Camel Safari and Jaipur

Very bummed... no photos for the safari because our first memory card has a virus. Luckily the photos are still there and we can view them on our camera so not all is lost.

The day before our safari there was a big Hindu holiday appropriately named "Holi" where people painted each other with bright paints and chalks. The whole of Bikaner was closed down for a day and men got drunk and had massive paint wars in the downtown. We stayed in and around the safer streets of the guesthouse with the women and children who played a much gentler version of "Holi" without the drunken rowdiness. Matt walked outside where a few of the neighbor woman painted his face... pretty harmless compared most others.

We came all the way to India to see a desert? We just left one in AZ...

Just got back from a two day, one night camel safari outside the city of Bikaner in the desert state of Rajasthan. The safari consisted of three camels - one pulling a cart with our supplies and crew, and two riding camels. The other tourist in our group was a 72 year old man from the US who is "backpacking" around India, but we think he is secretly on vacation from the North Pole (wish there were photos because he IS Santa).

We thought we would be seeing massive sand dunes like in Aladdin or Arabian Nights, but the desert around Bikaner was unfortunately similar to the Arizona deserts (minus cacti). We did camp next to a small dune at night and we toured some small farming villages with their surrounding fields and animals. The best part of the trip was riding the camels and watching our guide make meals using a camp stove powered by a twig fire. Sleeping under the stars and full moon was also neat, until we couldn't sleep because of how cold it got.

Now we are in the city of Jaipur, the pink city. Yesterday we shopped in the massive bazaars known for textiles, gems (many shop owners mentioned going to the Tucson gem show!), jewelry, and many other odds and ends. It was madness. Today we hired a tuk tuk for the day ($8) and he drove us all over to the major sites. In the photos above, you will see: the monkey temple where we fed the monkeys peanuts, Amber Fort and palaces.

We stay here for another day and half - tomorrow we will probably go see a Bollywood movie. After, we go to Agra for the Taj Mahal for one night and then to Varanassi. Then on to Nepal! Cannot believe it has almost been one month!