No hurry, no worry, no chicken, no curry
Greetings from Thailand. I am in Chiang Mai now, resting up after neatly stepping off the plane and twisting my ankle in the process. Stupid, stupid Kt. This is how I begin my visit to northern Thailand, by injuring myself with literally my first step off the plane. So going on a trek is on hold for a day or two, just to be safe. Maybe I'll take some Thai cooking lessons while I'm hanging around or something.
Last week I was in Jaisalmer in eastern India. Went on a two day/two night camel safari that was absolutely awesome. I seriously loved, loved, loved it. I had been warned by our guest house operator in Jaipur not to do a safari because camels are horribly uncomfortable and painful. But I decided not to listen and go for it anyway.
Jaisalmer is close to the Pakistani border, a fort rising sharply out of a scrub brush desert that vaguely resembles Utah, sort of. It isn't a rolling sand dune type of desert. The train there from Jaipur took about 14 hours. Luckily, it was reasonably comfortable in the sleeper car and this time, the car was roach and rat-free, thank God! After one night in a guest house in the fort, I loaded up with about 10 other people and we headed off into the desert on camels with several guides walking with us.
Camels are really strange animals. I've never paid much attention to them before. We had a group of male camels and right now, it's mating season, so we had "bubbling" camels. They make this weird bubble noise in their throats and then breathe out toxic breath for a while - I'm guessing it's supposed to attract the ladies, but it had the opposite effect on the riders! They make some horrific noises when they're angry - One of the guides was training a young camel and that little guy was fierce (the camel, not the guide)! He (again, the camel) sounded like a cross between Chewbacca and a really angry lion. The camel and the guide got into a regular tussle every morning and I am still amazed that the guide managed to escape with all of his fingers intact!
Both days followed a standard pattern. Ride for a few hours and then break for about half an hour. Ride for another hour or so, break for tea and lunch and a siesta. Ride for a few more hours and break for a bit. Ride again until reaching camp for the night. Both nights, the guides led us to small patches that were actually sand dunes, so we all had a chance to pretend we were Laurence of Arabia, arriving to the rolling dunes on our camels.
The guides prepared all of the meals and chai of course. I awoke the second morning just before sunrise, peaked my head over the blanket (since it was a bit cold at night), watched the sun rise over the hill, and the next thing I knew, a steaming cup of chai appeared beside me with a smiling "Good Morning" from our guide. Heaven... Then I rolled over and got a prickle stuck in my hand - They were everywhere! Every time we walked around, we would come back and dig prickles (or "pickles" according to the guides) out of our clothes and fingers and feet. So maybe it wasn't quite perfect, but it was still good fun! Overall, a very relaxing two days - Our guide's motto was "No hurry, no worry, no chicken, no curry". Catchy, right?
Riding a camel is similar to a horse. They're a bit bouncier and you're a lot higher in the air. And these camels were just like trail horses... They listened when they wanted to, and the rest of the time, they ignored what we were trying to get them to do. I admit, by the third morning, when we were on our way to the Jeep and civilization and hot showers and such, I was pretty stiff and ready for a break from the bouncing. But I think when I look back on it, I'll forget about the aches and pains and "pickles" and just remember the peace in the desert as we all rode along. And maybe I'll remember the Indian camel guy randomly singing "Take Me Home Country Roads" as we sat around the campfire.... That was good, too. :)
Last week I was in Jaisalmer in eastern India. Went on a two day/two night camel safari that was absolutely awesome. I seriously loved, loved, loved it. I had been warned by our guest house operator in Jaipur not to do a safari because camels are horribly uncomfortable and painful. But I decided not to listen and go for it anyway.
Jaisalmer is close to the Pakistani border, a fort rising sharply out of a scrub brush desert that vaguely resembles Utah, sort of. It isn't a rolling sand dune type of desert. The train there from Jaipur took about 14 hours. Luckily, it was reasonably comfortable in the sleeper car and this time, the car was roach and rat-free, thank God! After one night in a guest house in the fort, I loaded up with about 10 other people and we headed off into the desert on camels with several guides walking with us.
Camels are really strange animals. I've never paid much attention to them before. We had a group of male camels and right now, it's mating season, so we had "bubbling" camels. They make this weird bubble noise in their throats and then breathe out toxic breath for a while - I'm guessing it's supposed to attract the ladies, but it had the opposite effect on the riders! They make some horrific noises when they're angry - One of the guides was training a young camel and that little guy was fierce (the camel, not the guide)! He (again, the camel) sounded like a cross between Chewbacca and a really angry lion. The camel and the guide got into a regular tussle every morning and I am still amazed that the guide managed to escape with all of his fingers intact!
Both days followed a standard pattern. Ride for a few hours and then break for about half an hour. Ride for another hour or so, break for tea and lunch and a siesta. Ride for a few more hours and break for a bit. Ride again until reaching camp for the night. Both nights, the guides led us to small patches that were actually sand dunes, so we all had a chance to pretend we were Laurence of Arabia, arriving to the rolling dunes on our camels.
The guides prepared all of the meals and chai of course. I awoke the second morning just before sunrise, peaked my head over the blanket (since it was a bit cold at night), watched the sun rise over the hill, and the next thing I knew, a steaming cup of chai appeared beside me with a smiling "Good Morning" from our guide. Heaven... Then I rolled over and got a prickle stuck in my hand - They were everywhere! Every time we walked around, we would come back and dig prickles (or "pickles" according to the guides) out of our clothes and fingers and feet. So maybe it wasn't quite perfect, but it was still good fun! Overall, a very relaxing two days - Our guide's motto was "No hurry, no worry, no chicken, no curry". Catchy, right?
Riding a camel is similar to a horse. They're a bit bouncier and you're a lot higher in the air. And these camels were just like trail horses... They listened when they wanted to, and the rest of the time, they ignored what we were trying to get them to do. I admit, by the third morning, when we were on our way to the Jeep and civilization and hot showers and such, I was pretty stiff and ready for a break from the bouncing. But I think when I look back on it, I'll forget about the aches and pains and "pickles" and just remember the peace in the desert as we all rode along. And maybe I'll remember the Indian camel guy randomly singing "Take Me Home Country Roads" as we sat around the campfire.... That was good, too. :)
posted by Kt at
1:34 AM
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