HUMP DAY

Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India



We left our comfortable Udaipur hotel early, at 5am, (last Wednesday) to reach the bus station where we would catch our ride to Jodhpur, the blue city . We boarded a luxurious bus (complete with A/C!) for a speedy 5 hour journey. Arrival in Jodhpur found us once again haggling with the auto rickshaw drivers to take us to our quaint guest house, tucked in an alleyway that took some serious squeezing to get through. 

We didn't have as much time as we would have liked to explore Jodhpur, as the first afternoon was spent on a trip to the post office by half the group, and a journey to the Golden Arches of McDonalds for the other half.

The next day, before heading back to the bus station to travel to Jaisalmer, we checked out Jodhpur's main attraction, the Mehrangarh fort. Heather gave us a brief history lesson on the fort, before setting us free to explore the massive area.

We then headed back to the hotel to pack and say goodbye to our beloved leader Nate, who, after being diagnosed with Dengue fever, had to stay behind at the Jodhpur hospital, and did not get to participate in the camel safari with us . (Nate is now fine, and fully recovered, and back with the team.)

Travel to Jaisalmer was not as comfortable as our journey from Udaipur had been. The local bus we boarded, and rode for 7 hours to Jaisalmer, had no ropes to tie our bags to the roof, and no space in the overhead compartments, so we struggled to fit us and all our luggage onto the bus. We were more than happy to arrive in Jaisalmer, where our cheerful camel guides were waiting to take us to our guest house. After a day to explore the desert city, we had another early start when we piled into jeeps bound for the Thar Desert. 

After a desert sunrise breakfast, the guides saddled up the camels, and the arguments started over who got to ride what camel (the favorites being Tango Charlie and Johnny Walker). After mounting our camels, we learned that they are much larger than they seem from a distance, and we slowly headed off for our first ride. 

We began what became our routine for the next 3 days, starting with a two hour ride after our early breakfast . We would stop during the hottest part of the day for a long lunch made by our guides, under shade while the camels grazed, followed by 2 or 3 more hours of riding until we reached our camping destination. We were treated to desert dinner on sand dunes, and slept under the stars every night. 

The first night of the safari did not pass without adventure. During a cultural program (local music and dancing performed by 4 desert villagers), one of the guides lit a fire so we could see the dancing more clearly. This proved to be a large mistake after Sofia and Colin both found themselves in agony from a pinching feeling they both had in their foot. It wasn't long until one of the guides found the culprit scurrying away in the sand - a small translucent scorpion. Though this specific type of scorpion was not poisonous, Heather still took them both to the hospital as a precaution, leaving the rest of the group in the middle of the desert with our guides. Luckily our guides were still smiling as they set up a ground tarp to keep scorpions out, and even tucked some of us in. 

The rest of the safari passed without further incident, aside from a new member joining our safari squad, a solo Canadian traveler named Norris, who we all got along with very well. We ended our camel safari with sore butts and tanned skin, and after saying goodbye to our camels, we headed back to Jaisalmer to enjoy one more day off shopping and educational experiences. 

We said goodbye to our safari guides at the train station, where we boarded a 17 hour overnight train to Delhi, the capital city of India. 

Emily and Katie






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