Camel Crazy!!

Papou and Laloo were our two sturdy steeds as we ventured into the desert.....

The Rajasthani desert is not the miles and miles of undulating golden sand dunes you might imagine but endless parched scrub, beautiful though in its vastness. That people here manage to eek out a living is quite amazing.

These pics are not out of focus but there was a sandstorm building up. We, well our camels and their owners, climbed to the top of one of the monstrous sand dunes and then we waited for the sunset.

Sunset however was not forthcoming but thunder, lightening and winds were!

So after a brief photo shoot we wound our way back to base camp.

The camel owners seemed fairly unconcerned but being aboard camel, the highest point in  range, the lightening getting closer, the sand swirling and the rain drops plopping, there was a definite element of excitement.

However we safely made it back to base camp, to our luxury tent, complete with bathroom, fan and real beds! We did not get the best nights sleep, on top of the ongoing desert storm there was loud, loud music most of the night. Apparently someone in a nearby village had died and the music was to help him on his way to heaven or wherever. Either his final destination was a long way off or he needed a lot of energy to propel him forth! Exuberant, noisy, wild India!