Pepsi, the Flatulent Camel

It was Tuesday. I woke up on the long train ride from Delhi to Jaisalmer and found myself in the midst of the Rajasthani desert. It wasn't too unlike southern Utah except for the occasional herd of camels and the one or two deserted ruins we passed.

I arrived in Jaisalmer and checked into my guest house. My first order of business was to book a camel safari and I decided to book one for that afternoon!

So I had a bit of lunch at the rooftop restaurant of the hotel, I left my big bag at the hotel, and then I set off by jeep with two German guys, Hendrik and Christian, into the desert.

Our first stop was a series of ruins just outside of Jaisalmer. The stonework was amazing...

A few minutes later we turned off the main road and came to a place with several camels and our guides waiting for us...

We greeted the guides and as the jeep sped away we hopped onto our camels and set off deeper into the Great Thar Desert.

My camel's name was "Hero" and he was quite a nice and friendly camel. Very well-mannered. However, in front of me was Pepsi, ridden my Hendrik the German. And Pepsi had some very loud and very smelly gas...

We passed herds of goats and cows and saw one gazelle, though I think Pepsi might have scared it away.

It was fun and hot and surprisingly straining...

After a couple of hours we arrived at some deserted sand dunes... well, almost deserted: there were two Dutch girls and their guides, who had been riding earlier. We dismounted the camels and joined them in the shade on the sand...




The two boys got the camels unloaded...

And the other guides cooked our dinner on the fire...




The temperature was slowly cooling down, but we were still hot and all there was to drink was warm water. Luckily, this guy showed up with a bag full of ice cold soda pop and beer. I bought some soda pop...

I took my shoes off and wandered the dunes a bit. The camels were let free to roam and graze, and dinner was a'cookin...










The sun set over the desert...

The guides did some tricks off of the camels...

And we enjoyed a surprisingly tasty dinner.

They built a small campfire and Delboy, one of the guides, pulled out an empty water jug and started beating it like a drum. He sang several Rajasthani desert songs with great energy and a nice voice. He sang some funny songs as well, including an amusing version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" that turned into "Country Roads," which he didn't actually know the words to, so he just sorted mumbled what the words sounded like. It was really funny...

The boys sang too...

We were exhausted and it was time for bed. The guides laid some grubby mattress-like pads on the sand and gave us each a couple of heavy blankets. I pushed some sand under the pad for my pillow and laid down and watched the amazingly bright stars and moon. The only sounds to be heard were the chirping of crickets and the chomping of the camels on their hay. Every so often I'd get a whiff of Pepsi.

During the night I woke up and the moon had gone. The sky sparkled with billions of stars and the Milky Way, easy to see in the dry air so far from any lights.

The next morning I was up at dawn, and so was Pepsi...

The others were still asleep, including the dog right above my bed...




Sunrise on the dunes was very nice...

We had a small breakfast of toast and jam and biscuits. We ate while the guides loaded up the camels...

We said goodbye to our dunes...

Nate, Delboy, Hero, and Hendrik the German with the turban in back...

Stop looking at my undies...

We had a nice two-hour ride back, that wasn't so hot as before. Pepsi had lost a bit of his fizzle, although he was still trying to walk into bushes to brush Hendrik the German off.

We arrived at the road where the jeep picked us up. We road through the desert again, past some traditional villages with grass roofs...

We stopped at a Jain Temple on the way back to Jaisalmer. The stonework was exquisite...

Back in Jaisalmer I had a nice long shower and sent my laundry off to be cleaned of all the sand. I then went out into the city for a look around. It was hot, but it was also a fun city to explore...

In the center of Jaisalmer is the great fortress, where people still live. I went inside the gates...

Typical street scenes...

The old maharaja's palace, now museum, inside the fort...







Outside the Fortress...



The Hindu festival, Holi, was coming up and so kids in the street were already getting ready. A group of kids gave me some paint on my face. (More about Holi in the next blog)...

Everyone was staring at me and laughing as I made my way back towards my hotel. Many shouted, "Happy Holi!"

That evening I caught a great view of the city and the fort from the sunset point...

The next morning I got up early and walked to the fort to see it in the A.M. light...

The large round stones and the long stones were set upon the walls and used to hurl down at attacking enemies...




The Rajasthani women wear the most vibrant costumes in all of India (in my opinion)...

Inside the fort are a couple of fascinating Jain temples...

With more incredible stonework...

I wandered a bit more through the maze-like alleyways of the fort. Occasionally I would be invited by a local to just sit and have a chat. They were very friendly...

Selling vegetables...

That afternoon, I visited several of the havelis in the town. A haveli is like an old mansion built by a rich family. Again, the amazing Rajasthani carving work was something to gawk at...

I turned down one street and heard the sound of drums and singing. As I approached I saw a group of revelers covered in red paint for Holi. As I approached to get some pictures, one of the men saw me and had this look in his eye. I was sure I was about to get covered in paint...

I started to turn away, but he called and beckoned me over and they all posed for a photo and shouted something in Marwadi...

I escaped, unpainted! (Don't worry, I would get plenty of paint soon enough)...

Wandering through the streets, a lot of kids would come over and ask you to
take their picture...



This girl seemed to know just how to look at the camera...

I walked through the city enjoying the evening light on the sand-like buildings...

That evening I enjoyed a fine evening view from atop Sunset Point again. I had had a great time in Jaisalmer, and the great desert of India...

Pepsi notwithstanding.



View India - Jaisalmer in a larger map

...