Bikaner

Bikaner has one of the most interesting layouts of any of the towns we've been in.  The old city, enclosed in high fort like walls, probably looks exactly as it did 200 years ago with little change to architecture.  Internally all the buildings have been modernized, but it's still amazing to wander down the tiny winding roads and look up at the old detailed stone carvings on the face of each building.  We started the day with a huge breakfast made by Manisha and her mother-in-law.  Thin, crispy, aloo parathas were the highlight-- some of the best we've had so far.  Nandhu popped up in the middle of the meal with samosas (committed to feed us as many as possible because we mentioned liking them) which we had to pack to go because we were too full.  We maneuvered our way out of the center of old city and headed to the Junagarh fort.  We bought our tickets (separately as usual-- I generally try for the Indian ticket prices but ticket offices are more reluctant when we buy together) and climbed the ramp to the fort.  Although smaller than the other forts we've explored in India (and there have been a lot..) the Junagarh fort was much more detailed, and was really well preserved.  The work put into each room was stunning, and the museum attached was quirky and random but really well maintained.  We left the fort and headed over to a smaller city museum which was even more random featuring everything from stuffed lions and tigers to bits of weaponry and armor here and there. It was 3 adjoining rooms that emptied out visitors into a courtyard, somewhat confused.

Junagarh Fort entrance

View from the highest point in the fort

We then talked to Nandhu, convinced him that we'd really rather walk and that he should come with us so we left the car outside of the old city walls.  There was a huge Jain Temple that we wanted to visit and it was definitely good we went by foot.  The city was much busier than usual with the 9 day Jain festival that was wrapping up the the next day, and lots of decorations had been put up in celebration.  We wandered down the streets with Nandhu leading the way.  It's been really nice getting to know Nandhu more-- I think he's warmed up to us a bit more and has been a little less shy.  He had gotten into the habit of calling us every morning to confirm our plans for the day and every night to say goodnight.  He's also started joking around with us and telling us funny and cute stories about his two young kids-- over all just a really nice guy.  We reached one very narrow path and heard drums coming our way so we ducked into a couple doorways to get out of the way.

Our ride

Side streets of Bikaner Old City

Walking through the market

Look VERY closely

HEEEEEEEEY.

Love the impromptu parades here. Also, the cows that seems to LOVE Elliot.  We arrived at the temple which was an incredible white marble structure.  There were two parts, a smaller part filled with people in the middle of a service and a larger part that was fairly empty.  Inside the larger building was three separate floors that reached a peak at the top, each with interiors decorated with amazing colorful detailed murals.  The inside of this temple was definitely one of the most ornate we've ever been inside and the priest very kindly allowed us to take a couple pictures.

Entrance to the larger side of the temple

Inside the first floor

View from the second floor

Second floor ceiling

Snack shop--- found some delicious namkin in Bikaner

After leaving the temple and a snack break, we walked back to the guest house and said goodbye to Nandhu for the day.  We spent the afternoon hanging out with the family which was really fun.  We helped Manisha set up a trip-advisor page online and played with little Tanisha outside, Elliot inventing fun games that involved her whacking him on the head with a water bottle.  Before dinner we sat down and had a beer on the patio with Anil (Manisha's husband), who told us about growing up in Bombay.  When we told him we would be ending our time in India there he very kindly offered to let us stay with his family, or if we wanted to stay closer to the center of the city he would ask his brother to find us a reasonably priced and safe guest house.  We had another delicious vegetarian dinner, though at this point we've gone about a week without eating meat (with Pushkar being a very religious town and the holiday going on in Bikaner requiring people to eat vegetarian) so we would like to find some soon! We had some amazing potatoes that I'd like to try to replicate once we have access to a kitchen again, and some light and fluffy lemon rice.  We went for another after dinner walk with Anil, who was again very insistent on us having paan (though neither of us particularly enjoyed it..) and showed us a couple of his favorite buildings nearby.  When we got back to the house, we went up to pack-- we wish we had more time in this beautiful little town, but Jaisalmer tomorrow!

