Feb 3 Bikaner

I had a good sleep, the wedding guests were not noisy at all.
One thing I learned, the entire city shuts off its electricity between 8 and 10 am every day. If you want to make coffee or take a shower it better be done before 8.
I spent the morning visiting some Jain temples in the old city in Bikaner. The old city dates back to the 15th century, and if you were to remove the motorcycles and tuk-tuks, you would be there six hundred years ago. The streets are lanes, going everywhich way. There are open sewers along all the streets; I even saw some women washing clothes in these sewers.If you could see a google view, it would look like a plate of sphaghetti. I had intended to walk around, but there was no way I could find my way out again. I used a tuk-tuk to take me to the temples, and then home again.
Jain is one of the old Indian religions. They belief it is wrong to kill any living thing, even mosquitoes. When you enter one of their temples, no leather is permitted. No shoes, no belts. It would be interesting to see a group of Satans Choice riders in one of the temples, down to their underwear.
The thing is that going in your socks, or even without, is fine as long as you are inside, but there are smaller temples on the grounds, and there are pigeon droppings all over the place. I have washed my socks on a daily basis.
In the afternoon I took a car, with driver to the village of Deshnok, about 30 km south of Bikaner. It is the location of a famous Hindu temple, the Karni Mata Temple. Karni Mata was a Hindu saint who lived in the 14th century. She performed several miracles for the local ruler, who rewarded her with a temple in her honour. It has beautiful solid silver doors. The claim to fame though is the she made a deal with one of the gods. For the return of her son, who drowned, she would promise that she and all her descendants would be re-incarnated as rats.
 I am not making this up.
So there is this temple, which is teeming with rats running all over the place.You have to watch where you step. They are fed and looked after. There are several hundred of these little furry creatures running around. Indians come from all over the place to ask favours from Karni Mata. They make offerings to her, and feed the rats. This is probably the most popular temple I have seen, there is a continuous line of locals going through the temple.
Another experience was the drive home, in the dark. I think to drive in India you need a drivers licence and a death wish. I haven't figured out the rules of the road yet. All I know is that cows have the right of way, every time. The highway from Deshnok back to Bikaner is a major road, which means it is paved, two-lane, no paved shoulder. At night everyone drives with their high beams, unless they don't turn on their lights at all. Cows come without lights. It's quite an experience driving along and meeting a big cow slowly ambling across the highway. You also have tuk-tuks, top speed about 20 km/h, bicycles, trucks, buses, camel drawn carts, and dogs and goats. I think the only reason there aren't many accidents is that the speed are low. In the city you don't go over 15 km/h, on the highway, 60 is the top.
I was very happy to return to my hotel

Feb2 Bikaner

India strikes me as a street lined with piles of garbage, where, every once in a while, you find a special diamond among the rubble.
You walk along a dirty street, an open sewer beside the road, and you turn into a fort, and you are in a different world. Inside there is no garbage, no animals, no noise. It's magic!
That's what happened this morning when I visited the fort in Bikaner.
All forts have things in common, but the amazing thing is that each one has some feature which makes it unique and special. This one has some of the most beautifully decorated interiors I have seen so far.
As I said MAGICAL.
In the afternoon I visited the Bikaner Camel Research Institute, just outside Bikaner. It is home to 360 camels, and is a breeding facility. I learned a lot of interesting things about camels, but I can see your eyes glaze over.
It was neat seeing new born camels. They stand 2 hours after being born, and by 10 days they are going gang busters.
During the day the camels are led into the country side to feed. At about 4 in the afternoon they all return for more feeding. It is quite a sight to see several hundred camels run towards you, eager to hit the trough.
I did a short camel ride, about 10 minutes. A bit scary, especially when they stand up, because they do the back legs first, and you feel like you will be projected forward. Then the front legs rise, and you are off. It's quite a bumpy ride, and I hung on for dear life. I really didn't want my obituary to say "Died from falling off a camel"
Another demonstration we saw was the mating of two camels. Local farmers can bring their females to the center and, for no charge, one of the male camels gets to do the job. They seemed to enjoy the experience, lots of grunting; it lasted about 5 minutes, and then they went off their separate ways, never looking back. I don't think they even knew each others names.
Another funny thing happened. An English group was there to film a documentary, and they asked me if I minded whether they shot me buying a camel milk ice cream cone. Their treat! How could I say no for free ice cream? The icecream was actually quite good. I might even make BBC.
I don't think I am going to sleep well tonight. My hotel is hosting a large wedding party. I think I am the only non wedding guest here.
We'll see
Till then

