Jaisalmer... Camels gone wild

We are back in the sanitized safety of Australia, but have a few more tales to tell of India as we’ve fallen behind once again. The truth is, India actually got better the longer we were there. You know how you’ve heard (or experienced) that shortly after giving birth you forget all the bad things about the process (an evolutionary tactic made to trick you into doing it all again). India’s like that… only probably a lot less painful. Are we glad we did it? Yup. Would we go back? Definitely!
So we left off on an overnight train to Jaisalmer. The trip was a surprising success (gauged by the fact that we did not get robbed, groped, or infected with scabies). We were whisked off to our hotel in the wall of the fort and wouldn’t discover it’s full glory until the sun cast some light on our spectacular view of “the golden” city. We happened to be in Jaisalmer for the annual Desert Festival which included some traditional dancing, some very obedient camels marching in formation, a turban tying competition (locals and foreigners), and the pinnacle of the festival: the “Mr. Desert Competition”. Visions of a male swimsuit competition were quickly replaced with a whole lot of facial hair twisted into oversized handlebars! That was just day one… unfortunately we missed out on the next two days of events thanks to a nasty G.I. bug and on the upside, an overnight camel safari.
We had a short ride out to the dunes on our camels Calloo and Maya. Unfortunately the nearly steady stream of flatus from their bums didn’t result in any forward propulsion but we did make it just in time to catch the sunset. The group that we met up with had been riding all day and it was apparent by the way they were hobbling over to greet us. We soon discovered that one of the camels in the group wasn’t your ordinary dromedary, she kept making a disgusting burbling noise and bubbling an enormous tongue out the side of her mouth. To see this for yourselves click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2DFJUd1YI8 Our guide assured us that it was actually quite ordinary behaviour she was “just horny”. Suddenly our musical camels didn’t seem so bad. We gathered around the fire for a home cooked meal and some Rajasthani folk songs before bundling up under the starry desert sky and falling asleep to the gentle melody of tongue burbles from the hot-to-trot she-camel nearby. We were grateful to see sunrise after a rather chilly and fitful sleep. After breakfast we were back astride our smelly steeds and before we knew it we were back in Jaisalmer, showered, and ready to see some sights.
We checked out the palace and some of the havelis- ornate sandstone mansions that had been built by wealthy merchants a couple of centuries ago. Jaisalmer’s prosperity came about from its strategic position on the trade routes between India and Asia. The intricate architectural details on many of the houses are vestiges of the wealth that has long since faded away.
The next day we went to visit one of the many Jain temples within the fort. Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world and places a large emphasis on karma. Jains’ strong belief in non-violence carries over to their diet, where they are strict vegetarians, usually vegans, and often even refrain from eating root vegetables because that would mean taking the life of an entire plant. The temples were also very ornate and every square inch was covered in sandstone carving.
Off to the airport for our flight to Udaipur!