Rather shaken, we got back into the jeep, skipped breakfast, and continued on to the small town of Rashishar. Upon arrival, we set out into the great Thar Desert (the desert that stretches from India into Pakistan). Four camels (two pulling carts and two for riding), 3 Indians, four travelers, luggage, food, water, and camel feed. It wasn't until we left the small town and looked out across the miles of sand that we realized we were in for an adventure. It was difficult to comprehend that the last night of 1998 would be spent in the vast nothingness of the Great Indian Desert, only a few miles away from the border of Pakistan and the site of India's nuclear bomb testing (two of the most convincing reasons not to tell anyone where we were going).

We stopped for lunch, vegetables and chapatis, at an abandoned shack in the middle of the desert. Eagles and vultures soared high above us, beneath the sweltering sun, causing us to shed most of our clothing. We couldn't help wondering if the vultures might soon be picking the flesh off of our half-naked bloated bodies. We sat in our underwear eating curry as the camels rolled in the dust and the antelope flew across the sandy planes in the distance. After lunch we alternated between riding the camels and sitting on the carts. By the time we stopped to make camp that evening we all fully understood why so many people told us one day on a camel was plenty! Our back sides were bruised, and our thighs were aching. We, however, regretted nothing and the beauty of the sand dunes made the pain disappear as quickly as the sun faded into the never-ending horizon.

Our dinner of dal bhat and more chapati, cooked in the dark, by firelight was followed by a sing along where we all sang, clapped, beat on tin pans and strummed the guitar. Amar, Gopal, and Jagdeesh sang beautiful Hindi call and answer songs and Mike played some American folk music. The half moon and stars lit up our camp site. By 9 o'clock, our firewood was "finis", so we headed for bed. In the desert the days were steaming hot, but when the sun went down the temperature went with it. Luckily, we had our sleeping bags from Everest with us, but what we didn't have was shelter. So instead of tents, we draped large plastic tarps over the camel carts, and crawled underneath with our bags and extra blankets. We noticed our guides had given us the ripped up and tattered tarp and the old wooden cart and had taken the big metal cart and the new tarp for themselves, even though we were determined this would change the next night; it never did.

Late at night, the large quantity of water that we had consumed during the day kicked in and our bladders forced us out from under the cart. We got a spectacular view, the moon had gone down and the stars filled the desert sky. As we stumbled back to our warm bags, we were reminded of the magnitude of India, our trip, and life in general.

Bikaner | Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V