The Magic Carpet Ride to Jaipur

Thursday, January 17th - Manvar Desert Camp onto Jaipur

The chatter and laughter of the French tourists at 6:00 A.M. is not quite as pleasant as it was last night. John curses and pulls a pillow over his head but our alarm is set for 6:30 and I rouse him shortly so that we can take a sunrise camel ride before breakfast. We down quick cups of coffee before trudging, through the sand, towards two waiting camels.

John and Marty atop a dromedary camel 

We are hopeful that we will each get a camel but camel number two is reserved for other guests and John and I ride together.  Our dromedary, (one humped) camel, is colorfully outfitted with tassels and a tapestry blanket and we both climb aboard awkwardly. Two years ago, I traveled to Egypt where I was chosen to be one of 8 camels riders for a two day documentary filming of the Frankincense Trail; an infomercial for Young Living Oils. I adore these amusing beasts and am not a novice at camel riding. John sits in front and our “ship of the desert” lunges forward and then rocks backwards as it rises to its feet.

Morning camel safari

The camel driver, a slight elderly man wearing loose fitting white cotton pants and kaki jacket, leads our camel out of the camp and into the desert. The soft gray morning light is lovely and John and I laugh as we adjust to the unfamiliar sway and rocking of the camel’s gait. Our guide leans forward to gain traction in the sand as we mount a small hill. We too lean forward to center our weight and to prevent sliding off the back and I tell John about a fellow camel rider in the filming of the Young Living, Frankincense Oil film, who’s saddle came uncinched and who slid and tumbled off his lofty beast and onto the dunes.

Sunrise on the desert

Silvery scrub brush and small trees grace the landscape and the sun is peeking over the horizon. Below and beyond is a tidy walled family compound that is apparently on our route.  When we arrive at the compound, two colorfully dressed women, one veiled, peek cautiously from inside the gate. From our vantage point atop the camel, John and I can see over the whitewashed adobe wall and into the immaculate courtyard. The rectangular brick house within is rather large and I surmise that this is the family compound of a prosperous family. 

Women looking out

Family compound

Our camel guide turns back towards the Manvar Camp and we have a view of the circle of tents in the distance. 

Morning view of Manvar Tented Campsite

John and our camel driver

Bedroom Camel Eyes

I tip our camel owner 200 rupees for the 45 minute ride and he seems delighted. John and I pet and examine the camel, looking closely into its huge back orbed eyes, fringed with long and lush eyelashes that any beauty queen would lust over. It chews its cud placidly, soft and flexible lips undulating from side to side and not the least bothered by our presence. It seems that the spitting camel is only a legend and I observe it’s large, crooked and yellowed teeth grinding together. They are remarkable beasts and I really must design a camel charm or pendant.

The French tourists are gone and the breakfast buffet is sparse and picked over and the instant coffee is tepid.  Nevertheless, we have had a fun Disneyesque desert camp experience.

At 10:00 A.M. we climb into the back of the jeep to return to the resort. There are children going to school and when the jeep slows to allow goats to cross the dirt road, several children run up along side of our jeep. John is in the process of giving pens and pencils to the children but our driver is not aware of this and pulls away quickly before John can distribute all of the pens pencils.  John tosses a handful of pencils out the back of the jeep and a dozen children run excitedly towards the treasure. In retrospect I worry that some of the children may have picked up a handful and others gotten none.

It’s not quite a 2 hour drive back to Jodhpur and we make it without incident.  I type most of the way, no longer as anxious over passing vehicles in the presence of head oncoming traffic.

Jodhpur Old Town in the rain

Jodhpur roof tops in the rain

It is raining when we arrive in Jodhpur but we ask to return to the old town for lunch. John and I slosh through puddles together and make our way back to Nirvana, our familiar roof top restaurant.  Nirvana is deserted except for the two of us and the waiter seems surprised to have foreign customers in the inclimate weather. We sidestep leaks in canvas roof and peer down into the flooding market below. John sips on a hot drink; we eat hastily and wade through more puddles on our way back to our waiting car.

John drinking chai in the rain at Nirvana Restaurant, Jodhpur

The domestic Jodhpur airport is small and we are met by an Incentive Destination liaison who, gives us our tickets and checks our baggage through to Jaipur. I purchased a brass fish padlock in the Jodhpur marketplace earlier and have neglected to put it in our checked luggage and when we go through security it is an issue. Security demands that we open the lock so that they may check inside the cavity of the locked fish. John struggles with the crude key and after several minutes is triumphant and we are allowed to pass through.

We have a close connecting flight between Deli and Jaipur. Coincidentally, a manager of Incentive Destinations is guiding another group that is boarding our same flight to Deli. I assume that he sees our Blue Elephant luggage tags because he greets us and assures us that there is plenty of time between flight connections and “Not to worry.” The flight to Deli takes less than an hour but when we land there is a delay in disembarking. John and I walk briskly through the terminal, following signs for connecting flights but the Deli airport is large and we must pass through another security check. Because of the assurance that there is “plenty of time”, we patiently wait in the long security line. Arriving at the front, we are chided for not informing them that we were short of time and the brass fish is again a “fishy” issue.  This time John is able to open the lock quickly and we are hurried through, but when I look at the overhead signs for our gate number and see that our flight is flashing last call for boarding, I tell John to RUN!  Gate 42 is at the far end of the terminal and in retrospect, I guesstimate that the gate was a ¼ mile away. I alternate jogging and fast walking and my adrenalin is rushing and my heart is pounding when I jog in for the finish. As I close in towards the gate, attendants wave at me to slow and to sit down to catch my breath but I decline, simply wanting to get onboard. John is approvingly surprised that I have made such good time. Apparently the gate attendants had asked John if his mother was “old” and he had said “yes,” so I surprised everyone!

When we arrive at the Jaipur airport we are met by an Incentive Destination liaison and transferred to our Heritage Hotel, the Mandawa Haveli, in the heart of the old city of Jaipur. Although this hotel may only be a 4 star, it is my favorite so far. 5 star tourist hotels may be more comfortable but they leave me wondering what country I am visiting?  I have no doubt where I might be when the concierge opens the door to our room and we enter an expansive three room suite with scalloped archways and a bathroom fit for a maharaja.

Our Mandawa Haveli hotel room bath

Our Mandawa Haveli hotel room suite

The sheets and towels may not be plush, but I have just landed on my magic carpet.

It is late and I want to send e-mail home and as John showers, I walk to the 19th century hotels courtyard to connect to the 21st century internet. The weather changes abruptly and a strong wind whirls through the courtyard as I talk with Art via Skype. The keyboard to my computer is gritty with debris when the wind and rain abate and John and I remain hotel bound and dine in the confines of our hotels dining room.