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Bikaner and Back

Arriving in Bikaner we venture around the city visiting havelis, Junagarh Fort, and the old city. Havelis are old decorated mansions, although pretty, if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. Then we tour Junagarh fort and its exhibits and finish with a rickshaw ride around the narrow streets of the old city. However, our main interest lies in Deshnoke, the location of the Karni Mata Temple. The big attraction here is the rats, yes rats, as they are believed to be sacred. Legend has it that Karni Mata was the incarnation of the goddess Durga and that after the drowning of her step son she pleaded with Yama, the god of Death, to save him. Yama finally agreed and allowed him and all of her male children to be reincarnated as rats. So as with all temples the shoes must come off and be left behind before entering to maintain purity even though there is rat droppings and stale food everywhere. More intrigued than disgusted we walk around the temple watching the rats scurry about and drink from the bronze plates filled with water and milk.

This was the last of our sightseeing in India as we start back to Delhi, overnighting in Mandawa. Unfortunately, the tour agency did not follow through on their word and we did not get to freshen up at a hotel nor did we get to see the sights in New Delhi. Instead we went straight to the airport sweaty and grimy to wait 8 hours before we could board our flight to Thailand. We feel sorry for the poor souls that had to sit next to us.

We describe India like a bipolar nation that refuses to take its meds and the insanity starts to wear off onto you, leaving us in a sort of love/hate relationship with the country. One second you are entranced by the sights of dazzling saris and the scent of aromic incense and spices, then the next minute you are accosted by incessant car horns and tauts all while being suffocated by the stench of feces and motor exhaust. Though the food tastes so good with all kinds of seasonings stimulating your taste buds, it sometimes leaves you running to the closest bathroom singing Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” And we still haven’t figured out why they bother putting lane lines on the road, since a two lane highway easily becomes four or five. Bodies seem to cling to any moving object, the top of buses, the backs of rickshaws and the sides of jeeps. It’s like being at the circus. We thought Egypt was nuts, but they got nothing on Indians. Cows, unmarked speed bumps, kamikaze pedestrians, and crater size pot holes all add to the mayhem.

Jodhpur & Jaisalmer

Our trip to the blue city began with Jaswant Thada, a translucent white marble memorial built for Maharaja Jaswant Singh II. From here you can view the massive structure that is Mehrangarh Fort. This fort towers on a cliff over the city and after exploring some of the exhibits we made our way to the top for the charming view of the iconic blue painted houses below. Supposedly, they are painted blue because it is a Muslim community, however, green is usually the chosen color of Islam.

Happy to be spending a couple nights in one location we arrived to the quieter “Golden city” of Jaisalmer. Not really known for the actual metal, the city gets its name instead from the yellow sand of the nearby Thar Desert. We spend the morning walking around the sandstone walled fort of Jaisalmer where many people still live inside. Walking up the path we come across the filming of a Bollywood movie as men in sparkling costumes and big fake mustaches dance down the street. After spending the morning dodging cows and “tour guides” we head back for our camel safari and sleep over in the desert.

Karma tells us that someone will pick us up in a jeep and take us out to the safari location. Someone eventually shows up in a rickety little car but doesn’t acknowledge us. A few minutes later our “friendly” hotel staff just points at the car so we get in. Joking that we are being kidnapped and taken to Pakistan, we suddenly stop laughing as our driver doesn’t seem to know where to go and a swarm of camel drivers buzz about the car when he stops. Hoping for the best we follow his directions and go with two of the camel guides. Still a little unsure we head out into the desert but are reassured once we see the name of the camp sign.

Arriving just before sunset we are joined with a small friendly Intrepid tour group. Glad to have some company we enjoyed a desert meal as the sun disappeared behind the sand dunes. The moon lights up the sky as we are treated to traditional song and dance. After the merriment we head to our side of the desert to sleep on our cots under the stars. We woke up with the sun and entertained ourselves with “Battle of the Dung” as the beetles duke it out for the prime pieces of camel poo. Stuck behind Jason’s flatulent camel we make it back safe and sound, with just sore bums from the ride.

The next evening Karma took us to a Hindu festival called Dussehra. Hundreds of people make their way to the local stadium to view the large painted bamboo statue of Ravana. In celebration of good vs. evil the army lights the firework packed statue ablaze. The show ends quickly and we make our way out with the masses with the occasional tug or bumb on your pockets.

Holy Cow, India!

Of course it’s only appropriate that you end up in a third world country sleep deprived and unprepared. First we arrived in Dubai after an early morning of shark diving and four in-flight movies when we had our first encounter with the squatty potty. After a few seconds of contemplation, it was decided that we didn’t have to go that bad and we waited for our flight to India. Having finally arrived in Delhi we needed to figure out how to cover a lot of ground in not a lot of time. We originally planned on trains, but some tickets were not available and we would be arriving and departing at strange times of the day. Our better judgment said go with a car hire, so after being taken to the “official tourist office” by rickshaw we found our way to the real one and got a recommendation for Grace India Holiday. It was more than we had budgeted for transport but figured it would be money well spent as it would be safer, easier, and give us more flexibility.

As most of our day was spent figuring out travel logistics we didn’t see too much of Delhi. We met our friendly driver, Karma, and the non AC Ambassador we would be spending many hours in and headed straight for Agra to admire the Taj Mahal. Cars are no longer permitted to drive within a certain radius of the monument as the pollution has begun to leave the pearly white marble with a dull tint. Nonetheless, this melancholy work of love does not disappoint as we walked through the arch to view the mausoleum of Emperor Shah Jahan’s most beloved and third wife. Heart-broken after she died giving birth to their 14th child, he began construction of her elaborate tomb that was adorned with semiprecious gems. It took a workforce of 20,000 and a total of 22 years to complete. Arriving just after dawn, we were able to catch the sparkle of inlayed sapphire and crystal as the sunlight hit the stones just right. Next we drove around the outside of Agra fort, followed with the cash cow treatment as we are chauffeured to local stores selling the famous wares of the city.

To finish the Golden Triangle, we drove to Jaipur where we explored the intricate Amber Fort, City Palace, and Galtaji, the monkey temple. Many forts, like Amber, still possess temples where Hindu’s come to worship. As we made our trek up the back way to the gates, in theory to avoid street vendors, we pass by hundreds of locals coming to celbrate and we catch some interesting sights. First, we see a young boy painted in blue posing as the deity Rama, then we pass by a skinny white bearded snake charmer yelling “Bakshesh” as he opens his can and a cobra pops out. And before I know it, I have a red bindi dotted on my forehead and a red thumbed toothless woman asking for a couple Rupees. With the ticket booth in sight, we tip the elderly woman and make our way into the fort. There are many small chambers and hallways throughout the fort as well as a beautiful room decorated in nothing but tiny mirror tiles. Next, was the City Palace which seemed pretty uninteresting after the fort. But our interest was peaked again after a visit to Galtaji temple, where hundreds of monkeys have set up residence.