desert trek

After lunch in Jaisalmer it's time to go on an overnight camel trek. This is pretty much compulsory in Jaisalmer, but it was an experience I will always remember.

I admit I never really found out the details of this part of the trip when I signed up, and so it was with some trepidation that I boarded the ageing, smallish Indian jeep with my fellow . Somehow we managed to cram into this rattlebox: me, 2 charming Australian ladies called Choo and Sherlene, 4 gap year Australian lads on the traditional 12 month trip to Europe and Asia, their Indian guide, and the driver, Khan. I was riding shotgun (there were no doors) with the Indian guide between me and Khan and the gear stick between his legs.

30km west of Jasialmer we encountered a group of camels by the roadside with what looked like a band of Afghan tribesmen. Also joined at this point by 2 charming Swedish young ladies on a 5 month all India trip, Mary and Madeleine.

Getting on is the first problem, for me anyway. I have never been that stretchy and getting my leg over needed a bit of help from the tribesmen after I nearly knocked the camel over. The camel suddenly lurched upwards and I remember to lean back as it unfoldsitself, first back legs then front. The worst bit was when it decided to give each leg a vigorous shake - well I suppose even camels get pins and needles.

So our little caravan was off, led by the tribesmen, some of them boys as young as 10. They seemed to like putting me in the lead (order of seniority). We moved through stony ground, with patches of watermelon growing - surpsisingly). Then the dunes appear, real sand dunes, just like Lawrence of Arabia. We get off and frolic in the soft sand for a bit. I pull of my shoes and slide downa sand dune or two. Then off again, until we reach a point where we are told we are going to camp for the night.

Like most of the party I was expecting tents at this point, but no, this is going to be a real back to basics trek. Well want do you expect for 500 rupees?

Dinner is cooked as the sun sets. The camels are hobbled and let loose to graze (later the boys have to find them and bring them back in the dark). It's romantic - the smell of woodsmoke, the quiet, the fading sunlight. By the time we eat our vegetarian curry it's almost pitch dark. The Milky Way appears arcing right across the sky, clearer than I have seen it for years. There's a shooting star or two.

Then our 'beds' are made up. A thin mattress, a pillow and 2 quilts. We bunk down early and for a while I sit listening to the Goldberg Variations and tracing the constellations I remember from when I was a boy. I think, this is why I came on this trip, for experiences like this, and I'm glad I'm here, right now, out in the open, in the desert.

Of course I wake up freezing in the middle of the night. The wind has sprung up and though it's warm if you can keep tucked up, the slightest chink and the heat drains away immediately. Also, my bed steadily fills up with sand so that whenever I turn over it's like rubbing yourself on sandpaper.

But I wouldn't have missed it for the worls, and I'm sure I will remmeebr it clearly for the rest of of my life.

I sleep fitfully; at one point I wake up with something nibbling my little toe - one of the black beetles they have hereabouts is curious - but it's quickly shaken off; at 5am the thin crescent moon rises on its back; then a distant cock crows, though well before I can detect any light; then the sky is perceptibly grey, not black. By the time the sun rises below the moon, the sky is clear blue and seems very bright.

A light breakfast and everyone is subdued. The lads in particular seem to have suffered from the cold, dressed in shorts and tshirts. We head off back, past a very poor village, just reed windbreaks without roofs, where the kids come running up begging for money; and past the tent encampments we could have stayed in if we'd splashed out. I think we all suddenly feel virtuous, having survived a 'real' night in the desert. I'm convinced our experience was much better - seeing the sun set and rise, the stars wheeling overhead as the night progressed, the Milky Way bright and clear so that you could almost imagine you could see the structure of the galaxy right there in front of you. No wonder we once read so much significance into the night sky.

One final surprise. When we get back to the jeep we find an ancient tribesman sitting in having a fag. He looks like he might be Khan's great granddad, wrapped up in his traditional dress and weatherbeaten as an old boot. He needs a lift into town, so we have to squeeze 4 into the front row. We make it (struggling a little up the hills).

A good hot shower, and I take the rest of the day off, just wandering around the town a little. I decide to get my hair cut and drop into the local barber shop, where as dad is out to the lunch I am dealt with by his two apprentice sons. Actually they do a good job, but I really take my life in my hands when I let them loose with the cutthroat for a shave. Topped off with a face and head massage (by dad who has now returned) I feel good and relaxed after the rigours of the night.