Our India adventure continues. Read this post to hear all about our time in Jaipur, Pushkar and Bikaner.
Jaipur
Claire here.
From Delhi we headed southwest on the train to Jaipur. After a late night catching up with Uryia we were glad for our comfy air conditioned carriage complete with complimentary breakfast, chai, water and newspapers. A little bit of luxury after too many bumpy bus rides!
Jaipur was once a walled city; but with massive population growth it now sprawls well beyond its huge defensive walls. Sometimes called the pink city due to its pinkish-coloured sandstone buildings, the old city of Jaipur is now a chaotic jumble of bazaars and old buildings set to a soundtrack of traffic noise and honking horns.
There are a number of impressive buildings built by various rulers to visit inside the old city. We started with Hawa Mahal—a tall building on the corner of the main intersection build in 1799 built specifically so the royal women could watch the life and processions of the city. Several stories high but only one room deep, it has many shady alcoves with tiny windows from where the royal ladies could peep out at the city below without being seen.
Right next door to Hawa Mahal is Jantar Mantar—an observatory built by the founder of Jaipur Maharaja Jai Singh in 1728. Not really my thing, I stuck to the shade while Eli inspected the huge instruments that measure time and eclipses, mark the passing of the zodiac, and plot celestial bodies. They were certainly impressive both in size and their alleged accuracy.
Our final historic building of the day was a climb to the top of Iswaru Minar Swarga Sal (heaven piercing minaret) for views over the whole of Jaipur.
That evening we dined at Thali House. Thalis have fast become one of our standard meals. Usually served on a metal tray with little depression for each dish, they usually consist of 2 veggie curries, dhal (lentils), rice, chapatti (bread) and curd (yoghurt). The best ones are ‘unlimited’, meaning all you can eat. Thali House had particularly enthusiastic waiters meaning our plates were replenished frequently and many, many chapatti were eaten. A tasty and satisfying meal for less than $2 each.
Amber Fort is yet another one of India’s impressive forts. Situated at Amber, a short distance from Jaipur, it is built from a beautiful honey-coloured stone and sits imposingly on top of a hill overlooking the town. It features multiple courtyards surrounded by intricately-carved and decorated stone terraces and archways leading to various royal chambers.
From Jaipur it was another bumpy bus ride to the Hindu pilgrimage town of Pushkar.
Pushkar
We tend to do a bit more research about accommodation in India before arriving in each new town than we have in other countries. This is how we found the very welcoming and accommodating Hotel Everest—which was our base for our stay in Pushkar.
Set around a small lake completely encircled by Ghats for bathing in the sacred waters, Pushkar is a small town that caters to an eclectic mix of tourists and pilgrims. Religious edicts state no meat, eggs or alcohol; yet we still ate and drank well in many restaurants around town.
Pushkar is a pleasant place to simply wander around exploring the many temples set among the winding streets. We also found a hotel where non-guests could swim and enjoyed a pleasant afternoon escaping the heat by the pool where a family or tortoises reside.
Bikaner
Eli here.
Bikaner is a funny city with its crumbling brick wall and dusty winding streets, camels tow fresh fruit and building materials and auto-rickshaws get in fights with motorbike riders—but it also lacks tourists, which we appreciate. There were two main attractions for us, so we stayed two days.
Our first attraction was Junagarh Fort—an imposing fort with luxurious palaces, watch towers, a large symmetrical garden, and many rooms of history. There were many Indian tourists but only two other foreigners; all admiring the mirror-tiled private chambers of Maharaja Gaj Singh or the intricately carved arches leading to the hall of private audience. Although the fort has its moments, it doesn’t really compare the Amber or Jaislamer forts (see next post).
Our second attraction, and perhaps the bigger of the two, was Karni Mata Temple—a temple devoted to rat worship. Not surprisingly, Claire gave this one a miss.
Now these are not your average good-looking (and clean) white rats. No, they are the particularly more grotesque-looking dirty grey rats with messy hair and evil eyes. I am not a rat expert by any means, but these were ugly rats. Perhaps the use of less appealing rats is designed to test ones devotion: the uglier the rat the harder it is to worship so the easier it is to separate out the true follows from imposters. But despite their appearances, true followers believe that these rats are reincarnated relatives of Karni Mata; herself an incarnation of the Hindu deity Durga.
The temple is small by our standards, with only a few corridors of black and white checked marble floors and an inner sanctum guarded by large silver doors. The rats are well looked after though. Holes are cut in the walls so that they can roam freely. Worshipers dispense sugar balls brought from the stalls outside. And temple minders leave large bowls of milk in the corners.
But the temple is not for the fainthearted. It smells. Rat droppings are everywhere and the sugar balls make the floor sticky when you walk barefoot, as required. A rat running over your feet—which happens regularly—is good luck and spotting a white rat—which I did—is even luckier.
Another minor attraction was the Jain temple of Bhandasar—which, with floral carvings and painted stories, is stunning. The ground floor houses minarets of the sentries of the gods while the roof offers views of the city.
Bizarrely, legend has it that 40,000 kg of ghee was used in the mortar instead of water. In food ghee works. But in buildings it does not. Apparently the floors of the temple gets greasy on hot days. The question remains as to why one would use ghee in the first place...
We liked the city, but are unlikely to return. Something about the combination of heat and lack of attractions makes it a ‘oncer’.
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We are currently in Jaisalmer; read all about our time here and our camel safari in the Thar Desert in the next post. Coming soon.
Love to all,
xxxxx
