Have you been on a camel?
Sometimes you just have to be a tourist. Now most of the popular travel articles are about how to get out of where everyone goes. As much as I enjoy off the beaten path, sometimes it’s fun to walk on the very well beaten path (like what I did in Vietnam).
Camel trekking in Thar Desert of Rajasthan is what most visitors do, and I’m so glad I was one of them. A half day trekking includes dinner on the sand dunes for about 800Rs (12 USD). A lot of tour operators offer an overnight trip as well.
We hopped on the jeep at about 3pm. They drove about an hour to the meeting point with the camels. It was my first time seeing camels this close. They looked so comical! Each of us got on a camel, and headed to the desert. It was a funny feeling, sitting on a camel. We started the journey by letting them drinking water from the lake nearby.
It was quite peaceful. There was no other sound than their footsteps. I had to concentrate on meeting the rhythm of my camel, but other than that, I enjoyed watching the endless desert, and feeling the sun. Desert and glaciers are two of my favourite places in the entire world. Nature is quite phenomenal in so many different ways, but desert and glaciers make me feel like I’m in another world, like Mars or Uranus. The trip got better at the end. While our local guides were cooking dinner for us (with a real fire and everything), the Sun set behind the sand dunes afar. A short while after, the sky started to fill up with countless bright gems. Have you seen the Milky Way? I really we brought a tent, so I could enjoy the view all night.
Awesome shots! I rode one in Morocco once!!
wonderful photos again!!!
I’ve only seen and touched a camel in a zoo. The desert is so beautiful!
Thanks! Camels are so funny… it’s really hard to read their face though. Not like dogs or cats. 🙂
Great shots Juno! I just finished a trip myself in the Gobi of Mongolia. Like Rajasthan, it’s also a photogenic place. Seems like you had a great time and came away with some great shots too!
I’d love to visit the Gobi Desert. It’s a big part of my life as a Korean, since we got hit by the ‘yellow storm’ from Gobi Desert every spring.
yes i did it in Jaisalmer too last year, such an experience 🙂
Seems like Jaisalmer is the popular place to start! We had a great experience too. I thought it would be really hot, but it was much better than I thought.
I would like to try out a camel ride in the desert and see what that’s about. Love your photos of the camels. They’re cute…except for when they spit.
Luckily I didn’t see them spit. I would like to go a longer trekking with them, to go deeper in the desert. It was really beautiful.
Lovely images. I did a 3-day trek in the Thar Desert on a camel. It was a pretty intense experience. I grew to respect the camels, but not to like them. They are bad tempered and apparently have no loyalty: they could work with a driver for years but if he leaves a camel untethered, it will make a run for it.
Never rode a camel before but I am sure I would hop on one the first chance I could. The photos are great but do the camels have sticks through their nose?
That looks like such a good time. I can’t wait to make it to the dryer areas of the world. Especially since I get to ride a camel! =P Great shots also.
I have been camel riding in Morocco before and I was so sore afterwards. It was still an amazing experience and I have absolutely fallen in love with camels. They have such gorgeous eyes!