Adventures and Reality

From the Journal...

I have always had romantic images of vast desert sand dunes; blowing, shifting emptiness; the wind’s path written in ripples and ridges across the ever-changing landscape. I can see laden camels, their ungainly gait somehow made regal in their slow processional across the desert… silhouettes on a golden sunset sky. The kind of thing I’ve seen in movies such as ”Lawrence of Arabia.” Now here I am… sitting atop a plodding camel; a big straw hat covers my head, protecting my pale skin from the sun, like proper Victorian lady travelers a century ago. Or perhaps the British adventuress Gertrude Bell, a solitary woman who explored and charted a great swath of Arabia. She rode camels with the Bedouin in the Arabian desert and dined on sheep's eyes with tribal sheikhs.

So much for the romantic version. We have traveled by camel for two days now to reach the Sam Sand Dunes. After the sensory-overload of Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Delhi, I have welcomed the relative emptiness and peacefulness of the desert. I thought the Sam Sand Dunes would be the same. But at the end of a long, hot day, when we arrive at the dunes, we find tourists! Many Indian tourists on Diwali holiday. They have come by Jeep and bus to see the dunes at sunset. There is a Disneyland atmosphere with concession tents, camel rides, postcards, and a snake charmer… the whole bit! They have trampled all over the dunes. It is quite disappointing. Somewhat like climbing a difficult mountain for two days, only to find a four-lane highway and a tourist viewpoint on top! Unbeknownst to us, there is a road from Jaisalmer to the Sam Sand Dunes… a 27- mile road… and tourists are routinely brought out here for the sunsets, which are spectacular. The good news is that they all leave when the sun drops below the horizon, allowing the dunes to return to the quiet of night.

We bed down in the sheltered depression of a dune. The sand is still warm, and soft. I quickly fall to sleep. At 5 am I wake up needing to go to the bathroom. The starlight is bright and I decide I don’t need the flashlight. I set off, wearing only my panties and a top. I walk only a short distance, but when I try to return I discover it isn’t as easy as I thought. Everything looks the same – one bump in the sand is like any other - there are no landmarks. I walk in the direction I think our pallet is located, but see nothing. I walk the other way. I still can’t find the pallet. Now I am beginning to wonder if I should sit down on the sand dune and wait for daylight. What a sight that would make, clad in my panties, holding a roll of toilet paper. Thankfully it brightens a bit more and I am greatly relieved when I spot our pallet a short ways off from where I stand.

I don’t go back to sleep. I watch as the sky turns a golden pink. I reach for my camera and begin taking pictures. As the dunes are bathed in early light, I see movement... heads appearing over the top of the dunes. Oh no. Tourists have been brought out for the sunrise too. I have very little privacy now for dressing and am thankful I went to the bathroom in the 5 am darkness. And oh so glad I found my way back. I could have been the subject of “You’ll never believe what I saw” photos. I’ll bet Gertrude Bell didn’t have that problem. ...PLM

Jaisalmer Fort at sunset