Desert Adventures

“Go right; follow Julian. I said right Mr. Laoloo, right.” Mr. Laoloo blinks, scratches his nose and continues to ignore me. He chomps on a tree and chews the twigs. He does this often. He chews almost as much as he farts.  “Mr. Laoloo, we’re behind  and need to catch up. GO RIGHT! Go, come on, you can do it. GO!” Mr. Laoloo continues to chew his twigs. Perhaps he’s deciding the best course of action for us, but I can’t leave it up to him. We’re far behind and Mr. Khan, my guide and camel driver extradonnaire, is telling me to hit him with the rope. “Hit him hard Terri, it’s okay. Give him a little massage with the rope", he says encouragingly.  I hit Mr. Laoloo with the rope. He moves his right rear leg up to scratch his shoulder. I smile. At least he moved. Mr. Khan gives up on me as a camel driver and with a couple clicks of his tongue Mr. Laoloo jerks to life and trots off. Although short-lived, my career as a camel driver was exciting. 

Mr. Laoloo and Papaya, Andrew's camel, with our guides.

Camels are amazing creatures. Come to think of it India has a lot of animals, most mundane than amazing, but they’re not confined to safe and comfortable zones like at home. So interacting with them is interesting and, at times, dangerous, especially on the streets. Besides dodging cars, auto or cycle rickshaws and people, you have to contend with animals.

Having been hit by an autorickshaw and a cow, I can honestly say the cow was scarier. The rickshaw at least attempted to avoid me, but on the narrow streets of Agra it still grazed my arm, shoulder and side. The cow, on the other hand, purposely, and, perhaps with malice, swung its head horn first and jabbed my purse (leather!). The lifesaving  three inch thick copy of Lonely Planet India was the victim of that menace’s horn. Had the book not lied in my purse, unaware of the beating it took, I can only imagine what damage that horn would’ve caused me!

Now, as a general precaution, I dodge dogs, cats, rats, pigs, monkeys, pigeons, and goats. I avoid cows, mules, and horses. Although it’s rare to see them,  I still avoid the working elephants and camels, especially after the incident with the bovine. With a horn in my side, so to speak, it was with some reluctance that I rode on Mr. Laoloo. My reluctance eased once I met him. He was calm, itchy, gassy and, best of all, horn free.

My noble steed: Mr. Laoloo!

 It’s a reasonable assumption that riding a camel will be similar to riding a horse; however, it’s much different. Going up and down on a camel is an interesting experience. To stand up,  the camel uses its front legs, first, left than right. Then, it lifts its hind legs. It is rocky going up and stomach cringing going down. But I got used to it. Although the ride on a camel isn’t as smooth as on a horse, the view is incomparable. From my new nine foot perspective, I saw herds of goats and sheep graze, small deer and mice hide from the sun and acres of scrub land spotted with wind turbines.

The highlight of our Camel Safari was sleeping on the Thali sand dune. We slept underneath the stars and the moon shone so bright that it hardly seemed like night time. The sand peaks looked a brilliant gold in the morning light. 

Thali Sand Dune

During breakfast, Mr. Khan asked us if we wanted a short or long ride that morning. We answered short. He said he knew a short cut and we would ride for an hour and a half. My groin was thanking him for that. The so-called short cut was going the same way but at a gallop. Camels, according to Mr. Khan, can go thirty kilometers per hour. It felt more like sixty as we galloped through the Great Thar desert.

In the land that evokes images of exotic Arabian nights, adventures of Aladdin and fierce Rajput warriors, it was amazing to be riding on the beast that helped people bring all these adventures to life. Camels: magnificent, powerful, and mild mannered creatures. I loved my time with the ship of the desert!