A 5-Day Adventure: Into the Desert

From Jaisalmer we began the most-anticipated part of our journey: a camel safari and a night spent in the desert. We drove about an hour outside of Jaisalmer to an establishment in the desert with several huts and a large outdoor eating area. After a chai break, we mounted some camels. Camels are awe-inspiring animals. They’re enormous (a fact you only truly appreciate when you’re sitting on top of one several feet in the air). They’re bony but incredibly strong. And they seem to be perpetually smiling. The camel sits down in order for you to get on the saddle, and then it stands up, an experience I was not prepared for. The man leading my camel said, “lean back” and I said “what?” and then the camel jolted forward and backwards as it came to a standing position. Fortunately, I didn’t fall off.

            We rode the camels into the dunes, where we dismounted and watched the sunset, which was unlike any sunset I’ve ever seen before. The sun was incredibly clear and you could see it dipping down beyond the horizon.

View from the camel

Selfie on the camel

Selfie with the camel

            After sunset we got back on our camels (I was a bit more prepared this time) and rode back to the camp. There we had dinner before gearing up to go back into the desert for the night. The temperature gets down to about 38-45 degrees at night, so we all bundled up. (I wore 3 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, a jacket and an extra blanket.) Then we all got on a camel cart that pulled us out to where we were sleeping. We laid down mats and two extra layers of blankets and then all huddled up together for the night. The sky was extraordinary. At first the moon was very bright, and the stars were pretty, but nothing I hadn’t seen back home. But when I woke up in the middle of the night, the moon was gone and the stars shone out. I didn’t want to go back to sleep because I was just staring at the sky. Makes you appreciate how vast the universe really is.

            The next morning we saw the sunrise, which was once again stunning, and then packed up camp and hopped back on the camel cart. After breakfast we got back in the car and set off for the last stop on our trip, Jodhpur.