The time we reached Jaisalmer fort, it was looking as strange to us as must be to foreigners. It was bright yellow colour everywhere, the temples, the houses even the water tanks. 5000 families’ lives inside the fort since ages and it’s a lively fort compared to the others in India which are nothing but hotels or museums.
The day went exploring the streets inside the fort, museum and the room for the night stay. Desert festival was going on and the folk songs and dance in the Poonam singh stadium gave the glimpse of what is going to happen in the Sam sand dunes on the last day of the festival.
Next day, we booked the camel safari. There were 8 people in the group, Me and Pasha (Delhi), Camilla and Jenifer (Austria), Wahid and Emma (Sweden) and two girls from UK. We started at 8:30 am, reached some place, 40 km from Jaisalmer on the way to Khuri by jeep. Few guys were waiting for us with their camels, quilts and food. So without wasting time we got on to our camels, it was a bit difficult in the start but as the time passed, it was nothing but all fun.
Guides with us were all multi functional; they were the guides, cook and singers too. During lunch time, as it was getting hot, we took a break for about two hours when those guys cooked for us. Me and Pasha helped them in cleaning the vegetables and cutting them into pieces too. Jennifer helped in making the chapaties. Others took a nap, it was like a family. We reached sand dunes by evening. First experience of being near the dunes was amazing. Sand was shining like a gold and inviting us to travel across, sit on to see the sunset, cool the beer in the sand when it gets cold, take rest on it looking at the stars and praying that no snakes would come out from near by bushes. Camels were chewing all night and they sounded like someone is coming near you. It was all windy in the wee hours, so one needed sleeping bag and a quilt.
So once the sun sets in, we started with the drinks and dinner. Guides turned into singers now and sung few folk songs for us. They are the smart people, never been to school but know how to impress a foreigner. One of the song they played on the tunes of `I am a Barbie girl`.. was `I am a camel man, in the bloody sand…its fantastic` ha ha. It was nice.
It was nice to see the sunrise too, seeing the changing colour of the sand. Guides woke up late and they covered the distance in hurry. So it was fun to be on running camel but with gritting teeth.
In the evening, we headed towards Sam sand dunes. There were folk songs and dances on the dunes in the full moonlight. Ghazi Khan Barana, the famous and internationally renowned musician played some really good folk songs. It was good to hear the instruments, one such was `Khadtal`, it was really astonishing. Kalbelia, ghoomar and few other folk songs were quite good.
Tip: Do not miss a camel safari, I would recommend one and a half day one. It’s a tourist friendly state, so no risk even if you are alone. Other includes visiting fort, haweli etc. It’s a small place, so you can cover most of it on foot.
The day went exploring the streets inside the fort, museum and the room for the night stay. Desert festival was going on and the folk songs and dance in the Poonam singh stadium gave the glimpse of what is going to happen in the Sam sand dunes on the last day of the festival.
Next day, we booked the camel safari. There were 8 people in the group, Me and Pasha (Delhi), Camilla and Jenifer (Austria), Wahid and Emma (Sweden) and two girls from UK. We started at 8:30 am, reached some place, 40 km from Jaisalmer on the way to Khuri by jeep. Few guys were waiting for us with their camels, quilts and food. So without wasting time we got on to our camels, it was a bit difficult in the start but as the time passed, it was nothing but all fun.
Guides with us were all multi functional; they were the guides, cook and singers too. During lunch time, as it was getting hot, we took a break for about two hours when those guys cooked for us. Me and Pasha helped them in cleaning the vegetables and cutting them into pieces too. Jennifer helped in making the chapaties. Others took a nap, it was like a family. We reached sand dunes by evening. First experience of being near the dunes was amazing. Sand was shining like a gold and inviting us to travel across, sit on to see the sunset, cool the beer in the sand when it gets cold, take rest on it looking at the stars and praying that no snakes would come out from near by bushes. Camels were chewing all night and they sounded like someone is coming near you. It was all windy in the wee hours, so one needed sleeping bag and a quilt.
So once the sun sets in, we started with the drinks and dinner. Guides turned into singers now and sung few folk songs for us. They are the smart people, never been to school but know how to impress a foreigner. One of the song they played on the tunes of `I am a Barbie girl`.. was `I am a camel man, in the bloody sand…its fantastic` ha ha. It was nice.
It was nice to see the sunrise too, seeing the changing colour of the sand. Guides woke up late and they covered the distance in hurry. So it was fun to be on running camel but with gritting teeth.
In the evening, we headed towards Sam sand dunes. There were folk songs and dances on the dunes in the full moonlight. Ghazi Khan Barana, the famous and internationally renowned musician played some really good folk songs. It was good to hear the instruments, one such was `Khadtal`, it was really astonishing. Kalbelia, ghoomar and few other folk songs were quite good.
Tip: Do not miss a camel safari, I would recommend one and a half day one. It’s a tourist friendly state, so no risk even if you are alone. Other includes visiting fort, haweli etc. It’s a small place, so you can cover most of it on foot.
1 comment:
wow....thts sounds pretty cool place!
i liked the song "i m camel...." lol
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