It was 3 am and I was fast asleep. Pallavi woke me up asking what the plan regarding the border visit was. I immediately checked if my friend had sent any message about the formal confirmation regarding our border visit. Since I had slept off early the previous night (at 9:30 pm), I had not read the message that my friend had sent at 10 pm. He had confirmed our border visit, saying that we were supposed to reach Tanot border check post at 09:00 am, prior to which we were supposed to call the Deputy Commandant at 07:00 am.
I sent a message to Anant conveying the confirmation, and did some quick calculations regarding the time this border visit would take. We were still in good shape to visit the border, be back, have lunch and then leave for the Desert Safari in the afternoon by 3 pm. Anant agreed to the plan, and I wanted Mukul and family to join as well although he was reluctant as per discussions the earlier evening. I woke Mukul up at 5 am to confirm once again but his reply was still in the negative. So the final plan was that Anant, Rama, Pallavi, Ruhi and I would be visiting the India - Pakistan border.
I called up the Deputy Commandant at 7 am sharp as per my friend's suggestion and he confirmed that we were good to visit the border. We got ready and left the hotel shortly afterwards. It would take us 2 hours to reach the Tanot border check post, which was 125 kms from our hotel. Being winter, the sun had still not risen and we managed to capture the sunrise on our way. We took the Jaisalmer - Ramgarh - Tanot road, which was constructed and maintained by the BRO (Border Roads Organisation). An odd peacock or two were spotted on our way. For long stretches, it was an arrow straight road and there was no traffic at all.
By 8 am we had reached the village of Ramgarh (not to be confused with the village bearing the same name from the famous movie Sholay). We were 43 kms away from Longewala and 54 kms from Tanot. Longewala is a border town in the Thar Desert in the western part of Jaisalmer district. It is very close to the border with Pakistan and is most notable as the location of the
Battle of Longewala during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The Battle of Longewala was depicted in the 1997 Bollywood movie Border. Longewala reminded me of the famous scene from the movie Border showing
Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri walking right up to the Boundary Pillar 638. In another half hour the landscape had changed considerably. The colour green was now totally missing, there was sand and yellow colour all around. We spotted a lone deer in the sand beside the road. At 8:47 am sharp, we had reached the BSF check post at Tanot, which was adjoining the famous Tanot Mata temple. We decided to visit the famous
Tanot Mata Mandir (temple) on our way back from the border visit.
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| Views enroute Tanot: Sunrise, lone deer, arrow straight roads |
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| BSF check post at Tanot |
At the BSF check post, I got down and told the defence personnel that we wanted to visit BP 609 and had sought permission for the same, citing the key references as suggested by my friend. The defence personnel validated their records and told us to show our identities. Since I would be driving right up to BP 609, my identity card was retained, to be returned on our way back. An "out" entry was made in their register which keeps track of those leaving the check post for the border. The India - Pakistan international border was 16 kms from this check post. We were given directions to BP 609.
On our way to the border, we saw a lot of camels, sheep, cattle, donkeys, deer and a lot of birds. Barring the camels and deer, it was surprising to see so many animals in the desert region. It was still early morning and the animals were out in search of some water. On the way, I made sure Anant took the picture of every milestone indicating how many kms we were from BP 609. As we hit the last milestone indicating BP 609 was 0 kms, we saw the Indian Army check post in the distance and stopped to take some pictures.
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| Milestone indicating that we were at BP 609. See the actual boundary pillar highlighted at the center. |
After taking some pictures, we proceeded till the end of the road, which took us to the Indian Helipad. We got down and I was told to make an entry and sign the visitor's register. BSF personnel from Battalion 135 were manning the check post at BP 609. We saw double fencing, a gate and presumed that it was the international border. The BSF personnel however told us that the actual border was a further 100m away and pointed us to Boundary Pillar 609.
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| India - Pakistan international border along BP 609 |
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Legend:
1: BP 609 - 0 kms milestone
2: Indian Helipad at BP 609
3: Gate on the fence
4: The double barbed wire fence
5: The actual Boundary Pillar (BP) 609
6: India - Pakistan international border
In the distance, we could spot the Pakistan check post. We also spotted some Pakistani Rangers (Indian BSF counterparts) patrolling the border while riding on camels. Photography was not allowed at this point. We spent about 15-20 minutes at the border, speaking with BSF personnel and they generously addressed whatever curiosities we hurled at them. They mentioned that some times there are flag meets and joint patrolling along the border (not open for civilians as in the case of Wagah border at Amritsar). After saluting them for their efforts in being the first line of defence, we left the international India - Pakistan border.
