Camel country

Bikaner - The Camel Country

Bikaner, the fourth largest city of the desert state of Rajasthan, India is a famous tourist attraction, and an important destination of the triangle that include, besides Bikaner, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer. The place of the valiant Rajput warriors and Kings, the "Camel Country" reminds us of the many tales of unmatched chivalry, poise and valor for which the Rajput warriors of the bygone era were so famous for.

Founded by Rao Bika Ji who built the city on the barren parched Jungledesh, Bikaner is much famous for its many wonderful palaces, beautiful temples, imposing forts, sprawling deer parks, excellent Wood Fossil Park, stunning havelis, thrilling jeep and camel safaris, captivating sand dunes, and the graceful camels, besides, of course, the Bikaneri Bhujia and Bikaneri Namekeens.

Though the entire Bikaner is a wonderful tourist destination, there are some prominent attractions that must not be missed while on a visit to this beautiful part of the world. Among the local attractions, Junagarh Fort, Lallgarh Palace, Gajner Palace, Camel Breeding Farm, Shri Laxminath Temple, Devi Kund Sagar (cenotaphs) are worth visiting. And, among the nearby attractions, Kalibangan, Karimal Rat Temple, and Gajner Sanctuary are worth visiting.

While the magnificent Junagarh Fort is the most famous landmark of Bikaner and an imposing fort in red sandstone and represents the Rajput architecture at its best, the sprawling Gajner Sanctuary is a wonderful natural habitat and an excellent destination for the wildlife lovers and nature enthusiasts. The beautiful Gajner Lake inside the sanctuary is a haven for the bird watchers and attracts migratory birds from distant lands.

How to reach

Bikaner is 317 km away from Jaipur, the state capital; and 243 km away from Jodhpur, another famous tourist destination of Rajasthan. Bikaner is well connected by road, rail, and air. The nearest airport is at Udaipur, the City of Lakes. From Bikaner, there's direct rail link to Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh, besides many other major Indian cities. Good bus services are available from Bikaner to Jaipur, Agra, Haridwar, and Ahmedabad, besides some other major Indian cities.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sanjay_Kumar_Pandey

Photo camel

Desert Rainbow - Pushkar Camel Fair, Rajasthan

What's to shoot?

Pushkar town, close to Ajmer in Rajasthan, is a photographers delight. The town is set around the holy lake and is fringed by 500 temples and 52 bathing ghats. Every year thousands of devotees throng the lake around the full moon day of Kartik Purnima in October-November to take a holy dip in the lake. The huge and colorful cattle fair "The Pushkar Camel Fair", is also held during this time. The fair activities which last for 9 days can be spilt into two halves - The first belonging to the Camel Trade Fair and the second half is when the religious crowds come in to celebrate the Full Moon of Kartik (Nov) month.

There are more photographic subjects here than anywhere in Rajasthan. The light, like in all of the desert is special with a lot of haze. This haze creates great sunrise and sunset photo scenes. Each year, up to 100,000 people flock to Pushkar for the Camel Fair, bringing with them some 50,000 camels and cattle for several days of pilgrimage, horse dealing, camel racing and colorful festivities.

 History of Pushkar

Pushkar is one of the oldest places of India. The date of its actual founding is not known, but legend associates Lord Brahma with its creation. Ramayan mentions Pushkar and says that Vishvamitra performed tapa here. It further says that Apsara Menaka came to Pushkara to bathe in its sacred waters.

According to a legend, back in time, Lord Brahma was flying over the Rajasthan desert on his swan, when some petals fell from his hand and drifted down. Miraculously, blue lakes sprang up where the flowers had touched the soft sands. Just then, Lord Brahma realized that this was the auspicious moment to perform a fire sacrifice or yagna. His wife Savitri was not with him at that time and the yagna would be incomplete without her. So Brahma married a local girl and sat down for the without her. Meanwhile Savitri landed on earth and upon finding this new bride sitting next to Brahma, she was raged with fury and cursed him that he would never be worshipped anywhere else on earth. It is interesting that Brahma is not worshipped, even though he is one of the Holy Trinity of Hinduism.

Ever since then, when the full moon shines on Purnima during the autumn period of kartik, the desert tribes meet to commemorate this epic event. 

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About the author

Kishore Dagia was born in Mumbai on November 25, 1961.

With a succeeesful career behind him - as the Sales Director of large multinational project engineering companies, Kishore decided to plunge and formalize his interest in photography into a passion.The desire to see the extraordinary in simple people and ordinary places, has shaped his creative vision. His passion can be summed up in his own words - I loved what I saw, and since I could not paint, I took to capturing images on digital - to recreate and preserve life forever."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kishore_Dagia

Camels hump

Camel pictures

Camel

Camels

Camel foot

Camel Plush Animals & Facts

Camel plush might seem like an unusual choice for a soft toy, but if the recipient (or purchaser) happen to be an animal lover, it's not unusual at all. Even though they may love all animals, perhaps their tastes run more along the lines of the exotic, and if that's the case, camels fit very well into that category.

