Alternatively, it could be considered the day that some people came down with "Pakistani Paranoia", a medical term that doesn't actually exist, but maybe it should, it seemed real enough.
I was a little surprised at how many people were concerned with going this close to the Pakistani border, I think at one point we were 24 miles from the closest point. I do know we were in a no-fly zone and there was a really huge military presence and at least one check-point to go through, but it's not like we were trying to sneak through a hot area.
(I do have to wonder what the grave-sized hole being dug to the right was....😳😜)
If anything, the military makes me feel safer. And besides, if something was going to happen, a scattered bunch of middle aged folks on camels is hardly going to be the target. Markets, schools, busy streets, train stations, metros etc are the focus. Just look at the news and the recent attacks, and whats more, that all had nothing to do with the issues between India and Pakistan. Theirs is a military-border-territorial problem.
I don't worry about that kind of thing. I worry about falling off a camel.
So everything you hear about getting on a camel is true. I can't believe more people don't tumble right off. You sit on the saddle thing and hang on to the little pommel-knob and it raises its back end up first so you lean waaaaaay back and then it shifts and raises its front end so you lean waaaay the other way. It's really quite nerve-wracking, remember, the thing is super tall, like 18 ft. Ok, maybe not 18 ft, but an average camel is 7.5 ft tall at the hump. Look at the ceiling in the room you're in right now, it's probably 8 ft high. So that's pretty tall.
And they don't walk like a normal creature, left front and right rear and then right front and left rear, which gives a smooth sort of stride, like a horse. No, the obstinate camel moves both left sides together and then both right, so you kind of tip one way and then the other, which would be ok except they also move front to back as they climb the dunes, so you're moving in a 360 degree sort of sway. I did not like riding on a camel.
The smug beast I was on.
I was so happy when we got to the top and were able to get off. You know, it wasn't so much the
fear of the fall that concerned me, after all, I would have landed on sand, it was the introvert in me that was afraid of making a spectacle of myself, but all was well and I survived without incident, although getting off of the creature was almost as awkward and scary as getting on. Whew. Sand between the toes never felt so good!
As we found a good spot to wait for the sun to set, this fellow appeared from behind a dune and played some snake-charmy kind of music, which was kind of cool, made for a good atmosphere.
Also, a hawker-tout appeared like magic selling cold water, beer and soft drinks. They never miss an opportunity to make a rupee, that's for sure. Too bad they wouldn't clean up after themselves, the litter that was all over the place was really disheartening. As we cameled up, there were empty water bottles, beer cans, chip bags, broken glass and other remnants of piggish people all over. It was really sad. I don't understand why it isn't gathered up, I also don't understand why tourists feel like they have the right to leave such trash behind. Although, looking at the amount of beer and liquor bottles left behind, I guess I can see that drinking has something to do with it.
Anyhow, we settled in a waited for the sun to set. It happens really quickly and is well worth the wait.
Once we were back on the bus, a bottle of Old Monk rum magically appeared and a punjabi dance party spontaneously occurred. Who knew 14 people could dance in the narrow aisles of a bus all at once?
1 comment:
Aaaahhhhh. Memories. :)
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