I had driven my cheetah to the international border and it felt really great. Being on a road trip is one thing, driving right till the road allows you to, on an international border, that too an India - Pakistan one is surreal. On the way back, I let Anant drive as I knew he would cherish the experience too. Well if you ask me what's there to visit at the border - the answer is "nothing touristy". To me, it is something rare. It gave me a sense of pride, a different rush, a feel of what it means to be at the real controlling point. This is what our soldiers protect. Jaisalmer, and Rajasthan in particular shared a very peaceful, largely eventless border. Nothing compared to Kashmir. It still was the highlight of the trip for me - securing the permission to visit, the formalities at the border check post, driving on a road that very few people get an opportunity to be on, meeting and talking with BSF personnel while on duty, exchanging information with them, spotting Pakistani Rangers - it was an experience worth cherishing.
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| Along with the cheetah at BP 609 border post |
We reached the BSF check post at Tanot at around 10:30 am. I collected my identity from the defence personnel. We then spent half an hour visiting the famous
Tanot Mata Mandir (temple). It is said that during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, Pakistani Army dropped over 3000 bombs targeting the temple but not even one exploded. After the war the temple management was handed over to Border Security Force of India on their request and to date the temple is maintained and manned by the BSF soldiers. The temple has a museum which has collections of the unexploded bombs that were shot by Pakistani tanks. In 1971 again when Pakistan and India went to war this area was again targeted by the Pakistani Tanks for 4 days but in vain. This Temple has protected the area that is only 16 km from the border outpost and the faith is such that the army and BSF soldiers still stop at this temple and pay their respects.
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| Tanot Mata Mandir: Entrance, Victory Pillar, Tanot Mata, Unexploded bomb shells |
Meanwhile, Mukul and family had breakfast and then visited Bada Bagh. Also called Barabagh (literally Big Garden), it is a garden complex about 6 km north of Jaisalmer on way to Ramgarh. It contains a set of royal cenotaphs, or chhatris of Maharajas of Jaisalmer state, starting with Jai Singh II, whose cenotaph was set up by his son in his honour. I remember Gauri sharing an interesting piece of information - for a Maharaja (royal ruler) to have a cenotaph (chhatri) dedicated to him, he had to have at least one grandson in his lifetime.
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| Bada Bagh views: Cenotaphs / chhatris of royal members, wind mill farms in the background |
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| The Kunte family at Bada Bagh, Jaisalmer |
Mukul and family also finished their visit to Bada Bagh while we were on our way back and both of us reached our hotel for having lunch at the same time (around 1 pm). The owner of Hotel Moonlight Jaisalmer told Mukul and family to check out at 11 am when Mukul went to inquire about the visit to Bada Bagh. We were all supposed to depart for Sam Sand Dunes by 3 pm and had booked a 3 nights package including Desert Safari with the same hotel, so we were assuming that we would have the rooms till we left for Sam Sand Dunes. After discussions, we did get to keep the rooms but it left a sour taste.
We had lunch and by now had gotten used to the luggage securing part. Since we had our own car we had not opted to take transportation facility from the hotel. Hence we carried our luggage to Sam Sand Dunes, which was around an hour from the city. The silky Sam Sand Dunes are located 45 kms west of Jaisalmer along a good sealed
road (maintained by the Indian army). They are one of the most popular
excursions from the city. The band of dunes is about 2 kms long and is
undeniably one of the most picturesque in the region. Some camel safaris
camp here, but many more people just roll in for sunset, to be chased
across the sands by tenacious camel owners offering short rides. Plenty
more people stay overnight in one of the several tent resorts near the
dunes, and we happened to be part of those. Enroute Sam, there were a few places where we saw parasailing being conducted.
