Last weekend I went to the camel farm, owned by His Highness the Shaik Mohammed Bin Salman Al Khalifa (he's the king's uncle). The camels here are bred for racing, which is a big sport in the Middle East. We pulled up in our little bus, waved to the security guard, and just walked onto the property, where we saw this:
No fences, no glass, no barriers of any kind between us and the camels. There were a lot of workers around, but they ignored us, and continued on with their tasks of feeding, landscaping, and using their donkey cart to haul things around. As I got closer, I realized that the camels had their front two legs tied together, and the rope typing their legs was attached to a tether on the ground. So they could walk with baby steps in a circle about 10 feet in diameter. In case you were wondering, they don't like it when you try and touch them.
This guy was a bit curious about my camera, and decided to come in for a closer look (much to my surprise).
Further back on the property there was a large pen of camels. I wish I could make this face.
Some of the workers took us to the nursery, where all of the mothers and babies were. This little guy was only 5 days old. He was pretty adorable, and I wish that you all could have heard the funny noises he made.
Nobody wanted to ride the camel first, so I volunteered. I was looking for the saddle, but realized that there wasn't going to be a saddle. They made the camel sit down, I got on, and then they made her stand up. I almost got bucked off the back. Camels are not graceful stander-uppers. Plus, they had me sit so far back that I was already in a precarious position without the extra jarring. Luckily the guy grabbed me and saved me from falling. If my career in HR doesn't work out, perhaps I will be a camel racer. And no, pastel yellow shorts were not the thing to wear riding bareback on a dirty camel. I had a black bum for the rest of the day, which I'm sure was very attractive.
I couldn't get enough of this little guy. And he couldn't get enough of licking my toes. I thought of him all day, because although I enjoyed his soft fur, I could have done without his smell, which despite washing my hands a few times with extra soap, still managed to linger. Camels stink.
No fences, no glass, no barriers of any kind between us and the camels. There were a lot of workers around, but they ignored us, and continued on with their tasks of feeding, landscaping, and using their donkey cart to haul things around. As I got closer, I realized that the camels had their front two legs tied together, and the rope typing their legs was attached to a tether on the ground. So they could walk with baby steps in a circle about 10 feet in diameter. In case you were wondering, they don't like it when you try and touch them. 
This guy was a bit curious about my camera, and decided to come in for a closer look (much to my surprise). 
Further back on the property there was a large pen of camels. I wish I could make this face.
Some of the workers took us to the nursery, where all of the mothers and babies were. This little guy was only 5 days old. He was pretty adorable, and I wish that you all could have heard the funny noises he made. 
Nobody wanted to ride the camel first, so I volunteered. I was looking for the saddle, but realized that there wasn't going to be a saddle. They made the camel sit down, I got on, and then they made her stand up. I almost got bucked off the back. Camels are not graceful stander-uppers. Plus, they had me sit so far back that I was already in a precarious position without the extra jarring. Luckily the guy grabbed me and saved me from falling. If my career in HR doesn't work out, perhaps I will be a camel racer. And no, pastel yellow shorts were not the thing to wear riding bareback on a dirty camel. I had a black bum for the rest of the day, which I'm sure was very attractive.
I couldn't get enough of this little guy. And he couldn't get enough of licking my toes. I thought of him all day, because although I enjoyed his soft fur, I could have done without his smell, which despite washing my hands a few times with extra soap, still managed to linger. Camels stink.
2 comments:
oh, break my heart. that baby camel is the cutest thing i have seen in a long time. who knew? and of course you would be the one to go first, burly! if i had to choose a motto for you, it would be -- 'Burly: She's game.'
What an adventure! I'm behind on your blog and I have a lot of reading to do to catch up. Sorry I lost you! My phone died a lonely and sudden death in my back pocket. Which email are you using currently? Love ya!
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