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A highlight of your trip to Rajasthan is a camel safari in the desert near Jaisalmer. Billion Star Hotel is the company name of a cooperative of camel drivers from the villages near the town of Kanoi, 30 km west from Jaisalmer, near the entrance to the Desert National Park. These are the people of the Kanoi desert, they live in the desert and know everything there is to know about the area. They make their living partly by farming and partly by looking after tourists on camel safari. Friendly and hardworking they provide a wonderful service but they live in the villages so have no way of contacting customers. The only way they can get work is by sub-contract from Jaisalmer hotels and agencies. It is easy for hotel owners to exploit camel drivers because they are illiterate and uneducated and have no unions. When you book a camel safari through a hotel or agent you pay between Rs 200 and Rs 4000 per day. The hotel owner pays the camel driver Rs 80 per day and keeps the rest. This web page is part of a project to help the semi-nomadic desert tribes set up more sustainable support systems. Getting free from exploitation by the rich hotel owners is one aim of the project. Now through this site, or by calling the number below you can deal direct with the camel boss and by pass all the middlemen. When you book direct with Billion Star Hotel you get the same camel safari at a basic, fixed price and all the profits go to the people who provide the service. Indian cities are full of pollution and hassle but camel safari in the beautiful Thar Desert with the drivers of Billion Star Hotel is for the vast majority of people a restful and wonderful experience. There is no hassle here. My guarantee. You write your own holiday. If you want to go to the tourist spots you tell us and we will arrange a guide to take you by jeep, or camel. If you want to disappear into the desert and not see another western face for a week then you tell us and we will arrange that too. This is a well established company with an excellent reputation. All of our drivers are registered with the Jaisalmer Tourist Authority, all speak good English and every care will be taken to guarantee you a unique and pleasurable experience. With Billion Star Hotel you won't be cheated, your belongings won't be stolen and you won't have drunk camel drivers making passes at the women. You will be collected by jeep from your hotel in Jaisalmer and driven to the desert where you will enjoy a few hours riding camel through the dunes and around the villages. Then, while the sun sets over miles of spectacular sand dunes your guide will prepare your dinner, Rajasthani style. You can spend the evening "laughing, joking" (as the locals say) around the campfire before retiring to sleep in tents or under the billion stars. In the morning your guide will serve breakfast of Indian tea and toast with jam and take you off for further exploring. For more information contact:
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