My purpose in coming to Jaisalmer was to engage in the essence of desert tourism- the camel safari. Most of these trips last between three and five days (as was the one Jo did a few years ago). However, I had less than 24 hours so I did the abbreviated version.
I started out taking a jeep ride for about two hours through the desert to a small village. The desert surrounding Jaisalmer is most some variety of scrub desert (I'm sure there's a technical name). Most of it is sand (of red, gold, and brown colors) punctuated by small thorny bushes or trees.
The village we stopped at was fairly small, populated by camel drivers and farmers. Their mudstone houses were really interesting looking, seemingly derived from the beginning of the Star Wars movie. It was in the village that I met my camel driver. I had though beforehand that it would be some grisly old man, but instead it was a 13 year-old kid (who did speak some English). Together we rode Andrew the camel for about 3 hours that first afternoon.
For those who are inexperienced, camel riding is an 'interesting' activity. It is not necessarily comfortable (especially when the camel is moving fast towards a leafy bush), but an appropriate way to amble along through the desert. Luckily, the weather was on my side; there had been some rain that morning so it was still overcast and there was no wind (apparently the blistering sun and howling winds are two of the greatest bains of desert life).
The ‘point’ of the camel safari is to take the tourist out of the scrub desert to witness and experience the flowing sand dunes that movies and photos illustrate. On my abbreviated safari I did get the chance to experience this natural wonder, and I now understand why tourist are always clamouring to spend painful days on a farting beast of burden while traipsing through the desert sun.
The landscape is so intriguing. From first appearance one feels surrounded by scrub desert, and then there appears a solitary golden dune in the distance. It seems as if there is some spatial phenomenon at work, because the distances between us and the dune seemed enormous when in reality they were quite close. We would plod towards these ‘distant’ dunes only to reach them in minutes.
The dunes were truly beautiful in a sublime way. Soft, yellow undulating waves of sand, they flowed onwards for a few kilometers and then petered out into the scrub desert. Little scarab beetles would dart back and forth along the sand. We made our camp for the night on the dunes. Hopefully these photos will at least give you an idea of how beautiful the area is:
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=36721183362232311/l=277059319/g=86844910/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
The best part of the trip for me (wonder where I get this from?) was walking along the dunes (and running down their steep slopes causing sand avalanches, which quickly disappeared as the wind filled them in). After arriving in the afternoon I spend a while plodding (gingerly courtesy of Andrew and his desire for sweet green leaves) along the edges of the dunes. It was so beautiful how all the crests rose and fell. I sat for awhile on the edge of one dune watching how the wind would blow the sand over the edge, or how (opposite to the waves at the beach) the wind would carve the sand out from around my feet. In the morning I awoke as the wind was whipping over me (as I was sleeping on the edge of the dune, see photo). I took advantage of my early morning wake up, and walked along the dunes, enjoying the cool air, dark skies, and absolute quiet (a rare occurrence in India).
Soon, however, the camel driver and Andrew were rearing to go, so we headed off. My young friend informed me (in quite broken English) that he was doubly happy if tourist was happy, and I informed him that if we went and saw some far away dunes I would be doubly happy, making him quadrupley happy (I think he missed my logic)- so off we cantered, making a last brilliant dash to some golden dunes.
I started out taking a jeep ride for about two hours through the desert to a small village. The desert surrounding Jaisalmer is most some variety of scrub desert (I'm sure there's a technical name). Most of it is sand (of red, gold, and brown colors) punctuated by small thorny bushes or trees.
The village we stopped at was fairly small, populated by camel drivers and farmers. Their mudstone houses were really interesting looking, seemingly derived from the beginning of the Star Wars movie. It was in the village that I met my camel driver. I had though beforehand that it would be some grisly old man, but instead it was a 13 year-old kid (who did speak some English). Together we rode Andrew the camel for about 3 hours that first afternoon.
For those who are inexperienced, camel riding is an 'interesting' activity. It is not necessarily comfortable (especially when the camel is moving fast towards a leafy bush), but an appropriate way to amble along through the desert. Luckily, the weather was on my side; there had been some rain that morning so it was still overcast and there was no wind (apparently the blistering sun and howling winds are two of the greatest bains of desert life).
The ‘point’ of the camel safari is to take the tourist out of the scrub desert to witness and experience the flowing sand dunes that movies and photos illustrate. On my abbreviated safari I did get the chance to experience this natural wonder, and I now understand why tourist are always clamouring to spend painful days on a farting beast of burden while traipsing through the desert sun.
The landscape is so intriguing. From first appearance one feels surrounded by scrub desert, and then there appears a solitary golden dune in the distance. It seems as if there is some spatial phenomenon at work, because the distances between us and the dune seemed enormous when in reality they were quite close. We would plod towards these ‘distant’ dunes only to reach them in minutes.
The dunes were truly beautiful in a sublime way. Soft, yellow undulating waves of sand, they flowed onwards for a few kilometers and then petered out into the scrub desert. Little scarab beetles would dart back and forth along the sand. We made our camp for the night on the dunes. Hopefully these photos will at least give you an idea of how beautiful the area is:
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=36721183362232311/l=277059319/g=86844910/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB
The best part of the trip for me (wonder where I get this from?) was walking along the dunes (and running down their steep slopes causing sand avalanches, which quickly disappeared as the wind filled them in). After arriving in the afternoon I spend a while plodding (gingerly courtesy of Andrew and his desire for sweet green leaves) along the edges of the dunes. It was so beautiful how all the crests rose and fell. I sat for awhile on the edge of one dune watching how the wind would blow the sand over the edge, or how (opposite to the waves at the beach) the wind would carve the sand out from around my feet. In the morning I awoke as the wind was whipping over me (as I was sleeping on the edge of the dune, see photo). I took advantage of my early morning wake up, and walked along the dunes, enjoying the cool air, dark skies, and absolute quiet (a rare occurrence in India).
Soon, however, the camel driver and Andrew were rearing to go, so we headed off. My young friend informed me (in quite broken English) that he was doubly happy if tourist was happy, and I informed him that if we went and saw some far away dunes I would be doubly happy, making him quadrupley happy (I think he missed my logic)- so off we cantered, making a last brilliant dash to some golden dunes.
1 comment:
What fantastic photos of you, Andrew and the dunes. aIt's almost as good as being there. Though I'm ok on missing the star wars village, it gives a good picture of the place!
Rain? In the desert?
The Indian heat and poverty doesn't make want to rush out and go there for the beautiful carvings and ornate buildings, but the ever shifting sands is another matter. Sounds really beautiful and interesting. Maybe VERY distantly like seeing the Grand Canyon as a moving picture from a raft where the canyon is still and YOU are moving, so the view is ever changing.
Post a Comment