Wed 16: Today we pressed further west, far from the crowds into the desert close to Pakistan. There is a strong military presence here because of the ongoing tensions between the two countries. India has the BSF (Border Security Force) whose personnel guard the full length of the border. We saw several fighter jets cruise by overhead.
We expected this remote area to be quite empty, but in fact found it is a popular tourist destination for Indians and there are a few big hotels and quite a number of tourist tent settlements out here. Apparently Indians like to get away from it all too.
Our mission was to ride camels into the sandy desert to watch the sun go down. As experienced camel riders this no longer presented a challenge to us.
My camel boy instantly recognised my innate camel-riding talent and handed me the reins. The told me my camel's name was Michael Jackson, and we plodded off after the rest of the party. Linda's was called Bob Marley.
We found a comfy looking dune and settled down to admire the sunset. Kuldeep produced some rum and some coke which was shared around, and on cue four roving musicians wandered up and sat down to entertain us.
The sun went down and it was time to let the camels go home, so we mounted up one last time and set off back. My camel man was in a hurry, or perhaps he decided I was getting too comfortable, because he started trotting and repeating "Michael Jackson" over and over, which had the effect of making my camel break into a bit of a gallop. I worked out how to use my stirrups to avoid jarring my spine and arrived back at the van at speed but with my dignity intact.
(video to come...)
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| An Indian air force fighter patrolling near the border. |
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| We saw a few groups waiting for the wind to lift their paragliders into the air. |
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| Comfortable tents for tourists |
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| Sue prepares to put her camel into first gear. |
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| The trickiest moments are when your camel gets up and sits down. |
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| Ready for action! |
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| Heading into the dunes as the sun goes down. |
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| Sue's camel and camel "boy". |
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| These roaming musicians were great. |
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| Enjoying some drinks and camel music with Kuldeep. |
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| John shows his cobra dance skills, to the great amusement of the locals. |
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| Ms Begg lets her hair down after a bit of rum. |
(video to come...)