Unwanted paan

City from the roof

Pushkar to Bikaner

It was a nice drive to Bikaner from Pushkar, filled with little naps and a couple fun stops.  Pretty tired from the camping trip, it was nice to take a cat nap as we drove through the desert.  Our first stop was in Nagour to check out the small camel fair that was going on.  It was a gathering of mostly camel owners, but also horses and cows, selling or trading animals.  There were also tons of vendors selling harnesses, saddles, costumes, and bells for the animals.  They were also shaving the animals down to have silly hair cuts, much like large sand colored poodles.  We grabbed a quick snack, realizing how hungry we were.  Nandhu had a suggestion for lunch, so after another 10 kilometers down the road, we stopped for lunch at a small road side restaurant.  Tadka dal (which seems to be Nandhu's favorite and one of our new favorites as well) and some malai kofta with chapatis made a delicious lunch, and we continued on to Bikaner.  About 30 kilometers from the city, we stopped in a small town of Deshnok to visit a temple.  Famous for its kabas, or holy rodents, the Karni Mata temple in Deshnok is overrun by rats.  It is apparently good luck if rats run over your feet, as well as if you see the elusive white rat.  Neither of those things occurred for either of us, but it was really interesting to see how the temple was built and hear the interesting history.  We got back on the road for a bit longer and arrived at the outer walls of Bikaner old city.  It was amazing to see how intact the old city has remained, with all the original architecture from hundreds of years ago still in place.  The buildings themselves have been renovated on the insides, but the old tiny winding roads barely big enough for a car, beautiful carvings, and old fort doors in every building still remain.  We found our way to the guest house after much maneuvering through autos and persuading of cows, and were welcomed by Manisha, the sister of Preeti from Jaipur.  Her warmth and friendliness was so like her sister's it was incredibly comforting and we felt right at home.  Her husband Anil was incredibly kind as well, and her adorable little girl Tanisha (whom the guest house is named after) continues to peek her head out of a room everytime we're near by and gives us a big wave and silly grin.  After a shower and a little bit of the India vs Australia cricket match we sat down to eat.  We had palak paneer, cauliflower and pea curry, chapatis, rice, onion papad, yogurt and rasgullah for dessert.  Needless to say, we were totally stuffed.  After finishing dinner, Anil took us for a walk around town, which helped us digest a bit.  He took us down the small winding lanes around the guest house, stopping to have us try the local sweet paan he said Bikaner was famous for.  The streets were all lit with beautiful decorations for the Jain holiday that is going on for 9 days in the old city, and it was really nice to see everyone celebrating and enjoying the evening.  We returned to the guest house and Anil brought us up to the roof top terrace that overlooks the entire city.  It was an amazing view, and he pointed out all the sights we needed to see the next day.  We headed to bed after, full and sleepy, really excited to explore Bikaner the next day.

Camel fair fun

Chili pakoras

Karni Mata Temple

So many rats

Guesthouse in Bikaner

With a beautiful view of the city

Pushkar 2

We spent our final morning in Pushkar packing up our bags and checking out of the guest house to get ready for our trek into the desert.  We locked our bags in the trunk of Nandhu's car with the very bare essentials in our side bags (more layers for the cold night, water, etc) and had a couple hours to kill before we had to meet up with our guides.  We let Nandhu lead the way in showing us a temple in old Pushkar that he liked.  It was a beautiful stadium like structure with baths surrounding what used to be a small pond.  The pond had since dried out almost totally, and Nandhu said the temple was often forgotten about when people came to the city.  It was probably the first place we've visited in India where we were the only people, and it was kind of nice to spend a quiet couple of hours outside of the bustle of the city.  After, we went back into town and had a cup of chai with Nandhu in the market, and then headed over to the office a little early.  We again had another cup of chai (our no thank yous were ignored as usual) and got to know our new furry companions for the camp out in the desert.

Temple in old Pushkar

Camel trekking office

Riding a camel is not an entirely pleasant experience. I've never ridden a horse so I have nothing to compare it to, but I guess I always imagined camels having a little more grace when trotting along on the desert terrain.  This was not the case. The beginning of the trip started of slow-- it was an awkward trek through town, and while camels walking through the streets is fairly common, dodging traffic on the back of one is very different.  We finally reached a scenic path and wandered through the back roads that became more and more deserted.  It was actually quite relaxing, and the advantage of being on the camels was the amazing almost rooftop height view (these guys were huge).  After a quick stop to pick up firewood and other supplies, we started out onto the sand paths throughout the small villages surrounding Pushkar.  Our guides joined us on the backs of the camels, who were happily stomping along the paths with their weird squishy feet.  About an hour in we took a break at a little shop, had some more chai ('no' has no meaning), readjusted the enormous saddles on the backs of Garaju, my camel, and Raja, Elliot's.  When we got back on the path and we were casually chatting and laughing with the guides, Elliot joked "Looks like I got the slow camel".  My guide very seriously turned to him and said, "Do you want to go fast?"  Apparently joking about your camel being slow was not accepted, and for the rest of the trek (and continuing the next morning) my guide would shriek out commands in Hindi to our camel causing the large animal to jump start into an incredibly awkward gallop.  He would then exclaim things like "#1 camel!" in delight while I gripped on to the tiny 1 1/2 inch handle, shaking like a bobble-head doll.  After getting used to these outbursts, it was really an astonishing ride through the desert, and between the night trek and the morning trek we went all the way around a large hill in the center which we had climbed the day before to see the temple at the top.  When we got to the camp site we set up our tents and waited for the other two tourists who would be joining us.  Two girls, one from the UK and one from Delaware eventually joined us and we settled into the site.  We sat around the camp fire as the sun began to set, and the temperature dropped quickly.  Dinner was cooked on the fire and consisted of dal, aloo gobi, rice, pepper curry, and a different kind of chapati I had never had before (it was a somewhat dense roll that tasted more like buttery wheat bread than anything.)  We relaxed by the fire swapping travel stories until it became too cold, then retired to our tents for the night.  While it was cold, it was warm enough inside the tent, especially with our cozy winter gear on that we had bought for Nepal.  When we woke the next morning, we watched the sunrise over the desert hills and had a breakfast of chai and sweet paratha (a bit sandy but still delicious)--a perfect way to start the day.  The trek back was much shorter, and cutting through the city was much easier in the morning when it was a lot emptier.  Nandhu was waiting for us when we got back, so we got in the car and headed to Bikaner.

Walking through the city

Best friends

Raja, one weeeeird camel

Cool dude

Oh... hi.

Morning tea

Camp site