Jaisalmer: Camping Under The Stars

Few journeys in life leave you spellbound and make you feel grateful for witnessing natural wonders at close quarters. For me, one such experience was the team offsite to Jaisalmer, especially camping under the stars in Thar desert. One of the best glamping experiences we’ve had. Read on..

The team offsite to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan happened more by chance, rather than choice, for me. Till the last minute, I was not going, thanks to the doctor’s retort ‘How can you even think of going on a 15-hour train journey and riding a camel with a back injury?’

On the day of travel however, adventure got the better of me and I expressed my desire to go on the trip. Train tickets for Delhi-Jaisalmer Express were re-booked by my ever helpful team members and we set off on what can be rightfully called ‘an adventure of a lifetime’.

The Golden Oasis of Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer is a marvel in itself. Everything from buildings to sidewalks is a beautiful yellow-golden in colour. Whizzing past the Golden City, we rode in the jeep that would take us to the desert for our camel rides.

The 45-minute long ride was scenic, and more than that, peaceful. Sitting at the back of the jeep, I could see the shiny black tar road cut through endless stretches of sand. A half smile on my face with ‘Desert Rose’ playing in the background, I realized moments like these are what truly matter.

Once we reached the spot, colourful camels awaited us. While a few of us jumped with joy, others started clicking away with their DSLRs. When the time came to climb on to the camels, you could hear shouts and of course the smiling faces.

After a while, off they went into the golden oasis while I went back to the jeep to meet them at the dunes (well, at least I partially followed the doctor’s advice to not ride a camel).

Welcome to the Thar Desert!

I have seen sand dunes before in Dubai, but nothing prepared me for the dunes of Thar Desert. My jaw dropped as I soaked in the perfectly sculpted dunes that stretched on for miles before me. It was God’s work of art at its best.

I started walking barefoot towards the place where we would be camping for the night. The sun shone down and there was silence all around. For the first time, I was all alone in a faraway place with no phone or laptop to distract me. The surprising thing about being amidst a natural wonder is that you forget the mundane things of life. It’s just you and the desert.

I lost track of time sitting on the sand dunes and was shaken out of my reverie by the soft clinking of bells. I looked up to see the camels, and my team members, make their way slowly towards the camp site.

It was late afternoon when everyone reached and no one wanted to miss the sun setting over soft golden sands. Sitting atop one of the sand dunes, all of us suddenly became quiet as the sky changed colour to shades of orange and light pink. The sunset only lasted a few minutes but the sight of it is still vivid in my mind.

Music in the Air

As the evening set in, we huddled on the charpois and devoured hot pakoras and chai. Cheerful chatter could be heard all around and everyone eagerly awaited the cultural program pre-dinner.

A local troupe of men and women soon arrived with their folk musical instruments. The women were beautifully adorned with jewelry while men wore colourful Rajasthani pagdis. The greeting padharo mare desh set the tone for the evening and they sang melodious Rajasthani tunes using the ravanhattha and khartal.

The women, dressed traditionally in vibrant ghaghras, danced beautifully and we too joined in the dance around the bonfire.

Camping beneath Moon n' Stars

The cultural program left us all in high spirits, and hungry too. We quickly finished our meal and got ready for a night full of fun and of course, scary stories. Some of us were inclined towards singing/playing songs while others exchanged spooky stories that were based on real life experiences. From the dead walking in the night to faces being charred by an invisible force, we heard the most absurd ‘true’ stories. Only one of us managed to scare us all and a collective shriek put an end to our spooky story session.

After that, the night was relatively calmer and most of us lay quietly gazing at the stars. In my entire life, I have never seen a sky so brightly lit with countless stars.

Sitting on the blanket, I craned my head backwards and could not see a single area which wasn’t covered with twinkling white dots.

Amidst the star dotted sky I saw two shooting stars (no, they weren’t as slow as shown in Karan Johar’s movies, a blink of the eye and you would miss it for sure). A few of my team members even saw 3! I would have stayed up all night had it not become colder. Wearing my gloves and cap, I slept off star gazing.

The Morning After

When you travel with people, and that too while glamping in Jaisalmer, it’s not possible to sleep for long and so was the case in our offsite. I was woken up before 6 am to see the sunrise and how I’m glad that happened! Yellow streaks slowly appeared across the sky as we had cups of chai and poha. After a final round of photo session with the camels, it was time to bid adieu to the desert and the beautiful golden vistas.

Camping under the stars was a time like none other and will stay etched in my memory forever. As a writer, I have tried my best to capture the moments through words and pictures. However, the only way to experience it in its totality is to visit Jaisalmer and live it for yourself :)