The first thing you notice about India, aside from the fact everyone seems to have a mobile phone, is the vast array of colours every where. From the colours in the shops, the pastel colours the houses are painted to the Sari's the women wear. India is definitely a country of colours which seem to come to life even more when you enter Rajastan. The region has been described as 'real' India - how the country used to be before the claws of the western world seized the country. It's certainly got a certain rawness to it.
The setting for Bikaner is the arid desert so the deep reds, bright greens and yellow colours of turbans and Sari's really jump out at you. The main attraction to Bikaner is the Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok, about 30 mins drive in a tuk tuk from the town centre. The drive through the desolate dessert adds to the fact it's probably one of the strangest temples and definitely not for the squeamish.
According to legend, Karni Mata, in incarnation of Durga, who lived in the 14th Century, asked the God of Death, Yama, to restore to life the son of a grieving storyteller. When Yama refused, Karni Mata re-incarnated all dead storytellers as rats, depriving Yama of human souls.
Thousands of Kabas (holy rats) now live at the temple. If you don't like rats - which I don't - then it's verging on fairly traumatic. Firstly, don't be lulled into a false sense of security when you see the temple looking all pristine. Sparkling in the sun. The silver doors with their intricate details is also misleading as behind those doors are thousands of rodents. Literally.
First shocker of the day was that you have to remove your shoes. Of course you do. It's a temple. That's what you have to do before you enter a temple. Picture if you will a grown woman whimpering and wincing as she takes her first step and places her clean delicate foot onto the white (cleanish) marble of the temple. All manner of things were running through my mind. How many diseases can you catch from rats? How many bacteria can happily live on marble floors? How good is the Indian health care system - is there one?
So there I was picking my way through the rats, wincing with every step and trying to avoid touching anything that a rat may have been on. Which is pretty hard when you're on tip toe, dodging running rats and trying to ensure you don't 'step' in anything. I was trying to spot where the rat crap was on the marble floor but I gave up when I nearly mistook shite for a rat and screamed as I thought I was about to step on it. See pics above for living proof - I came pretty close to the rats many times!
Don't get me wrong. Rats aren't scampering around your size 6's. They keep pretty much to themselves. And I have to say they did look a little un healthy so I don't think there's any danger of you leaving the temple thinking rats are cute and cuddly. These one's certainly aren't!
Having said that apparently it's lucky for a rat to run over your foot. Even luckier for you if you spot a white rat. You can also eat prasad - holy food offering covered in rat holy rat saliva which is claimed to bring good fortune. I was willing to take their word of it in this case!
The second shocker of the day was the fact I spotted a few babies on the floor of the temple. Happily crawling around ON THE FLOOR OF THE TEMPLE (see pic above). It was as much as I could do to stop myself from picking them up off the floor. But to Hindus of course the temple and its rats are holy. Thousands of pilgrims head there every day. No place for me to be simpering and wincing around in!
The 'experience' of the holy rodents definitely earned me a look around the shops. Namely the spice market in the old town. It's one of India's biggest. The old town itself is set within the old Bikaner fortress. It's pretty with winding alley ways which are home to over 500,000 Indians. There you can buy an array of spices ranging both common and obscure.
Rajasthan is the home of 'home stays' where you basically stay with an Indian family, home cooked food and definitely not as clinical as a hotel/guest house. It's quite a nice idea and means you're slightly out of the way from the usual foray of travellers. The place I stayed at - Vino Paying Guest House - was more sophisticated affair but very much still family run. The room was great for 250 INR (that's about 3quid), food was good too.
Some lovely people were staying at the guest house. Although I nearly threw myself out of the window when the inevitable 'traaavellaaar' talk began. It's the usual 'who's done what, been where and who's out done who on the "I've been to the most secluded place on earth" front. God, it's so bloody dull. I asked an Italian girl where she'd stayed in Pushkar as that was my next port of call. She smirked and then proudly (and loudly) told me that I wouldn't have heard of it as only Indian people stay there and then went on to tell me that Pushkar was so 'last year...it's all about Udaipur you know'. I went to bed before the inevitable narcalepsy that I tend to suffer from when these type of conversations start. Aaaaah, you gotta love the travel snobs.
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