|
After 2 relaxing days in the traveler friendly town of Pushkar, we hired a car (a very inexpensive and popular way to travel in India, particularly when divided among 4 people). Our goal was 7 hours away--the town of Bikaner on the edge of the Thar Desert, not far from India's border with Pakistan.
India's roadways are dominated by stout, overloaded, and colorfully painted trucks as shown here. Add to this the narrowness of all the roads that often will only allow one car to comfortably pass at a time. Add to this the Indian mantra which makes it a considerable point of honor to refrain from moving from the path of an oncoming vehicle until close to the last possible moment, and you can imagine that our 7 hours were not always relaxing ones.
On the road to Bikaner.
One of the most fascinating, and disturbing, aspects of our journey to Bikaner was our visit to the Karni Mata Temple, more commonly referred to as the Rat Temple. And, as its name suggests, it is inhabited by thousands upon thousand these long tailed rodents.
Rats in the inner sanctum enjoying the prasad--or offerings--brought by worshipers.
The priests of the Temple; just another day at the office.
In Bikaner, our main purpose was to arrange for a Camel Safari into the Thar Desert. We were fortunate enough to find Vinod's Camel Safari's (this is Vinod) who delivered what he promised: an amazing Camel Safari experience (see our photos at 2 Go Camel Safari). Vinod is also quite the musician, as he lays down a rhythmic beat at a Bikaner restaurant where we enjoyed a glass of chai (Indian tea). If you plan on doing a camel safari in the deserts outside of Bikaner, we suggest that you contact Vinod at [email protected] or give him a call at 91-0151-270445. You can also get more information about his safaris from his new web site: www.vinodesertsafari.com
Vinod's beautiful family, outside the gate to his home where he and his family so graciously hosted us.
After visiting Vinod's family for breakfast, we were taken to a small village in the desert and mounted on to our camels.
|
|
2 Go Maps / 2 Go Actual Itinerary / 2 Go Photos / 2 Go Home Page
PLEASE E-MAIL US. . . WE WOULD LOVE 2 HEAR FROM YOU!
©1999-2001 Kelly and Rich Willis. All rights reserved. |
