Hi everyone,
Our next stop was Jaisalmer, a desert town that’s only a stones throw from Pakistan (if you can throw a stone 150km). We hooked up with Raj, Babu, Mr Lucky, Bonny and Moomal and headed into the desert to ride camels, sleep under the stars, ruin the perfectly formed sand dunes and generally discover our inner nomads.
The desert was stunning, vast, mono-chromatic, really quite alien, and so, so isolated. The beauty of the stars and sand dunes blew my mind, the camels were hilariously stubborn and vocal (“moo-OOOO-ughhhh-eeeeeeeeerrrrrr”), the mid-day heat was debilitating and the stories and songs passed on by our guides were very moving. I was fascinated by what life is like for the people living in the remote desert villages – I can definitely understand why the desert communities indulge in the mind altering evils that decent Indian folk abstain from: alcohol, marijuana and opium!
Once the novelty of being in the desert wore off we started making up desert haiku’s to pass the time - I thought that Dan's one was pretty good (and accurate!):
Butt is f***ing sore.
Bonny responds to me now -
Don’t canter Bonny!
Introducing our faithful companions Raj & Babu...
My trusty steed Bonny...
The ever vocal Moomal, and Soph's camel... Mr Lucky the obstinate.
Soph destroying dunes & setting up for first night under the stars.
Getting ready on day two - total cover essential for us whiteys
Bonny's favourite snack, dry spiky tree. Throwing stones at poisonous lizards, what else is there to do in the desert?
Well earned rest for Moomal, Bonny & Mr Lucky
The next day we visited a traditional desert town, the locals were friendly & curious. Was nice to see such a simple way of life.
After three days and two nights we returned to Jaisalmer feeling 100% sure that we were not desert dwellers in a past life (based on the extent of our muscle aches and our stomach’s objections to desert food), but also enriched for the experience and with new appreciation for the presence of other people and the conveniences of modern life (showers in particular). Recovering in Jaisalmer was a pleasure - it is a gorgeous golden town with many interesting ruins, sustainable power sources, Jain temples, an entire village that was abandoned overnight after an emperor demanded certain privileges from the womenfolk, and best of all, a living fort that looks like a giant sandcastle.
A street inside the fort, and below some old cenotaphs out of town and some spicy carvings from the Jain temple in the fort... the stone gets coloured by the oils on peoples hands, so it's not too hard to see where the main points of interest are...
The modern version of a magic carpet?
Our next stop was Jaisalmer, a desert town that’s only a stones throw from Pakistan (if you can throw a stone 150km). We hooked up with Raj, Babu, Mr Lucky, Bonny and Moomal and headed into the desert to ride camels, sleep under the stars, ruin the perfectly formed sand dunes and generally discover our inner nomads.
The desert was stunning, vast, mono-chromatic, really quite alien, and so, so isolated. The beauty of the stars and sand dunes blew my mind, the camels were hilariously stubborn and vocal (“moo-OOOO-ughhhh-eeeeeeeeerrrrrr”), the mid-day heat was debilitating and the stories and songs passed on by our guides were very moving. I was fascinated by what life is like for the people living in the remote desert villages – I can definitely understand why the desert communities indulge in the mind altering evils that decent Indian folk abstain from: alcohol, marijuana and opium!
Once the novelty of being in the desert wore off we started making up desert haiku’s to pass the time - I thought that Dan's one was pretty good (and accurate!):
Butt is f***ing sore.
Bonny responds to me now -
Don’t canter Bonny!
Introducing our faithful companions Raj & Babu...
My trusty steed Bonny...
The ever vocal Moomal, and Soph's camel... Mr Lucky the obstinate.
Soph destroying dunes & setting up for first night under the stars.
Getting ready on day two - total cover essential for us whiteys
Bonny's favourite snack, dry spiky tree. Throwing stones at poisonous lizards, what else is there to do in the desert?
Well earned rest for Moomal, Bonny & Mr Lucky
The next day we visited a traditional desert town, the locals were friendly & curious. Was nice to see such a simple way of life.
After three days and two nights we returned to Jaisalmer feeling 100% sure that we were not desert dwellers in a past life (based on the extent of our muscle aches and our stomach’s objections to desert food), but also enriched for the experience and with new appreciation for the presence of other people and the conveniences of modern life (showers in particular). Recovering in Jaisalmer was a pleasure - it is a gorgeous golden town with many interesting ruins, sustainable power sources, Jain temples, an entire village that was abandoned overnight after an emperor demanded certain privileges from the womenfolk, and best of all, a living fort that looks like a giant sandcastle.
A street inside the fort, and below some old cenotaphs out of town and some spicy carvings from the Jain temple in the fort... the stone gets coloured by the oils on peoples hands, so it's not too hard to see where the main points of interest are...
The modern version of a magic carpet?
Can't beat a hot shower. I'm with you about desert life. Mum
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