Namaste!

I have just a few things to write about the camel safari before I have to get moving.

Sarjan was married when he was 17 years old to a bride who was 5 years of age. They do not live together yet but when the bride turns 18 (in 3 years time) she will move into his family home. She lives in a village 20 kms away, he has only seen her twice, needless to say, this was an arranged marriage. Sarjan is looking forward to meeting his wife again. Because he is a muslim, he is able to take another too but he informed us that one was enough :-)

Sarjan made my birthday cake out of some ghee, nuts, fennel seeds, cardamon, soft brown sugar and gram flower which he cooked in a pan over the fire. It was a little like a soft flapjack in texture which you had to mold together in order to eat it. When we bumped into some of his family later, when we had left Sarjan (see K's post), I gave them the remainder of it to share with the children at home. There was some language confusion...we wanted them to try it, but they thought it was a gift...no matter :)

We loved the relationship that the camel men had with one another, they way they mocked one another. Sarjan was teased a little more than the others because he was the only Muslim amongst them (the rest being Hindu). The guys had obviously spent a lot of nights together, camel parking as well as on trips, you could mistake them for brothers such was their camaraderie.

When we rested on the trip, I liked to lie on my back and listen to the birds sing in the trees, the bees and flies buzz around, the wind through the leaves and the sound of the camels tearing at plants and trees. Taking some time to stop and listen to the world around me was a beautiful and relaxing thing to do.

I have spent more time riding a camel than I have a horse... :-)

We saw a beautiful shooting star on the eve of my birthday, it was so bright that we thought it may have been a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere :-)

Whoops I have to go - unless we find internet at the airport (doubtful) the next time that you will hear from us will be in HK!!!! :-) :-)

Thanks again for reading.