hmm, to be honest, I don't remember getting up being hard, so probably wasn't; tho there was a helper, who also had the reins... so it was just a tourist trap. ;) Couple of rounds around the campsite and that was it... and you could also smoke hookahs...
What else? Went to see Petra, which was beyond cool, scubadived in the Red Sea, absolutely beautiful fishes, good food and good company, especially Cal, as I already mentioned. :) And funny thing, found a Finnish book about Petra in one of the antique stores... probably aquired from a Finnish construction worker; Finns have built a lot of in the area, embassies etc...

Also I've "ridden" camels a couple of times more, at Scarborough Fair in Texas, with my daughter "Tullia"... tho there you "get up" from a platform, as it's more for the kids. ;) And they got an elephant there too...