Camel College Without Knowledge

So Pushkar was nice and relaxing but there wasn't much to do there so we moved on to Jailsamer which is close to the Pakistan boarder in the Thar Desert. It is a small town that surrounds a huge old fort. The fort is either 3000, or over 800 years old (we were told both). It is very beautiful and we got a place to stay inside the fort for less than 2$ a night. We went on a three day, two night camel trek into the desert which turned out to be wonderful and disappointing at the same time. When we arrived, we planned on taking Jessika's advise on which agency to book our trek through. We got to our hotel and they showed us their book and I recognized a name that Jessika had given me and the man said, "Oh yes, that is me." We asked if he remembered a guy with dreadlocks and he said yes and the girl had brown hair to her shoulders. We thought sweet, we must be in the right place. I'm pretty sure now that he was lying or confusing our friends with someone else. We went with three people from Argentina and they were awesome. Our guide's name was Tiger and he was the only problem that we had. He seemed ok at first but then he started telling us sob stories about how he gets paid very little and relies on tips from tourists. He said that it hadn't rained in the desert for 10 years and that the village people were struggling because of this. That was a lie because it rained the next day. He told us his very long story twice, but when I asked him to teach me about the desert he could not tell me anything. I asked, "If I was lost in this desert how could I find water?" Tiger said, "Find a village, they are everywhere." This was a true but disappointing answer. The first two days we went through several villages where we got mobbed by children asking for money, or the ring on my finger, or whatever we had. We could always see power lines and hear motor bikes and there were people everywhere we went. It was not what I expected. The last day was much better as far as scenery. Tiger was just weird. He was sitting with Skyler and I and started singing the Barbie Girl song. At first it was funny and we were laughing and then he changed the lyrics to "I'm a bloody barbie girl, I break like plastic, bloody sand in my hair." Creepy!! Then he started telling Sky that he was a bloody barbie girl. I'm glad that it was the last day because that made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Besides our lame tour guide the desert was beautiful. We got to see a couple of snakes and there are only a few species of plants. There is a new species that has been popping up recently and I believe that it is probably invasive. It is very tall, red and white and has three huge hard leaves that spin around in a circle when the wind blows. I think the species is.............. um.......oh yes, windmill. Yes, they were everywhere the first two days. They are used to pump water for the village people. The best part for me was just being around the camels. They are such weird animals. They are huge! Huge gas machines! My camel's name was Victoria. They were all very calm and well behaved. They just eat and fart and when they are told it is time to go they lay down so you can climb on. They eat and swallow and then they bring their food up again and chew it some more and then swallow it again. When they do this the burp travels an amazing distance so if you are ever around camels, beware.
Now Sky and I have moved north to Rishakesh. We are in the foothills of the Himalayas. It is very beautiful and this town is the Yoga center of the world. They also have white water rafting and trekking and camping and waterfalls. I think that we might stay here for a while. It feels great to be in the mountains again.