I “screwed up” a bit when I came to Rajasthan. I looked things up and decided to come to Jodhpur from Ahmedabad. Jodhpur is one of three or four spots in Rajasthan where many people visit. The other two are Jaisalmer and Jaipur. Jodhpur happens to be between the other two. Jaisalmer is supposed to have quite nice desert scenery and interesting opportunities to experience the desert, including being able to approach the fort on a camel from the desert. However, because I had come to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer was now 6 to 7 hours in the wrong direction. With time a tickin' and my visa running out in about 4 weeks, I just didn't feel I had the time to be heading that way, spending two to three days, and then returning back the way I had come. So I chose instead a closer option to experience the desert. About an hour from Jodhpur was a small town called Osiyan. Situated on the edge of the desert as well, there were numerous places to have a desert experience. One of those options was promoted by the guest house where I was staying, the Sarvar guest house. So I arranged to go to the desert camp for one night. Once again, however, I didn't think to negotiate. They price I was given, although high, was still something I was willing to pay at 2500 rupees or about 50 dollars. So I agreed. And the guy at the guest house who arranged it all asked me to give him about half or 1300 rupees and the rest would be due to the camp. Hmmm... I suspected that meant that he was getting a fair commission out of the deal. If he wasn't, then I would be paying significantly more to the camp.
Oh well. Again, what's done is done and I let it go. But I think I will be leaving harsh feedback for the guest house if I ever get around to it. They have built quite a reputation, but I think they may be using that now to their advantage.
Whatever the case, I headed out to Osiyan for my desert experience. I should have known better I suppose, it being a very touristic option. I initially was thinking that I would be heading out into the sand dunes to some kind of camp in tents. Perhaps there wouldn't even be running water. There wouldn't be anyone for miles around and it would be serene and peaceful and an experience of solitude. Um, no.
I was picked up at the bus station and the guy from the camp took me out there on a motorbike. The camp was situated on the edge of town and the “desert” was like no desert that I have ever seen. Very little open sand, no dunes, lots of trees and scrub bushes. The camp was a permanent settlement with permanent and fairly luxurious tents. They even had running hot water. I suspect they even trucked in the sand for the camp to give it a more authentic look. The tents were placed on hardened mud pads. Although I was okay with the set-up, I was definitely not in a desert safari camp. It was the sanitized version of a desert experience and what a ruler of old probably would have expected to experience (minus the hot water). I was going to live like a maharaja for a day.
I got myself settled in my tent and had some tea. Then it was time for lunch. The meals were incredible, but then for the price, I expected nothing less. It was all I could eat, and I was the only one in the place at the moment and so I had it all to myself. By the time I was finished, I was stuffed.
Afterwards I rested for a short time and then it was time for my camel ride. I was excited by that and was eager to go. Getting on the camel was a test of balance. The camel lay down on the ground and I climbed into the seat. Then the camel got back up. A camel has very long legs. When it gets up, it does so two legs at a time, back first. But because of the long legs for a few seconds the camel's back is what feels like vertical. And I was in the seat trying not to pitch forward off the camel's back. But I managed it and then we were off. Again though, it was different than what I guess I was expecting. I had thought we would head off into the endless dunes for an hour or so, me and whoever else was in the group, and a guide leading us away into searing heat. Um, no.
One of the people working in the camp took the camel's reins and led me away on foot from the camp. We walked towards the town. To be fair it was over sand and a couple of small dunes, but it was definitely not into the endless reaches of sand that one thinks of when one thinks of the desert. And it was certainly not what I have experienced in what I will call real deserts, particularly the ones I visited in China. It was exciting to be riding a camel, but I was disappointed in the “desert experience” I was experiencing. It was built up to be a different animal when it was described.
Nevertheless, it was something that I was enjoying, albeit for different reasons.
When I left on the camel, I was asked if I wanted to go for an hour or two hours. I said two would be great and Terence, the camp manager, told the camel guide to take me out for two, but leave it open to come back sooner if my legs started to feel uncomfortable from the perching on the top of the camel. Only I guess the guide didn't really get that message. I was fine, but we ended up coming back after somewhat less than an hour. Again, a bit of a disappointment. It was even a bit annoying when I realized that there were a bunch of Indians who had arrived and were going to go for camel rides as well. And I supposed they needed the camel I had been riding to have enough to go around. So I sat in front of my tent and grumped to myself for a little bit when suddenly something far more interesting came along to take my attention.
The day before I had been at the Mehrangarh Fort. I was finished with the audio tour and I was walking around the fort walls enjoying the view when I was approached by a group of people with a movie camera. They put earphones on me and let me listen to this song. There was a repeating phrase that was being said in the song and they wanted me to sing it and they would film me as I did. I really didn't understand what was going on and I felt a bit like some kind of trained animal, so I didn't really give it a very good go. And then they got what they wanted and they left.
Now all of a sudden a group of people arrived at the camp and started setting up what seemed to be some kind of filming set. It included setting the Indian flag into the sand in the middle of the compound. I was intrigued. Then I noticed some of the people getting stuff ready. They seemed to be familiar. Suddenly I realized that they were the same bunch that had been filming the day before at the fort. There were more people this time, and they included a couple of people who could speak English.
One was a politician who is doing some kind of anti-corruption campaign. Part of that campaign is the making of a video to the song that I had been asked to sing the day before. (The words were something like Vanday Matra, or something like that.) So I spent the next hour watching them making this video, as the sun went down and the light faded. I had stumbled into yet another unique experience here in the “desert” and got to see another side of India. These unique experiences are getting to be rather commonplace for me.
After they finished it was time for some entertainment. There were some young men who played traditional instruments who live in the camp. They provide entertainment every evening, playing music for the guests of the camp. They come from a small village about 70 kilometers from Osiyan. In addition, because there was a relatively large group of people staying at the camp that night, the camp got a couple of young women, also from that village, to come in from Osiyan where they stay. They do not normally come to provide entertainment, but they do come when there are lots of people staying in the camp. The young men played various traditional instruments, while the young women did some dancing. They played and danced for a couple of hours. It was all very entertaining, which I suppose was the point. I eventually had to concede defeat to the Indian guests, who seemed intent on going long into the night watching the entertainment. I was getting hungry though and had to leave the gathering earlier and go and eat. I did go back to say goodnight to the musicians and dancers after dinner.
On the whole, although I came to recognize the whole staged nature of the “desert experience,” I did have a good time. It was good to pamper myself for a night, and it didn't cost over much. It was just more than I have been used to spending a day while I have been in India. I ate plenty and it was delicious. I slept in a safe and secure tent under the stars on the edge of desert, even if it's not desert that I would recognize as such. It was a good experience, but I wouldn't do it again. Next time I want to experience the desert, I will just go out and hire a camel and a guide and go camping for a week out among the dunes. And since I'm not really one for camping, that's not likely anytime soon.
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