The happenings of Tuesday February 4, 2025 through Thursday February 6, 2025 travelling between Bikner, India and Jaisalmer, India
From Jaipur we had a two day drive scheduled to reach a desert camp where we were scheduled to have a magical camel ride through the desert at sunset. When I spoke to the tour company, I noted my hesitation because of how the animals might be treated. I scoured the internet for articles on how the camels were treated and found only one stating they didn’t even try because they assumed the treatment was bad based on how elephants were treated. I spoke to a family who had done it themselves and who said they didn’t see anything problematic at the time. In the end, I remained hopeful and decided we would keep it on our schedule.
The first night of our two-day drive we stopped in Bikaner. The hotel had no internet or Wi-Fi, making it difficult for Chaim to work and for the boys to get all of their schoolwork done. After so many hours driving, I took the boys to the roof where there was a patch of fake grass so they could get their energy out. Given the number of cigarette butts we saw on the ground, it was probably a smoking area. There, we exercised and played a variety of games like Mother’s May I, Simon Says, silly races. It was the first time the boys had had a chance to run around in days. Although I was exhausted that night, I found it hard to sleep between the nighttime weddings, barking dogs that went nonstop all night, and shockingly loud pigeons cooing and scratching on the rooftop.
The next day we were back in the car, driving toward the desert camp. To break up the drive, we stopped at Junagarh Fort. Construction of the fort lasted three-hundred years, spanning six maharajas’ rule. The architecture was beautiful with impressive filigree and painting. However, it was the first time we saw carved screened windows on the balcony of the courtyard. The balcony was the viewing area for the maharaja’s wives. The windows were erected as a “sign of friendship” to visiting Muslim rulers because of their religious beliefs. However, another tour guide later in our journey explained that while it was billed as such, it was also done as a way to safeguard their women, who were considered some of the most beautiful, from wandering eyes and potentially jealous enemies. The feminist in me struggled with these windows. I wondered how the women felt. Did they feel the windows protected and cared for them or further objectified them?
Inside the fort we walked through the Cloud Room, a room where the walls are painted with rolling clouds that eventually lead to thunderstorms and rain. Because it never, or rarely, rains in Bikaner, our tour guide for the day told us the room is used to teach children that rain exists in other parts of the country. That was a mind-blowing concept for all of us, especially for me who grew up walking, swimming, and canoeing down flooded streets in Houston as a kid.
By the time we finished our tour of the fort, the boys were losing it. They were tired and HANGRY. Our tour guide tried convincing us to visit the textile artisan shop to learn about camel hair, which is extremely soft, and buy camel hair products. We declined multiple times before he took our no for an answer, visibly disappointed with our decision. We, on the other hand, knew it was time to skedaddle before World War III broke out in our family. We had a six-hour car ride ahead of us and a war in the car is the worst. We stopped for lunch soon after leaving Junagarh Fort. At the rest stop, I challenged the boys to run sprints in the parking lot to help them get their energy out. In the car, the boys journaled, read, played trivia games, worked on creative writing pieces set in India, and had some screen time.
The closer we got to the desert camp, the more camels we saw on the roadside. Okay, not camels. Chaim, who knows the most random trivia, made sure we knew these were dromedaries, NOT camels. But “dromedary” is too long to say, so we called them camels anyway. The closer we got to the not camels the more I noticed the ones without riders had a rope tying a front and back leg together preventing them from being able to run. Then I noticed that the dromedaries had spikes nailed a bit to the side of each nostril. I was beginning to wonder if our magical desert, not camel ride, was a mistake.
We reached the desert camp with very little time before sunset and were rushed to two tents where we would be staying the night. Quickly, we changed into pants to prevent any potential bug related or skin contact related diseases and rushed out to ride the dromedaries. The boys were excited about the adventure. Me, not so much, but I felt like I couldn’t dash their dreams. We paired off, two of us per dromedary: Chaim and Shai, Eitan and Amichai, Matanel and me. Each dromedary was led by an individual ranging in age from somewhere between ten and sixty. My dromedary was led by the ten-year old. A fourth dromedary was tied to the dromedary Matanel and I were riding. Since I was in the back, the dromedary’s mouth was within biting distance of me. I had learned somewhere in my past that camels are known for biting and spitting. I don’t know if that applies to dromedaries, but I spent most of the ride praying it didn’t. This lovely, fourth dromedary looked absolutely resigned to its fate and had no interest in joining the party. It spent the entire ride trying to resist moving as much as our task master would allow.
