"Jains are like Jews, except they like swastikas and we don't."

It turns out that baby goats are like puppies: they're cute, they run around and hop, and they eat anything, including the sweater you have tied around your waist. :) Also, sorry that the picture layout turned out so weird in the last post. It's hard to tell how they'll come out, and I didn't have time to edit.

So, we arrived in Jaisalmer two days ago, after a last-minute train delay -- at the stop before ours (about an hour away), the train in front of us broke down and had to be towed away. This took about two hours, during which we fretted about missing our safari. Luckily, we made it just in time -- we got to the station, were picked up, whisked to the main office to leave our big bags, and immediately loaded into a jeep with 4 other people who had been patiently waiting for us to get there. Phew!

The first part of the safari was actually in the jeep -- we were taken to a small village (with the aforementioned baby goats), a beautiful lake (which was surprising, given that we're in a very desert-y area), and ruins of an old fort/temple/thing. All this was well and good, but we all were ready to get to the camels! At least the group was nice -- Jen from Canada, Tamara from LA (she went to Burningman for the first time last year, too, so we had lots of stories to exchange), and Michelle and Florian from Ireland and Germany, respectively. Everyone was friendly and good to chat with, which was good since we would all be in close contact all day, with no one else (except the camel guides and the somewhat creepy driver and tour operator).

Finally, we arrived at our starting point for the camel trek and were loaded onto camels. I've been on one before, in Israel, but I have forgotten how tall they are! They're also very rocky, which is why they're nicknamed "ships of the desert." What no one tells you is that after you spend 1.5 hours on a camel, you hurt! By the time we got to our camping place, no one really wanted to get back on the camels the next morning. :)

We were camping at gorgeous sand dunes, which were a surprise after most of the trek was in shrubbery and Tucson-like desert. This tour company takes small groups only, and only goes out to these particular dunes, where other groups don't go. This was really nice -- after the hustle and bustle of most of India, it was refreshing to be alone and far away from everyone. We meandered around for a while as dinner was being prepared, watched the sunset, and then all came back to sit around the fire and eat yummy food (which the guides kept trying to get us to eat more of, I guess because they were worried we'd go hungry?). There were so many stars! And then the moon rose, which was also awesome, and we all meandered around some more, since it was actually pretty light with the moon. The only thing that was annoying was that the tour operator and the driver were both hitting on Tamara (she and Jen were the two single women, but Jen had shaved her hair off, which I guess took her out of the running. I don't know). It was annoying for Tamara, and annoying for the rest of us to watch -- it's like, really, people? Shouldn't the employees, at least, not act this way? Tamara said that she and Jen had both been hassled a lot, especially here in Rajasthan. This is one big benefit of traveling as a couple. :)

I don't remember the last time I slept outside without a tent, but that's what we did that night. It was cold, but we had lots of blankets and really didn't feel cold at all. The sand was quite hard, but better than some of the beds we've slept in! I felt like I slept surprisingly well, actually. We both woke up around sunrise and drifted in and out of sleep, watching it. After breakfast and hot chai, we got back on our camels (ouch!), trekked back to the jeep, and were delivered back to Jaisalmer. It was really a nice experience, and nice to connect with some other travelers.

On our return (and after a break in the hotel), we meandered around the fort in Jaisalmer, saw the very grand palace, and ate momos in the Free Tibet restaurant (though they weren't as tasty as the momos in Darjeeling). We also met and chatted with more travelers, Amy from Canada and Christian from Austria. It's been really enjoyable to exchange travel stories with people! We took a bunch of pictures, but I will post them at another time.

Today, we've been meandering some more, and later, we are off to Delhi, for our last city in India!