The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
February 6 - Two Dudes In the Desert
There are two ways to do a camel safari in Jaisalmer. You can either go out to Sam Dunes and run the gauntlet of camel jockeys (called "wallas") all trying to talk you into taking a ride on their mounts ... or you can go on a private trip where it is just you and the walla without competing busloads of tourists. Guess which one we chose! The village was about an hour's drive out of town. The good news is that the road was paved. The bad news is that it was barely the width of a car and there was a fair amount of traffic, so we spend half the time driving with two wheels in the dirt. But the people were friendly and once we got the camels watered, it was off into the dunes. Our wallas included a seven-year old boy who seemed to regard the trip as a play experience rather than a job. These two spoke very little English but it wasn't a real problem. What amazed me is that they led us over through the loose sand wearing flip-flops!
OK, so on one hand there is a certain sense of satisfaction in being able to say that you rode a camel. Like sky-diving, it is a true experience. On the other hand, it is the sort of experience where you find yourself wondering, "What was I thinking when I volunteered for THAT?" Blissfully, we took a break after about an hour. The original plan was to stay out there to see the sun set over the dunes -- a romantic notion but not one that was worth spending another hour+ in the saddle. So we declared it done, bounced back into town in the jeep and toasted the sunset with a cold beer from the roof of the hotel!
© 2009 Restaurant Doctor
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