One Big Adventure

In the evening we went to an all you can eat Thali restaurant, with very good food. On the way out, the sandstorm from a little earlier had turned into one of the most impressive electrical storms I have ever seen, with heavy rains to match – shame the washing was on the line.

The next morning we started our camel safari in the desert. The camels were fantastic, we even had a little baby one in tow. Our guide was lovely and made us some excellent curries and roti’s from the most basic of equipment on a wood fire.

The evening however was a different story. I started to get some red itchy bumps on my arms and legs which I had first put down to bed bugs at the last place we stayed, but as the evening progressed they started to cover my whole body. After deciding to abandon the safari at about 9pm to get me to a doctor we had to first pack up and head to the nearest village. From there we waited for the safari organizer to pick us up by Jeep and head to the town.

By this time my face had started to swell and I resembled (as Pete told me later) the elephant woman. After having an anit-inflamitory shot in a small, filthy hospital in Jaislamer (the first doctor we went to didnt want to know) we were advised to go to the nearest city if we were to see a good doctor. So the safari organizers drove throughout the night (doing the 6 hour journey in 3 and a half hours) to get us back to Jodhpur.

To cut an already log story short, I had an allergic reaction to an insect bite possibly in the desert or something I had eaten. I am absolutely fine and Pete looked after me well. I was a bit disappointed to have to leave the desert and the safari but I don’t think I will be going back in a hurry!!

Pete Writes: We arrived early in Jaislamer and got picked up by our guest house. In the morning we were at breakfast, when we were approached by one of the owners with regards to camel safari’s. We were promised that we would have a 3 day 2 night safari, and we would be going with another couple from New Zealand. We thought it would be a perfect time to meet new travelers, and share the experience. The couple were apparently ill on the morning of the safari, so they would not be joining us until the evening. We later found out, after meeting another couple in the dessert that they too were promised another couple would be with them on the safari. SCAM.. It winds me up.