Fwd: Bhuj Transport by Foot & Hoof - with mention of Camels

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Robyn Williams <williamsrobyn1@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 5:43 AM
Subject: Bhuj Transport by Foot & Hoof - with mention of Camels
To: williamsrobyn1.vegemite@blogger.com


A few more pictures - apologies for the quality - especially the ones taken from the bus.  Although we have seen plenty of camels, I havn't seen one used for transport - but the carts I saw were more often pulled by a donkey or a human than a pony.  

Thought I'd share the camel story of the day while I think about it.  

This morning on our way back from a visit to the Chari Dhand wetland and a bit of bird watching our team got word that there was a friendly group of Jat herders camped nearby (a lot are not friendly) - our Purple People Eater rolled in for a visit.  Initially there were only women and children there - along with a few camels, lambs and kids, so we assumed, correctly, that the men were elsewhere with the main herds.  The Jats were living in absolute simplicity - no tents, cut grass on the ground to form mats, simple open fires for cooking - kids and lambs strung together along a line, quilted mats for sleeping on. The women wear traditional dress with large veils and intricately embroidered bodices - the men wear turbans.  When we arrived one teenage girl was sitting on a tarpaulin sized strewn grass groundcover working on a beadwork hanging - another was embroidering black on black as the beginning of an elaborate piece of embroidery.  

Soon after we arrived, a very large herd of camels arrived back with some of the men.  Milking commence and we were invited to share a cup of camel milk chai in the hospital tradition of this region - and it was delicious!  While none of the camels were harnessed for transport while were there, I believe they are used to transport the group from grazing site to the next.  They are not full nomads and do have a home village to go to as needed. It was a wonderful experience.  A simple life, undoubtedly hard, but the general opinion seems to be that they have it easy, without all the material pressures of modern life.  I may be able to post photos later.  We agreed only to take photos if approval was given, and then the tour leader would take them and share them with us.

One more travelling blog to come for the vehicle buffs ..

Robyn