Our Last Club Adventure - Days 20-22 - Bikaner and the Thar Desert

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Departing the hotel by tuk-tuks we reached the train station in minutes.  It was a small neighborhood station, not the main terminal, and things went very smoothly.  We boarded our carriage and were seated in our compartments with no hassle.  This time we got an air-conditioned car with two bunks/four passengers per cubicle.  Our nine hour train ride made over 20 stops as we traversed the green plains of Delhi and into the dry and arid landscape of the Thar Desert and to the large city of Bikaner.

 Bikaner train station.  Smaller town, no hawkers for rides...we made a quick get-away and drove about an hour outside of the city and into the desert.  Turning off of the highway on to a dirt path we made our way to our desert camp were we received a traditional India welcome of a forehead blessing and flower necklace.

 

 We arrived in time to watch the sunset over the dunes.

 This was the view of the camp from atop the sand dune.

 A beautiful Thar Desert pony wandered the site and joined us from time to time.

 

Cattle roamed freely around and through the grounds.

Bobbie snoozed in the dining hall couch until dinner.  A few chose to sleep under the stars, others in tents, and several upgraded to rooms with baths.

 We departed camp for a day excusion to the Rat Temple.  We finally got to sit in the roof seats.  Yippee!

A short drive took us to a neighboring village and home to the Karni Mata Temple.  The temple is famous for the approximately 25,000 black rats that live, and are revered, in the temple. These holy rats are called kabbas, and many people travel great distances to pay their respects. The temple draws visitors from across the country for blessings, as well as curious tourists from around the world.  We took OFF our shoes and ventured into the temple.  And, yes, there were rats everywhere and they could have cared less about us.

 Judy found a friend.

 So did |I.

 

 Riding back to the camp I took this shot from the roof looking down and into the cabin.

 Late in the day our camels arrived to take us out to a desert night camp.

 Some rode carts.

 Some walked the 7 kms.

 We reached the camp at sunset...far away from the city lights and loads of stars to light our way.

 We had a lovely buffet camp dinner and slept on tarps on the ground.

Only one use the tent...that is until it started to rain at 2AM.  Luckily it only rained for a few minutes and then all dried up quickly in the warm air.

We rose early, had some coffee and tea, then returned to the main camp by jeep for breakfast.  We departed mid-morning for a seven hour drive to Jaisalmer and the yellow fort.