Desert Oasis

We arrived in Jaisalmer on February 18th to a miniscule airport in the desert. Our hotel was an ancient, labyrinthine building and our room admired the timeworn fort perched on a narrow plateau. The furry-eared receptionist informed us that it was the week of the Desert Festival and the events were free and open to everyone, featuring such events as a turban-tying race, moustache competition and camel polo. The atmosphere of the town was relaxed and rhythmic with a feel of pervasive history.

As we explored the town the first evening, we saw traditionally-dressed men with their heads wrapped in turbans or scarves and women with traditional jewelry and nose rings. As we walked, bulls wandered through the streets and vendors were selling food and fabric. After wandering for a bit, we had lunch at a haveli (a northern Indian or Pakistani private residence, which in Jaisalmer are mostly stone with incredible ornate carvings on the outside) on a veranda which looked like something from Indiana Jones. Then we arranged an overnight camel safari before finding the best chai(delicious tea) and thalis (set meals sampling several dishes served with bread and rice) in town.

The following day was Matt's 24th birthday, so we both slept in late. After running several errands, we tried and failed to see part of the Festival, then had a moto-rickshaw drive us around to several famous havelis and up into the historic fort. We ambled for a bit through ancient alleys and accidentally beautiful sights (kids playing cricket in front of a temple, brightly painted front doors set in timeworn stone walls, and dozens of shops displaying bright jewelry and fabrics). Then Matt had a chance to talk to his girlfriend before dinner and festival fireworks.

The next day, we were up early and packed, heading to the Dedansar Stadium (a large expanse of sand with a wall on two sides, a hill on another, and several tents set up with chairs to watch the events) for several festival events. There were a few thousand people attending the festival, ranging from desert nomads to VIPs from all over India and world tourists scattered throughout. People were sitting under tents, buying snacks, listening to bands practice, hiding from the scorching desert sun, admiring the beautifully-decorated camels, and strolling the grounds. Eventually, the program began and we saw wrestling competitions, camel decorating contests, camel polo (Matt's favorite, especially after we narrowly missed elephant polo in Nepal) and a camel race (my favorite). The camel race did NOT consist of men on camels racing from point A to point B. Rather, it began with several men standing behind a line in their underwear. When the starting gun fired, the men ran 10 yards to their dhotis (wrap pants) and shirts, and rushed to get dressed, then they ran another ten yards to a cloth which they tied into a turban, next they had to run to saddle pads and carry them to their camel, then run back and grab the saddle itself and carry that to the camel. The man who got dressed, saddled up, and up on his camel first was the winner. To see a video of this thrilling race, please click here.

After a bit of the festival, we headed back to town, hopped in our arranged Jeep and headed out to meet our camels in the desert. We arrived in the middle of nowhere to a small hut where two men and a boy were sitting in the shade. The boy came right up and introduced himself, saying he would be our camel safari guide. I giggled and humored him, only to find out five minutes later that he was he was our guide and the only one who spoke English. Hussein and our elderly camel-tender, Metan, had us (after the all-important glass of chai) hook our bags to the saddles and climb onto our camels (mine was named Jodah) who then groaned and stood up jerkily. The next few hours were spent bumping along in the saddle, wrapped up from the sun, through villages and scrubby flatlands, and eventually into dunes.

When we reached the prescribed location, we all dismounted our camels and Metan and Hussein set up camp while Matt and I explored the dunes as the sun set. We spent the next several hours chatting with Hussein, drinking chai, running around the dunes, and singing to each other around a campfire in the sand. It was a beautiful evening and a wonderful sleep under the stars.

The following morning, we had breakfast, brushed our teeth and talked to the camels before travelling again (to see the groggy wake-up video, please click here). We were plodding along for a few hours before we came to a small village where Hussein had us dismount and enter the compound. We met a dozen kids and several adults, all in traditional garb. The ladies did not want to be photographed, but they wore quarter-sized nose piercings, and large, silver jewelry, and they dressed in colorful saris. I am certain that - besides more advanced wells and portable cooking gas tanks - they live the same way as their great-grandparents, gathering animal dung and brush for fires and raising goats for milk, meat, and money. After a lovely visit and some chai, we headed back out on the camels, eventually arriving at the Sam sand dunes. At the dunes, we bid a find farewell to Hussein, Metan and our camels and struck out to find the focus of the final day's festival events.

There was a period of over an hour, as we waited with the crowds, when the camel races were postponed due to blowing sand. At last, the wind calmed and we saw several groups of camels race each other over a quarter mile. The onlookers were concentrated around the finish line, and at the finish of every race, many had to run for safety to avoid being trampled by the speeding camels whose momentum refused to allow them to stop. We spent time with the crowd in the dunes and watched the concluding ceremonies under the light of the full moon before heading back to town in the Jeep.

The next morning in Jaisalmer, we were up early to make the most of our last hours in the lovely town. Matt and I headed up to the fort together but then split up to indulge our individual agendas. I wandered through the alley shops, testing the local vendors to find a bedspread at the right price (if you've been reading, you're aware of my unaccountable sadness when I was unable to purchase a bedspread of tribal cloth in Thailand). The state of Rajasthan is famous for its beautiful fabrics, with contrasting patterns patched together, complemented by embroidery and sewn-on mirrors. Eventually, I found the perfect one and forked over the cash before running around to see the Jain Temples, then meeting up with Matt, grabbing a moto-rickshaw and flying to Jodhpur, then Delhi. In Delhi, we took an overnight train and were delighted to share our cabin with a mother and her five-year-old, both of whom spoke English. We talked for hours with the mom and played with the little one until it was time to sleep. When we woke up, we were in Bombay.

The pictures in this post are: sunset camels in the dunes, a winding alley and shops inside the fort, boys dressed up to perform for the Desert Festival, my boy Jodah, me and the group trudging through the desert, a windswept dune, the sun setting, the post-sunset colors over the dunes, me and Jodah under the moon (depending on your display, you might not be able to catch this one), beautiful children, myself (looking like a dork) with Metan & Hussein and the camels, Desert Festival crowd (please open this picture and have a look at the crowd stretching up onto the dunes) , and my new prized possession.