Saturday 12: Still in Pushkar, this evening we faced our fear of camels and set off to watch the sunset. The camel has a saddle which can take two people, but we had a camel each. There are basic rope stirrups for your feet, and (generally) the camel "boy" guides the camel. You mount the camel while it is seated on the ground, then hang on tight to ensure you are not launched over its head as it lurches to its feet. Once you're up, it's a great view!
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| Sue and John about to be launched on their camels. My camel's head on the right. |
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| Sue relaxing on her camel |
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| All under way, Kuldeep in the centre. |
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| When we paused at a water trough we became a photographic attraction! |
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| Our camels were dressed in their Sunday best. |
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| Lot's of smiles and waves from people as we passed. |
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| Camels have big feet! |
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| Some of our camels felt like a lie-down when we stopped. |
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| John of Arabia in the Pushkar sunset. |
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| Plodding home through the market traffic. |
We rode to the nominated spot to watch the sun set, where most of us dismounted for a while, then rode back through the market to the place we started from. Riding a camel was pretty easy and reasonably comfortable, once you got the hang of it. You enjoy a high vantage point and you are out of reach of the annoying people trying to sell you stuff. The camels are generally very calm and serene, except perhaps when another camel looks at them the wrong way.