Camels are ungulates which means hoofed animals. They have even toes whose weight is distributed evenly amongst their third and fourth toe when they walk. The two species of camel are the Dromedary (or Arabian camel) which has one hump, and the Bactrian camel which has two humps. Contrary to popular belief, camels do not store water in their humps, even though they can go up to two weeks without it. In fact, their humps are a reservoir of fatty tissue, while water is actually stored in their blood. 

Online stores happen to have both species of camel plush. The single humped camel (dromedary) stuffed animal is a full 20 inches long lying down. He is quite lovely and has soft brown plush fur. Then there's an amazing two-humped (Bactrian) camel plush, that stands more than three feet tall! He is likely the best plush camel you will ever come across. Like teddy bears, camel plush can be a lifelong friend and companion and with camel plush of this size, they really will feel like your friend.

The 14 million Dromedary camels that exist, most of which are domesticated, can be found in Somalia, Sudan, Mauritania, as well as other nearby countries. The Bactrian camel, however, does not have nearly as many of the species left as the Dromedary; it is estimated that just 1.4 million Bactrian camels are left, most of which are domesticated. There may still be, however, about 1000 wild Bactrian camels roaming the Gobi desert in China and Mongolia.

Camels were first domesticated by humans around 3,500 years ago. Both camel species are still used for their rich milk which is actually higher in nutrients than cow's milk. They stand six feet high at the shoulder when fully mature and 12 feet at the hump. In short bursts they can run up to 40 miles an hour and can sustain speeds of 25 miles per hour.

While camels can live until they are 60 years of age, camel plush will age with you, for as long as you choose to have it. If you and your camel plush should ever be separated, it would likely go on to another owner, hopefully for as long as they live. Either way, a camel plush is a worthwhile soft toy to add to any stuffed animal collection, or, if a collection does not already exist, a great first start would be camel plush stuffed animals.

Article Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com

Camel race

Camel Racing - Ready, Set, Brilliant

Brace yourself! Camel Racing on real race tracks? Of course, your eyes will pop right out with your mouth hanging after you witness this sporting extravaganza.

You have seen cars, trucks, boats, horses but have you witnessed a great Camel race? Abu Dhabi is where you need to be. These magnificent animals with their jockeys take to the field and strut their stuff for thousands of people gathered at these gala events.

Camel Racing has thus become a tourist attraction craved, this recreational sport lures you to see it, and you will surely not be disappointed by what it has on offer.

Setting aside it being the main tourist gathering, Abu Dhabi is a city coloured with life, culture, religion, beaches, adventure islands and parks but Camel Racing paints the picture and brings your travel expectations to life.

This spectacular event of choice gives you the opportunity to meet these celebrity camels, their jockeys and share a compliment or two.
However, these races only come alive during the winter season, and on the occasional public holidays. A sporting enthusiast with a passion for betting will go all out and cheer his or her favourite camel towards victory.

Camel Racing is not something 'new age' in Abu Dhabi, it's imprinted in their history books and you have the opportunity to not only be a part of its history but to partake in their traditions.

The perfect experience a tourist can ever have is a Camel Race experience and Abu Dhabi hands it to you whole heartedly, so if you are heading out on a visit during the winter days, don't miss out on a race, so tantalizing and blood pumping.

If you're looking for hotels in Abu Dhabi that are perfectly positioned for your traveling requirements and a hotel in Abu Dhabi that gives you the facilities and amenities that enrich your stay look no further than the lush Kingsgate Hotel Abu Dhabi, a sanctuary that offers you suites, superior and luxury rooms with views that leave you breathless.

Pushpitha Wijesinghe is an experienced independent freelance writer. He specializes in providing a wide variety of content and articles related to the travel hospitality industry.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Pushpitha_Wijesinghe

Camel active

Dress for Cold Winter Days With Camel Active

You better brace yourselves...this winter, just like the previous ones, is bound to be pretty cold! These last few weeks alone, temperatures in western Europe went down to -18 degrees Celsius. With at least 3 more winter months to go, investing in some decent winter clothing is essential. That's why we've listed some tips to help you keep warm.

Rule number one: keep your head warm! Most of your body warmth is lost through the head. Bald people don't wear those old men's hats for fun (even though it does look cool). Your head is responsible for more than 30% of all leaked body heat. Even if you are blessed with big hair, covering it up keeps your head, and therefor your whole body, extra warm. Golden rule while buying hats: the more stupid it looks, the warmer is probably is. Luckily for us, big, knitted hats are still very much in fashion. Earmuffs are apparently also allowed again by the fashion police.

Another golden rule: wear layers. You will feel much warmer dressed in three thinner layers (undershirt, shirt, sweater), than when wearing one very thick jumper. The air that gets trapped in between the separate layers will insulate your body. An added benefit is that you can peel off or put on layers as you move around during the day. Nobody likes getting sweaty in the office because it's cold out. And judging on the temperatures in some stores, shop owner seem to think people walk around in their swimming wear during winter. The sweat will make your clothes moist, and you will get very cold once you go outside again. So make sure you can take something off when you start getting hot.

