We stepped out of the car to some welcoming peach/beige colored sand.
“Hello, Thar Desert!”
Beautiful Thar Desert – no filter, I promise!
After a short tour around the camp, we chose our camels. I happen to choose the one with a purple saddle (it’s name is Disco). We began our safari and after a little while, we got to the top of the sand dunes to watch the sunset. Sebastian, of course, was the first to start rolling around in the sand. I did not want to but I got pulled in anyways and it was pretty fun too! We would go to the top of a dune, roll down, climb back up, and do it all over again; now these dunes aren’t like any that I’ve seen – the roll down takes minutes not seconds and it’s a big hike to get back up. After the pretty sunset over the dunes, we all made our way back to camp by camel. In a few minutes we sat in a big semicircle with the other guests in front of a roaring fire for our dinner and entertainment show.
Playing in the dunes!
The dinner was great – Indian Rajasthani food varying from curries and lentils – and the show was fabulous! One of the performers did some amazing tricks with a bicycle wheel. She would spin it round and round on her hand and toss it up. Then she would catch it on her foot. The same performer also balanced about eight pots on her head while dancing. Near the end of the show, the dancers pulled all of us up from our seats to join in the dance; my mom and I had a blast dancing around the fire pit. After the show, we made the decision to sleep under the stars instead of in a hut; oh, and did I say out in the Thar desert on the dunes under the stars? Yep!
At first, I really did not want to sleep under the stars. I didn’t have a reason why; I just did not want to. It might have also been because we were the only ones going there. Why did all the other guests stay back in the huts I wondered? But I had no choice anyways because the rest of the family wanted to sleep under the stars and if you ask me, I would rather sleep with everyone else rather than alone. We took a wagon out to the dunes to find a good spot with our guide; not to close to the huts but just far enough so that the lights do not distract us in our star gazing. Our spot in the dunes was actually a lot nicer than we had all expected. We all got our own beds, yes, frames and all. The beds were actually pretty snug and comfortable and as a result, I had a good night of sleep.
Our sleep spot on the dunes. Pretty nice, eh?
I like to call the stargazing a book. Whenever I cannot sleep, my dad always says to take out a book and read. Most of the time, it works. When we were under the stars, I would fall asleep and wake up. The stars would be my book and cradle me back to sleep like a baby. All the stars are a great reason to make this one of the best nights of my life. At home in Florida, we have different constellations. Most of the time it is really just Venus, the big & little dipper (if your lucky enough to even see stars above the city). But on this desert night, there were no lighting distractions and all the stars you could ever imagine. We got a constellations app (you have to pay, but totally worth it) and we got to see Jupiter, cancer, aquarius, orion and a LOT more!
When we woke up at sunrise, we packed up our stuff, hopped on the camel cart and our guide took us in for some breakfast before we headed back to the city. It turns out we were really close to India’s border and the country of Pakistan – pretty cool except that these two countries are not really close and have jet fighters flying to protect their countries. The more I learn, the more I question why borders are any good since they seem to cause a lot of anger and stress for people. But that’s a story for another day! We loved our time with Disco and her fellow camels, the dancing, and the sleeping under the stars on the dunes of Rajasthan.
Next stop: Jaisalmer — The Golden City!
The nice camel that carried four beds, all the bedding, two adults, and two children, there and back!
A nice rest before the walk back.