Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India 1997

At the far western reaches of Rajasthan in the golden city of Jaiselmer. This fortress in the desert is beautiflly carved in the Jain tradition. To get out this far is in and of itself a long hard road. To go even further means to leve roads behind and trael as the locals do, by camel, by bike, or by foot. I chose to journey into the Thar Desert byt camel for three days. Along this journey the main attraction is desert, desert and more desert. Scattered along the way are also ruins and villages, and not much else. The heat beats down and vapor rose from the earth right before my eyes. Occasionally the baking sun would disappear behind threatening clouds, however little rain actually fell. As the wind kicked up and the sand began to fly, the thought of water was refreshing, however ellusive. The combination created an environment where the mirage is perhaps more common than reality.