find a better one!