Yes, my husband and I spent 4 days riding camels in the Rajasthan desert with two wonderful young guides. I loved it! Compared to horses, the camel were comfortable to ride. The guides covered the saddle with Rajasthani quilts. They could make a fire with two sticks, cook chapattis and a three course meal. I have no memory of our actual route ( pretty near the Pakistan border I think) but it was magnificent, especially the nights. Except for those huge black beetles — you know the ones, right? They seemed to emerge all at once at dusk and then disappear back into the sand. But if they wander into your sleeping bag, they _will_ bite!
I traveled by camel into the Taklamakan Desert with some Uyghur camel herders many years ago, and with a Bedouin guy in Jordan. I sold the Taklamakan story to Outpost magazine in 2005 — my first magazine feature. Jordan was an assignment the publisher set up for me. It appeared in the July / August 2007 issue. No idea if you can find those online. The Jordan story has some spectacular photos by Jason George.
As for those damned beetles, I have an uneasy relationship with the genus Insect. I do not welcome interactions with their kind.
As usual a great interview! I don’t know much about horses, having never done more than a few guided trail rides, but I can attest that companioning an animal makes people more friendly. It’s 100 degrees here and I just got back from walking the dogs. The only other person I saw dashing out in that heat worried that the dogs needed water because they were panting. Meanwhile I was sweating buckets!
Glad you enjoyed it, Ann. My horse riding experience is limited to a dozen trail rides in Canada and one torturous day with a herdsman in Mongolia, but I have traveled a little with camels and would love to do more.
Yes, my husband and I spent 4 days riding camels in the Rajasthan desert with two wonderful young guides. I loved it! Compared to horses, the camel were comfortable to ride. The guides covered the saddle with Rajasthani quilts. They could make a fire with two sticks, cook chapattis and a three course meal. I have no memory of our actual route ( pretty near the Pakistan border I think) but it was magnificent, especially the nights. Except for those huge black beetles — you know the ones, right? They seemed to emerge all at once at dusk and then disappear back into the sand. But if they wander into your sleeping bag, they _will_ bite!
I traveled by camel into the Taklamakan Desert with some Uyghur camel herders many years ago, and with a Bedouin guy in Jordan. I sold the Taklamakan story to Outpost magazine in 2005 — my first magazine feature. Jordan was an assignment the publisher set up for me. It appeared in the July / August 2007 issue. No idea if you can find those online. The Jordan story has some spectacular photos by Jason George.
As for those damned beetles, I have an uneasy relationship with the genus Insect. I do not welcome interactions with their kind.
As usual a great interview! I don’t know much about horses, having never done more than a few guided trail rides, but I can attest that companioning an animal makes people more friendly. It’s 100 degrees here and I just got back from walking the dogs. The only other person I saw dashing out in that heat worried that the dogs needed water because they were panting. Meanwhile I was sweating buckets!
Glad you enjoyed it, Ann. My horse riding experience is limited to a dozen trail rides in Canada and one torturous day with a herdsman in Mongolia, but I have traveled a little with camels and would love to do more.