We continued our journey farther west, deeper into Rajasthan and into the Thar Desert. The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a place of extremes. The climate varies widely from close to freezing in the winter to over 50 C in the summer. Rainfall is unpredictable but usually falls between July to September. Despite what appears to be an environment that is inhospitable to humans, the Thar Desert is the most densely populated desert in the world with over 16 million people.
The Helsinki Desert Camp is situated about 45 minutes west of Jaiselmer. I pictured it to be a remote camp in the middle of the desert, but on the drive over, we realized it was actually located in quite close proximity to a handful of other desert camps. From inside the camp, it felt like we were far away from civilization.
The camp was arranged roughly in a figure-eight. On one side, there was a cluster of tents, maybe six or so positioned in a semi-circle. On the other side was another cluster of tents arranged in a semi-circle. In the center, there was a permanent structure where meals were served and nearby, a stage. Everything was quite spaced out and built right on top of the sand. There were no walkways or landscaping, which gave us the feeling of really being out in the wild desert.
We expected very basic accommodations and were pleasantly surprised by the comfort of our tents. Compared to the tents we stayed at in Kenya, these tents were massive, bigger than a standard hotel room, with enough space inside to move around freely. Each tent was elevated off of the desert floor with a semi-permanent plywood foundation. Each tent also had a veranda and stairs that helped keep the sand out. The tents were simply but comfortably furnished and the bathrooms were well-equipped with electricity, flush toilets and hot/cold running water.
After we got settled in, we headed into the desert. Helsinki Desert Camp is on the edge of the wild desert while most of the other tented camps are closer to the main road to Jaiselmer. We only had to walk 15 minutes and as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but desert around us. The Thar Desert feels distinctly different than the Sahara Desert in Egypt. Surprisingly, there is a lot of vegetation and shrubs growing out of what appears to be dry sand. With 10-50 cm of rainfall per year, there is more rainfall in the Thar compared to the Sahara that only has 5-10 cm of rainfall per year.
I wanted to watch the sunset while the kids were more interested in finding some sand dunes to tumble around in. We followed the sun and watched it descend little by little. While searching for the perfect place to watch it set, we encountered a few other families and couples tripping around in the sand with the same idea. On top of a perfect dune, with the perfect view, a hotel or tour company had set out foldable canvas chairs and had sundowners and canapes at the ready. I imagined the servers were just waiting for the guests to arrive by 4WD vehicles at the perfect moment, just in time to watch the sun set before whisking them back to their luxury camp for a 5-course meal with local organic produce and imported cheese. It looked lovely, but far too orchestrated for my taste. My preferred style of travel involves stumbles fashioned into spontenaity, failures rescued by faith, disasters averted with determination, disappointments transformed into delight. We found the perfect-for-us dune to get comfortable on and we watched the sun fall into the horizon, lighting up the sky in perfect pastel hues.
An old man with a piano accordian accompanied by a group of four boys approached us and offered some entertainment. The accordianist and the dancers seemed like a peculiar pairing but we assumed the old man was the boys’ father. We enjoyed the playing and the singing. The dancing was an odd addition but we just went with it and enjoyed the moment
When the man finished playing, we gave him a tip and he went off on his way leaving the four boys behind. They weren’t together afterall. Apparently, the boys had just piggy-backed onto this old man to try to earn some money. We chatted with the boys, asking them their names. They hoped we had some money, pens or candies to give them. I searched around in my purse and gave them what I had, a pen and some free earphones that I picked up on a previous flight. They asked for RY’s watch, which we appropriately laughed off. One of the boys showed us his cell phone which was broken and didn’t turn on. It was getting dark so we said goodbye to the friendly boys and returned to our camp.
We were a little late for the outdoor Rajasthani dance and music performance. It was a cozy setup with a roaring fire, blankets, Rajasthani snacks, hot tea and atmospheric music accompanied by dancing, this time with real dancers. After reaching us momentarily, the heat and smoke from the fire, the sound of the music, the sight of the dancer twirling in her bejeweled skirts, all disappeared into the vastness of the desert night.
When we woke up in the morning, the desert air was frigid and fresh. We sought out the first rays of the sun to warm our bodies. While we enjoyed our breakfast of parata, eggs, bread, butter and jam, fruit and masala chai, the sun continued to work its magic and warmed the sand and air.
We were booked to stay in Helsinki Desert Camp for three nights but the desert beckoned to us. We had the urge to venture deeper into the desert to experience it in its natural and authentic form. We found the perfect guy to take us into the Thar Desert to camp in the open-air for a night.
