Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Did you know Camels have three testicles?
Neither did we! How did we acquire this bit of weird information? Read on...
Lunch over, we rested, recharged (in many ways), before an afternoon ride to visit Mir
and Rabari villages. Camcorder, cameras, net book took
hours
of recharging throughout this
trip thanks to India's always incredible sights. Video and photographs of: Birds, wild asses,
jeep breakdowns, with more to follow. The afternoon excursion was originally going to be
by jeep, but then Rann Riders asked if we'd like to take a
camel cart
instead of the jeep.
Why not! A first for us that, hopefully, will be a little more comfortable than the donkey ride
with Ali Baba in Siwa Oasis, Egypt.
At 3:45p, Rajah, our sturdy male camel, stood waiting and hitched to a camel cart with
a thin mattress on it for comfort. ("Hah," I say.) He lurched out onto the main road where
we continued sucking up exhaust fumes from trucks, buses, and passing automobiles - in the
thick of bullocks, flocks of sheep, herds of goats - while small children and people waved,
shouting, "Hi/Bye Bye" to the westerners on the camel cart. Probably thinking, "Are these
people crazy? Why would anyone who can afford to ride in a comfortable car chose a bumpy
camel cart?"
I was thinking the same thing
...
The locals use male camels to pull carts, and females to ride. As Rajah moseyed along
down the road, his rear end was at eye level. Occasionally, Rajah would move into third gear,
causing his manly equipment to swing from side-to-side.
That
is when we discovered that
Rajah had three testicles. ex-Marine (of course) noticed and said, "God damn, that camel
has three balls," to quote him precisely. We're going to assume that
all
camels have three
testicles since abundant Internet surfing could not confirm or deny.
Camels have a top speed of 20 kms/12 miles an hour, fast enough when bouncing on a
camel cart. We turned into a Mir "Village" that resembled nothing more than a migrant col-
lection of makeshift tents. Women sat on the ground, arranging beaded bracelets, and other
tribal jewelry to sell. Niru led us around, translating our questions.
This group of Mir people are considered semi-nomads, who migrated from Rajasthan
ages ago. Rajasthani heritage would explain their love of mirror-work, vibrant clothing col-
ors, and “bling.” One hundred people lived here in “tarp houses,” staying all year except
for monsoon season. In monsoon season, a few families stay behind to take care of the land
while the rest go live with family members.
Their long tents were made from a motley assortment of feed bags, tarps, discarded and
ripped material, in all colors and sizes, plastic, whatever they can find. As awful as the
tents looked from the outside, the insides were
neat as a pin
. The dirt floor had been swept
clean with a place for every item. Despite the apparent squalor and poverty, not one person
begged
, or
asked
for money. All the woman wanted was for me to photograph their babies
