Camels and Dunes

A few of our Camels resting after the walk
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On the edge of the Great Thar Desert in Western Rajastan lies the romantic town of Jaisalmer. The town grew strongly during the 12th century due to its position on the camel trade routes between India and Central Asia. The boom time left behind a beautiful fort with intricately carved Mansions (termed Havelis), and temples.

Built out of sandstone from the surrounding area, the entire town glows with the golden hues of the desert. Walking the cobblestone paths through the Fort, exploring the Jain tempes, and dodging cows and jeeps, we couldn't help but feel we were on the set of an Indiana Jones movie.

awww!!
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Throught the fort's main gate lined with vendors selling mirror-work tapestries, camel leather hats, and ice-cold water, past the central chowk filled with cows, dogs, waste and garbage, we found our way to the Jain Temple complex. India is home to many religions, some of the better known being Buddhims and Hinduism. The main decree of the lesser known Jain religion is purity of the soul and a code of nonviolence. There are a number of rules stemming from this, for example vegetarianism. One of their more fascinating habits is wearing a mask so that they don't accidentally suck in and, by effect, kill insects.

View from camel back
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The complex of 7 Jain Temples within the fort were beautifully carved, blessedly cool, and interesting to explore. The carvings of Hindu gods, not an element of Jain religion, are found throughout the temples. They were included to appease the local Maharaja who wanted his religion to be represented.

Not so long ago, the entertainment of the area wasn't beamed in from Bollywood, but was put on by the locals in the form of plays, dance, and puppetry. Outside of the fort, near to the Gadsisar Lake, one man is doing his best to preserve this history of Jaisalmer and the desert people of Rajastan. Aaron and I got our lesson about Desert life at the 'Desert Culture Museum' where the owner walked and talked us thorugh his collection. The exhibits ranged from petrified wood and geological history, to musical instruments, turbans, and photographs of the man who made the Guiness Book of Records for the longest moustache in the world.

Girls dancing in a desert village.
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All of the items on display, all of the historical, geological, and cultural research, and all of the well written English translations were the result, incredibly, of this one man's vision and efforts. I found the Museum and owner quite touching. Perhaps because I felt as if we were exploring his attic and he was reliving his past, 'Oh look! There I am in the annual desert play!'

The grand finale of our tour was a puppet show complete with live music. The 45 minute performance was put on just for Aaron&I, their only two visitors of the day! All in all, an educational and entertaining evening.

hmmm - and yet "The Richard Gere kiss" was a scandal?
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We ended our night at a local restaurant where we were treated to one of nature's great performances - a sandstorm! We watched the cloud of sand blow in over the fort and towards us on the rooftop restaurant. Luckily, this happens frequently and the restaurant had a sheltered area, as well as many candles which had to be lit when the power of the town was blown out by the wind.

Prepped with knowledge from the Desert Museum, we were energized to spend the next day in the desert with a sunset on the dunes. We bargained Sobu, our guide to be, down to a reasonable rate of 350 Rupes each for a jeep ride through the desert, a few village stops, and a camel ride to the dunes. We had no idea what a great rate we had until we discovered that the other two girls on our trip had paid 1000Rs each for the same deal! Bargaining is the basis of literally all business transactions in Asia, and I was so proud to see how far we had come since first setting foot in Thailand months ago - Go Us!

Walking around town
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Stopping at our first village, our jeep was immediately surrounded by a throng of brightly dressed singing and clapping girls. The children excitedly tugged and pulled us towards their homes where we tried to capture their lives as best we could. As in the rest of India, the kids were camera hogs and loved to jump in front of every picture we took, an event usually followed by the request for money.

After some time, Sobu lead us over to a nearby hut made of cow dung, sand, and water. The hut was surprisingly cool and odor free. We rested in the shade and enjoyed some freshly boiledChai.

A "Guide" at one of the Jain Temples
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Leaving the village we drove through the desert stopping at a grove of trees, under which rested 4 camels - our new rides! The experience of walking the desert on camel back is not one I will easily forget. To the left and right scrubland rolled away to the horizon, and like a mirage in front of us, were the Sahara Dunes. Along the way we saw camels, cows, sheep, and goats grazing on the sparse vegetation. We also spotted desert foxes chasing each other up hills, and gazelles bounding through the grasses. We reached the dunes and hopped off our camels, free to explore until sunset. Running around, we raced each other up to the tops of the dunes and leapt off to the sands below.

The stars of the puppet stage
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After sunset, we climbed back into our open air jeep for the drive back. With the desert air breathing on my skin, and the sound of Indian music bouncing around the jeep, I watched the desert landscape with its flat scrub and spaced trees and felt completely immersed in the atmosphere of the moment. It was beautiful.