Monday, November 20, 2006
"I Hate Camels" - My Ass
* And I hate computers in India, and can't even get one pic to upload or even send them by email. So you'll have to visualize me in the desert with a Camel (ok me in the desert kissing my camel). Once I find a place I promise to upload all the pics. Prob. in 5 days when we get to Mumbai and I meet up with Brangelina and get use their personal laptop....
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After another horrific overnight bus ride from Pushkar, where I broke yet ANOTHER pair of cheap Asian sunglasses, we arrived at the giant sandcastle known as Jailasmir. On the edge of the Great Thar desert, and only 100km from the border to Pakistan its a really unique town with its own defenite vibe.
We spent the first day - sleeping - as there was no sleep to be had on the bus that pumped hindi pop and had a horn that made General Lee's sound like the trackers (meep meep). We ventured out to explore the dusty golden old town that is a maze in the middle of the thousands of sandstone buildings. We also booked our Camel Safari. Yes, that is right, we decided (totally sober) to ride through the desert for 2 days on a camel and sleep on the sand dunes. We chose one of the more "non-touristic" safaris that had advertised "no boundation". Obvisously not knowing what we were in for.
We got picked up early the first morning and drove a bit in a rusty old jeep with two girls from Denmark and a French guy. Stopped at some ancient mosque, right beside a cell phone tower, and then drove to a "desert village" that had internet cafes. Not the coolest start, but it all turned around when we met our camels. Everyone got their own camel, and mine was just so great. The Tyra Banks of camels if I may say so myself. She was darker, skinnier, had a prettier dress and loved kissing more than anybody elses camels. Moyra and I hit it off immediatley. Riding a camel is a weird feeling. First, the craziest part is right away when the camels stand up. They sit in a weird crossed legged position and stand up in burst, back legs, front legs, then stablize then up. And then you're up in the air wondering if this stupid animal knows what's going on. We set off in the direction of what we thought was the uninhabited desert, but over the course of 6 hours we crossed 2 roads, a few power lines, and saw a lot of wind-turbines. Needless to say when we arrived at the "dunes" at 5pm we were exhausted from the sun, sand, and INCREDIBLE PAIN IN OUR ASS/CROTCH/THIGHS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Camels have got to be the most uncomfortable animal to ride - they walk all funny and are so wide you basically do the splits the whole time. To say we were walking like a cowboy after is putting it gently. We settled into the small but decent dunes (No Namibia that's for sure) for a campfire and our camel drivers made us some incredible Rajasthani Thali (rice, dahl, curry, chappatti) and of course a guy came by to sell us beer, at our non-touristic camping spot.
The night was spent lying on a small blanket on the dunes under the crazy blanket of stars, and had our first night of silence since arriving on the subcontinent. The jingle of goats bells and the odd camel fart was much nicer than the spitting and honking of every other Indian night. We woke up in the morning to our breakfast of mini-toast pieces and chai - and worked up the courage to get on the camels again. Our stiff legs objected, but after an hour or so we were back in the rythym. A few chai stops, a long lunch break on the dunes, and we were back at the jeep pick up and after a quick ride back in to Jailasmir, back to wash the camel off.
The next morning we were in no shape to go anywhere, so spent the day wandering Jailismir and doing all the "cultural shit" but in this town you could do it while shopping! The old fort that rises above the town, is still lived in, and all the old Havelis and palaces are now shops! So a few pics, a few pairs of pants, and a camel leather pair of shoes later we were knowledgeable in all that is 12th century desert trade route forts. Had lunch on a rooftop watching the impromptu circus that was set up on the streets below and drank lemon sodas (India's non-alco G&T). Went back to our hotel to deal with the owner who scammed us on the safari prices, but in true Jusfa styles, we not only got our money back - but a deal on the next guesthouse in Jodhpur. Round 2 - Jusfa:78 India:0
*************************************************************************************
After another horrific overnight bus ride from Pushkar, where I broke yet ANOTHER pair of cheap Asian sunglasses, we arrived at the giant sandcastle known as Jailasmir. On the edge of the Great Thar desert, and only 100km from the border to Pakistan its a really unique town with its own defenite vibe.
We spent the first day - sleeping - as there was no sleep to be had on the bus that pumped hindi pop and had a horn that made General Lee's sound like the trackers (meep meep). We ventured out to explore the dusty golden old town that is a maze in the middle of the thousands of sandstone buildings. We also booked our Camel Safari. Yes, that is right, we decided (totally sober) to ride through the desert for 2 days on a camel and sleep on the sand dunes. We chose one of the more "non-touristic" safaris that had advertised "no boundation". Obvisously not knowing what we were in for.
We got picked up early the first morning and drove a bit in a rusty old jeep with two girls from Denmark and a French guy. Stopped at some ancient mosque, right beside a cell phone tower, and then drove to a "desert village" that had internet cafes. Not the coolest start, but it all turned around when we met our camels. Everyone got their own camel, and mine was just so great. The Tyra Banks of camels if I may say so myself. She was darker, skinnier, had a prettier dress and loved kissing more than anybody elses camels. Moyra and I hit it off immediatley. Riding a camel is a weird feeling. First, the craziest part is right away when the camels stand up. They sit in a weird crossed legged position and stand up in burst, back legs, front legs, then stablize then up. And then you're up in the air wondering if this stupid animal knows what's going on. We set off in the direction of what we thought was the uninhabited desert, but over the course of 6 hours we crossed 2 roads, a few power lines, and saw a lot of wind-turbines. Needless to say when we arrived at the "dunes" at 5pm we were exhausted from the sun, sand, and INCREDIBLE PAIN IN OUR ASS/CROTCH/THIGHS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Camels have got to be the most uncomfortable animal to ride - they walk all funny and are so wide you basically do the splits the whole time. To say we were walking like a cowboy after is putting it gently. We settled into the small but decent dunes (No Namibia that's for sure) for a campfire and our camel drivers made us some incredible Rajasthani Thali (rice, dahl, curry, chappatti) and of course a guy came by to sell us beer, at our non-touristic camping spot.
The night was spent lying on a small blanket on the dunes under the crazy blanket of stars, and had our first night of silence since arriving on the subcontinent. The jingle of goats bells and the odd camel fart was much nicer than the spitting and honking of every other Indian night. We woke up in the morning to our breakfast of mini-toast pieces and chai - and worked up the courage to get on the camels again. Our stiff legs objected, but after an hour or so we were back in the rythym. A few chai stops, a long lunch break on the dunes, and we were back at the jeep pick up and after a quick ride back in to Jailasmir, back to wash the camel off.
The next morning we were in no shape to go anywhere, so spent the day wandering Jailismir and doing all the "cultural shit" but in this town you could do it while shopping! The old fort that rises above the town, is still lived in, and all the old Havelis and palaces are now shops! So a few pics, a few pairs of pants, and a camel leather pair of shoes later we were knowledgeable in all that is 12th century desert trade route forts. Had lunch on a rooftop watching the impromptu circus that was set up on the streets below and drank lemon sodas (India's non-alco G&T). Went back to our hotel to deal with the owner who scammed us on the safari prices, but in true Jusfa styles, we not only got our money back - but a deal on the next guesthouse in Jodhpur. Round 2 - Jusfa:78 India:0
# posted by Laura Davies : 5:17 PM
