While in the deserts of western India I had the opportunity to go on a camel safari. It was a great experience and something everyone should do if they ever get the chance. Check out the video below!
A group of us went out into the desert for two days and one night- so it was just a short trip. Some trips go for as long as 15 days. Afterwards, I was glad that I went for just two days because I was sore. The camel is a rough ride and they don't give you stirrups for your feet. When I got off the camel at the end of the trip I was walking around like an old man! I hope you liked my desert get-up. I later gave the turban to one of the camel drivers as a gift.
These poor desert people have very little opportunity and there really isn't much development that far out. Most people just become sheep herders as farming has proven too difficult as the region gets drier and drier each decade. They said they had about 2 cm of rain this year and it was the sole rainstorm for the past 3 years.
The communities have electricity, but all of the well water is brought in by truck. A common sight in all the mud hut villages are groups of women dressed in bright saris and jingling, dazzling jewelry all delicately balancing silver pots of water on their heads as they return from the village well. These women are very beautiful and their stares can be arresting. They work so hard and are beautiful while they do it. I have a lot of respect for these village women.
The dwellings are very simple and often have thatch roofs, no doors, and no glass for the windows. When you stop in the villages, groups of young children run out to great you and will follow you into the desert for a short distance before tiring and heading back towards home.
Amazingly, you can get a cold beer on the desert dunes. The villagers know how to make a buck and truck out to meet the tourists with a sack full of cold drinks and other "necessities" like whiskey and cigarettes.
The guides cooked us lunch and dinner and we sat in the shade and napped through the hottest part of the day. Temps were well over 100 degrees though. At night it was nice and cool and we slept on blankets under the stars. There were tons of dung beetles crawling around and more than once I woke up in alarm as a beetle was crawling across my body or up my pant leg.
In the video I showed you a short clip of the camels with tied up legs. Just to clarify, that is what they do to the camels when we stop for lunch or for the night. They hobble the animals so they can't get to far and so they can't run away from the camel drivers.
It was a great time even though it was hot and it is something I would love to do again.
These poor desert people have very little opportunity and there really isn't much development that far out. Most people just become sheep herders as farming has proven too difficult as the region gets drier and drier each decade. They said they had about 2 cm of rain this year and it was the sole rainstorm for the past 3 years.
The communities have electricity, but all of the well water is brought in by truck. A common sight in all the mud hut villages are groups of women dressed in bright saris and jingling, dazzling jewelry all delicately balancing silver pots of water on their heads as they return from the village well. These women are very beautiful and their stares can be arresting. They work so hard and are beautiful while they do it. I have a lot of respect for these village women.
The dwellings are very simple and often have thatch roofs, no doors, and no glass for the windows. When you stop in the villages, groups of young children run out to great you and will follow you into the desert for a short distance before tiring and heading back towards home.
Amazingly, you can get a cold beer on the desert dunes. The villagers know how to make a buck and truck out to meet the tourists with a sack full of cold drinks and other "necessities" like whiskey and cigarettes.
The guides cooked us lunch and dinner and we sat in the shade and napped through the hottest part of the day. Temps were well over 100 degrees though. At night it was nice and cool and we slept on blankets under the stars. There were tons of dung beetles crawling around and more than once I woke up in alarm as a beetle was crawling across my body or up my pant leg.
In the video I showed you a short clip of the camels with tied up legs. Just to clarify, that is what they do to the camels when we stop for lunch or for the night. They hobble the animals so they can't get to far and so they can't run away from the camel drivers.
It was a great time even though it was hot and it is something I would love to do again.
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