20171016 - 20171017 - Bikaner & Jaisalmer

Havelis in Bikaner

So I started my tour of Bikaner by taking a tuk tuk ride to see the havelis - which are in the middle of the old town and is not accessible by car.  The driver is good ... we were brushing past cows, people, other motor cycles and cars, making harrowing turns and squeezing through impossible space. And we went through a busy bazaar and down many small alleys.  It was an incredible and exciting experience, one that words cannot adequately describe - you have to experience it yourself!

Gorgeous havelis with their intricate stone carvings.

Anup Mahal -  Hall of Private Audience in Junagarh Fort in Bikaner

Golden swing set

Beautiful stone lattice work for women
to hide behind so they can see what's
going on outside without being seen!

I used the audio guide to tour the fort and palace.  It was OK, but not as exciting as it was described in the guide books ...  maybe because there was a school outing there and the exhibits were behind finger marked plexiglass?

After a long 5-hour ride to Jaisalmer, we went to the Sunset Point - a place scattered with cenotaphs.  The sunset was not very exciting because there were no clouds to make the scene more picturesque, but I had fun taking pictures among the cenotaphs.











Yet another night in a different setting - a sandstone Haveli.  Notice the swing set hanging from the ceiling in the back of the room!

The magnificent Jaisalmer Fort rises like a mirage out of the Thar Desert

I hired a guide the next day and rode with him on his motorcycle all over the town of  Jaisalmer.  The guide was not good because he tried to push shopping and dissuade me from going to certain places ... lessons learned.  The Fort has over 3000 people living in it and has palaces,  temples, havelis and all kinds of shops and hotels - all found in its layrinth of twisted alleys and lane ways.

The carvings on the yellow sandstone are absolutely stunning.  A lot of times, you can only admire them by looking up, and with the harsh sunlight and close quarters, it can be tiring.  And the high 30s temperature did not help either.  It was a bit disappointing ... oh well!

The exquisite stonework on the upscale Mandir Palace Heritage Hotel - if you zoom in on the picture, you will notice that each panel of the lattice has a different pattern

the seven-storeyed palace complex near Dussera Chowk

leftover 'cannonballs' 

some of the 99 bastions

Intricate sandstone carvings found in the Jain
temples within the Fort.

these 4 pictures show the intricate carvings from the havelis, not the palaces!

Next up was a night in the dessert.  And my humble abode is equipped with tap and flush toilet!










The camel ride was nothing special, but my 12 year old camel handler is a good sport - he even got the camel to 'gallop' at a faster pace for me.  And we also saw a couple antelopes from afar during the ride.








The evening show was quite enjoyable ... especially with a cold beer!  Rajasthan is famous for its colourful clothing and the performers did not disappoint - from the colourful and sparkling dress of the dancer to the turbans on the men and boys.  The boys were making clapping sounds with two pieces of hard plastic in each hand - I could barely get the two pieces to clap, let alone the very quick tempo they are doing.  With their stylish hand movements,  the ever changing facial expressions, the heart throbbing beat and the high energy,  the two boys make things that much more exciting.  Of course, the dancer is still the star attraction!

As an aside, I met two university students at the camp.  The two are making a documentary of the Kalbeliya people, which the dancer belonged to.  The Kalbeliya's traditional occupation is catching snakes and trading snake venom. Hence, the dance movements and the costumes of their community bear a resemblance to that of the serpents. Since the government banned the venom extraction by these people, they lost a major source of their income.  The two students are trying to document their plight.

I was pleasantly surprised that I had enjoyed the desert outing so much ... I had originally asked the travel agent not to put me on the camel 'safari'!  I guess the cool temperature, the exciting show, the quietness of the open space, the starry night ... I should keep an open mind the next time!

My second "I am in India" AHA moment - talk about an adventure!  I rode a tuk tuk, then a motorcycle and then a camel; and I had stayed in a haveli with painted murals covering every square inch of the room, then another haveli with yellow sandstone and finally a tent in the desert!