Invest in a good pair of shoes. Your socks and shoes are all your feet have. Don't neglect them! Wear properly fitting shoes, preferably with rubber soles. Gore-tex materials are always a good idea, and the same goes for boots. Boots are definitely in fashion and come in various sizes and styles. Cowboy boots, rider boots, knee-length boots...as long as they have a somewhat decent sole, you're good.

For outdoor activities, invest in a pair of good quality hiking boots. These will last you forever and they will spare you from coping with half frozen toes in the middle of the woods. Some brands like Camel Active, sell shoes with a fur or wool lining for extra toasty feet! Combine natural and synthetic materials. Natural materials such as wool breathe better (less sweat!) and stay warm, even when damp or wet.

On the other hand, they are usually less windproof. Some brands incorporate synthetic yet breathing materials in their winter jackets which is of course the perfect solution. Wear overlapping clothes. The last thing you want, is exposing your bare skin to the below-zero temperatures whenever you reach out for something. For example, if you are wearing a cropped shirt, make sure to cover any cracks or uncovered areas with a longer jacket. Stuff your leggings or your jeans in your boots, so the chilly wind doesn't come in. Buy a jacket that has long enough sleeves, so they overlap with your gloves. Make sure you buy the right size clothes. You may be tempted to buy oversized sweaters to snuggle up in, but truth is, this makes it easier for the warmth to escape. On the other hand, clothes that are too tight will only make you sweat.

Last, but not least: Yes, it's cold out there. Don't let this fact tempt you into wearing only baggy sweatshirts and shapeless hoodies! We don't suggest you go for a walk in the park dressed in a flimsy dress and open toed heels, but it's perfectly possible to dress fashionably and stay warm at the same time. We can't emphasize it enough: layers, layers, layers! Lots of active lifestyle or leisure brands offer ranges of fashionable yet warm winter clothes and shoes. Brands like Camel Active even let you order you clothes online and deliver them to your doorstep, so you don't have to face the cold wind. Don't you just love the 21st century...

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bertje_De_Kegel

Camel pics

Discovering Dubai

Dubai is a fascinating city offering a blend of old and new. It has taken less than a century for this once small fishing village to become a modern exciting city and popular holiday destination. Whether you are looking for travel deals for a relaxing break in the sun or an exciting shopping trip, Dubai has it all. The following are just a few of the many things you can do whilst visiting Dubai.

Hot Air Balloon Ride
Take an early morning hot-air balloon ride across the desert. The view from the sky is amazing as you glide above camels and gazelles who wander freely below you, beautiful green oases and giant red sand dunes. The breathtaking views offer amazing opportunities to catch the beauty of the desert in pictures.

Seaplane Ride
Take a bird's eye view of Dubai's landmarks on a seaplane flight of the city. Take photos and marvel at such iconic landmarks as Dubai Creek, Port Rashid, Dubai Marina, the largest man-made islands The World and The Palm, Burj Al Arab Hotel Jurmeirah, Burj Dubai and the Jebel Ali.

4x4 Desert Safari
Explore the Arabian Desert during the day before relaxing beneath the stars over dinner. Travelling across the desert in a 4x4 gives you the opportunity to take amazing photographs of the surroundings and the beautiful desert sunset, maybe stopping off at a camel farm and even experiencing sandboarding.

4x4 Safari to Hatta
A safari to Hatta allows you to experience a variety of terrain including rocky mountain passes and amazing desert scenery. Dating back to the 16th century, the village of Hatta lies on the banks of the Hatta Wadi (dry river beds). Depending on when you take your last minute holidays to Dubai and the rainfall, you may be able to take a refreshing dip in the beautiful water pools of Hatta.

East Coast Coach Trip
Take a coach trip along Dubai's east coast, through the Al Dhaid oasis which is renowned for its fruit and vegetable plantations to Masafi, the Hajar mountains, the small port at Dibba, numerous fishing villages where you can enjoy a relaxing swim in the Indian Ocean, Al Badiyah where you will find the oldest mosque in the Emirates, Fujairah with it's renovated fort, the old citadel of Bitnah and not forgetting Masa where you can enjoy looking around the market.

Sightseeing Tour of Al Ain
Take a trip to the beautiful Garden City of Al Ain. Located in the Hajar Mountains your trip should include a visit to the museum and the recently renovated Old Palace of H.H.Sheikh Zayed who was the late ruler of Abu Dhabi and the late President of the United Arab Emirates, the Hili Gardens which are famous for archaeological excavations from 300BC and the largest camel market in the UAE where you can watch dealers from all over the Gulf buying and selling racing camels.

Hop-on, Hop-off Tour
This is a great way to see all of Dubai's popular sights at your leisure. All you have to do is buy a ticket which allows you unlimited travel on the open-top double decker buses which travel around the city.

Emma Healey is the co-founder and owner of holidayholidayholiday.co.uk, specialists in bargain holidays and package holidays to worldwide destination. Thanks for taking the time to read my article and be sure to watch out for more of my articles as im writing many travel blogs and have some great topics coming soon.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Emma_Healey