As we rode to the dunes, a small group of children gathered along the side and began clicking at the animals. I couldn’t tell if it annoyed the dromedaries, but I was beginning to feel annoyed on behalf of the animals. Adding to the lovely ambiance was Eitan’s and Amichai’s dromedary, which was walking right in front of Matanel’s and my dromedary. It continuously pooped and farted for the entire ride, making it hard to breathe!
We reached the dunes moments before sunset, which was indeed beautiful. However, I could not enjoy it. The dunes were littered with dromedary poop. Forget sitting down. It was hard enough walking without fear of stepping in some. Once the sun set, we climbed back on our dromedaries to return home under the stars. I spent most of the ride looking up at the sky. With little light pollution, we were able to see so many stars, including the planets Jupiter, Venus, and Mars which were all aligned and vibrant that night.
When we returned to our campsite we were greeted by women dressed in traditional dance costumes and holding a tray with powder. The boys remembered to decline having a bindi painted on their forehead. I did not. I had been so distracted by all of the hullabaloo as we were entering the gate that I had no idea what I was saying yes to. The boys chastised me reminded me that we do not appropriate other people’s culture. I accepted their rebuke and quickly washed it off.
The boys were desperate for downtime, but we were encouraged to rush to see the musical and dance show (by the very people who greeted us at the gate.) I should have let the boys rest and acknowledge that they were starving. At the time, however, it felt like we would miss a once in a lifetime opportunity. It took another hour for food to be served, and that was just some freshly made chips and black tea with dromedary milk. It did not fill bellies. Eitan was miserable. He felt sick and kept growling “Foooooooooooooooood” while looking at me as if he was dying of starvation. To his credit, he worked incredibly hard to control his inner gremlin.
We sat in a round with five male musicians and two female dancers on a dais. The dancers looked like a mother/daughter team. The elder woman was likely in her early forties while the younger appeared to be in her late teens. Although the younger woman did many of the flexibility tricks, the elder woman was far more confident and comfortable in her own body. She did incredible tricks such as balancing fire pots on her head while dancing on a nailbed, demonstrating her excellent balance and strength. The boys were very impressed with both dancers. The show ended with a giant dance party with the dancers leading everyone in traditional moves. All of the boys, even Eitan, danced their tushies off.
Afterward, Eitan was still hungry and in desperate need of food. Chaim gave him our last can of tuna, which helped. However, he threw it out inside the tent, which was a mistake. Barely a few minutes later a cat snuck into the tent to raid the trashcan. Oops.
The next morning we opted for the later jeep ride through the dunes instead of trying to catch the sunrise. A wise choice given how miserable Eitan was feeling and the late night we’d had the night before. After coaxing Eitan out of bed, we left for the dune ride. Everyone loved it, except for Eitan. He remained miserable. I don’t blame him. With all of the jostling and potential for flying out of the open jeep, I can’t imagine doing it while feeling unwell. In fact, we hit a big bump at one point causing me to almost fly out. Thankfully, Chaim caught me before I did, but I injured Eitan in the process. The poor kid couldn’t catch a break.
After a short ride through the dunes doing spiral eights, the boys were invited to play in the sand while the driver took staged photos of Chaim and me on the jeep. Hilariously, the boys pretended they were in Star Wars, with one of them as C-3PO walking through Tatooine. They had a great time and were reluctant to return to the campsite. I learned that I never need to go on another dune ride again. At least not in the back of an open jeep. Back at the campsite we packed up our belongings and drove an hour to nearby Jaisalmer.
In Jaisalmer, we stayed in a Haveli – a 20th century mansion that had been converted into a hotel. It was far outside of our budget and completely unnecessary, but it was interesting to see the layout. The hallways and stairwells are incredibly narrow. So much is done to keep the light and heat from the desert out that the rooms, hallways, and stairwells are extraordinarily dark. Weirdly, the locks on the doors were bolted locks on both sides of the door, meaning that we could be locked inside our rooms with no ability to leave. It was very strange.
Exhausted from our previous travels and recovering from whatever virus the boys were passing around to one another, we opted to stay in and get some schoolwork done. In one of my better parenting moments, the older brothers each teamed up with a younger brother to work on multiplication facts and create a song to help them remember. They all got into it and had so much fun rapping. Later that night, we noticed a wedding party causing a traffic jam on the streets below. All of the partygoers were following a music truck while dancing in the streets, throwing money in the air, shooting confetti, and setting off fireworks. Although the wedding settled down by the time we were going to sleep, the dogs barking and fighting in the streets all night long made it hard to fall asleep.
No matter. This is just another day in India!
