Hump day
I think we were up a little earlier than most of Jaisalmer on New Year's Day, but our room was one of those where if it is light outside, it's light inside. I breakfasted on a "safe" meal of banana and porridge, which was made to my preferred consistency albeit without honey.
I think we were up a little earlier than most of Jaisalmer on New Year's Day, but our room was one of those where if it is light outside, it's light inside. I breakfasted on a "safe" meal of banana and porridge, which was made to my preferred consistency albeit without honey.
The sleeping town gave a good chance to wander the Fort in peace, exploring the little shops and stalls along the way. I purchased a couple of fabric items, the first real souvenirs of the trip so far, and generally cheaper than the price of entry into a temple. I also bought a couple of things for the camel safari in the afternoon, including some "Ray-Bans" for a bargain £3, and a thin scarf.
Knowing we needed lunch pre-camel, we returned to the place we'd eaten at on New Year's Eve (not very imaginative I know, but woodfired pizza seems a fairly sterile way of eating) for some food, before heading back to our hotel. Here, another couple were waiting and we were soon packed off into a jeep to drive towards the dunes. Jaisalmer itself isn't as close to sandy dunes as I had expected - I was imagining it rising straight out of the desert, but whilst the vegetation has a very dry quality about it, it's not exactly duney. Based on the amount of dust already suspended in the town however, this is probably a good thing.
The jeep ride, on the flip side, was certainly not a good thing. The roads were well survived but highly undulating, in the stomach-flipping type way (at 100km/h anyway). I've been on roller-coaster that have had less of an impact on me, and at least on a roller-coaster you can face forwards with adequate headroom rather than sideways, with no seat belt, bars on the ceiling and a swirl of dust entering from the back. Having felt better all morning by the time we reached the camels I was feeling signicianctly worse for wear!
There wasn't really another option than to hop straight on however, so this is what I did. Once mounted, I was glad of my scarf covering my head and face in the lingering 3pm heat. My camel, Johnny, had a friendly look about him, and gave me a relatively smooth ride (which felt anything but on a dodgy stomach). The motion reminded me a little of a smaller version of the elephant's walk, with some fast forwarding even on the smallest of downhills! I struggled a bit with keeping myself upright on the stirrup-free saddle, with core and stomach working again each other. The view was incredible, with ever changing vegetation and surroundings, and no one other than our five camels in site.
Finally, one and a half hours later, we reached our camp. We had gone uphill right at the end onto a big dune, offering a panoramic view of the imminent sunset. Relieved to finally have a seat that did not move, I sat down and enjoyed the striking colours of the sunset, with a full moon rising behind me. The peaceful setting was a welcome stark contrast to the buzzing cities we have so far frequented.
With the sun gone, the temperature dropped rapidly and we huddled around the fire for a thali dinner which I did my best to eat, as it was very tasty. The other couple, VJ and Aruncha (unsure of spelling!) were interesting to talk to, and time passed quickly before bed. The camels themselves were happily grazing nearby, whilst we lay down to sleep, glad of the very thick blankets, in the bright moonlight.
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