Our stay was booked at one Camp Oasis at Sam. There was another camp with a similar name and we were told to look out for Camp Oasis and avoid Camp Oasis India. The entire place was strewn with camp sites, each with almost identical offerings. Upon reaching Camp Oasis, we were given one Swiss tent per family. It was 5 pm by the time we had settled down and the great Thar Desert was beckoning us. The Thar Desert, also known as the Great Indian Desert, is a large, arid region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent that forms a natural boundary between India and Pakistan. About 85% of the Thar Desert is in India, and the remaining part in Pakistan.
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| Swiss Tents and entertainment area at Camp Oasis, Sam Sand Dunes |
Since there was some time left for sunset, we decided to go dune bashing in a jeep first. It was an open top jeep, and the driver asked us if we were ready for some real thrill. He told us to hold on tight and get ready for some adventure. Blaring local folk music in the jeep was making it impossible to be heard. We literally had to shout at the top of our voices and seemed like it was by design. It took us a while to get from our camp to the actual dunes, and once we did, it was fun. We zigzagged across the tracks left behind by previous vehicles. We managed to hold on, and ensured that the kids Ruhi and Trisha were taken care of. The most thrilling part was slowly climbing up a tall sand dune and then driving down a steep slope, making it seem like a mini roller coaster of sorts. Overall, a memorable experience.
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| The gang enjoying jeep safari at Sam Sand Dunes |
After the dune bashing (aka Desert Safari), we took to camel rides that were part of our package deal. We got a camel per family. Anant and Rama rode on one, Pallavi, Ruhi and I on another, while Mukul, Gauri and Trisha got on the third. Mounting on the camel back, then the camel standing up having us on his back, the ride itself, the camel sitting down and finally dismounting from the camel back was another memorable and enjoyable experience. One doesn't get accustomed to being on camel back - it is not exactly a balanced ride. To top it, the camel is wading through the desert sand. It was fun overall I must say. What the camel must be going through is another story altogether! We just managed to see the sun set on the horizon in the golden yellow desert. It was a beautiful sight.
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| L-R: Kunte family, Anikhindi family and Kulkarni family enjoying camel ride at Sam Sand Dunes |
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| Sam Sand Dunes views: Camel rides, sunset, Camp site in the background |
Finally, we opted for a ride in a camel cart, where a camel pulls a wooden cart on 2 wheels. There is a person who rides the camel himself, much like a bullock cart or horse cart. The camel cart took us through the Thar Desert, and we were shown locations where certain scenes from a few Bollywood movies were apparently shot. On one particular sand dune, we were told to get down and experience the desert sand. It was surprisingly chilling.
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| Sam Sand Dunes: Camel cart and sand dune |
The sand was very fine, soft and we all spent some time playing around in it. Rama decided to bury herself in the sand (barring her head of course) and after a while we all helped in the endeavour. Anant did not seem to like the idea at all and appeared sad, and Rama tried to console him saying this was not the end. Anant later shared that he was upset because the thermal clothing that Rama was wearing would get dirty but Rama preferred to make the most of it. It took us a while to cover Rama completely with sand. Her laughing during the process wasn't helping at all, but we were eventually successful.
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| Sam Sand Dunes: Rama covered in sand |
The camel cart dropped us back to our campsite. The place acquired something of a carnival atmosphere as the evening progressed, making it somewhere to avoid if you’re
after a solitary desert experience. At the camp, there were tents all around laid out along the border of a large rectangular area. In the central area, a campfire was organised and there was Rajasthani folk music and folk dance presented by the locals there, decked up head to toe in their famous Rajasthani attire. Booze was being served at a counter to beat the cold. Anant, Mukul and I helped ourselves to a peg of Old Monk rum each. It helped us keep warm during the winter night in the desert region, which was especially cold. The folk dance was followed by the DJ dishing out some popular local and Bollywood numbers as well as some English songs. We all enjoyed dancing - it seemed to be a good exercise in my opinion.
Dinner followed soon after, and we were pretty exhausted because of an event packed evening. Anant was quick to ask his favourite question: "So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" As much as I told him that we never really stuck to whatever plans we made - it was mostly situation that took over, Anant always liked to have some plan. And so it was decided that those interested would wake up at 5 am, get ready and go spend some time in the desert and be back by 7 am. We had to depart for Udaipur the next morning, and to be able to make the most of our evening at Udaipur, we decided to depart from Camp Oasis by 7:30 am after having breakfast. With that, curtains were drawn on probably the most interesting day of our trip.