Feb 1 Bikaner

I did not sleep well last. I was apprehensive about today. I was hoping to take the train or a Volvo bus to Bikaner, but they both didn't leave Jaipur till supper time. I wasn't keen on arriving there after midnight. I also couldn't think of what to do in Jaipur for the day. There are frequent local buses, but they are not noted for their comfort. But I decided I could handle a 7 hour bus ride, so I went for the 7 am bus option.
Well, this morning I had another couple of what I call "India" moments.
I woke up at 5:30 to discover the lights in my room didn't work. Fortunately the bathroom lights did, and I had prepacked last night. So I finished packing in the semi-dark, and off I went, still in the dark.
The second "Indian" moment came as I walked up the side street from my hotel. One of the numerous stray dogs decided the carry-on I was pulling was its mortal enemy, and it attacked my bag, trying to bite it. Lots of barking, snarling, and bare teeth. I yelled and kicked at it, and it stepped back. By this time there were five others, all going crazy barking, but staying back. I was very happy to reach the main street. These dogs are not tiny.
Who says life isn't exciting.
When I got to the bus station some-one approached me and asked where I was going. He asked if I wanted a chair or a sleeper. I hadn't tried a sleeper, so I bought one. He took me to an older bus; actually they are all older.
The bus set-up was different. On the left was a row, two seats wide, on the right were bench seats, facing across the bus. On top there were sleeper compartments, the one above the seats were doubles, the one on the right singles. Mine was a single, and once I climbed up it was very comfortable. I could stretch out full length, and the mattress was very nice. The bus ride was just over 7 hours, and I have to say it was probably the most comfortable bus ride I have ever had. I actually slept part of the way.
We had one break, and we stopped for washroom, and chai. Chai is a drink, which is quite unique. It doesn't taste like tea, it is a mixture of milk, spices and sugar. It is served in very small cups, like a Dixie cup, and is sweet. I have grown to like it.
My hotel in Bikaner is very nice, hot water; they even gave me two towels.
I walked around the town, and even got a haircut.
Tomorrow I am sight seeing in the area.
Till then

Jan 31 Jaipur

This country is amazing. The cities are chaotic; the traffic is worse than Vietnam, the dominating smell is one of exhaust fumes, mixed in with raw sewage and urine. There is a continuous cacophony of tooting horns. The poverty is staggering.
And yet every day there is some wonder that just blows your mind.
Yesterday I was lucky to  get a cab ride to the old city with a cabbie who spoke good English, and was very well versed in the city. When he dropped me off at the City Palace he suggested several things to see.
I hired him today to take me to the Amber Fort, a few miles outside of Jaipur.
So, first thing this morning that's where we went. He advised me to hike up to the military fort above the Amber fort, and gave me directions to get there.
I have to admit I was a bit leery about hiking for 40 minutes up a fairly steep path, but I went for it. I did it and felt quite proud. The fort is on the highest point, and is 4 km by 1 km. There is a palace, with spectacular views. There is a fortified wall, 36 km long, stretching across the hills. Looks like the Great Wall of China. There is also the largest wheeled canon,. The barrel is 20 feet long, and it takes four elephants to move it. There is a foundry in this fort, and that's where the canon was built. It was fired only once, when it was tested. The canon ball went 35 miles, but the explosion and shock wave was so strong most of the people around the canon were killed.
After the military fort I walked down to the Amber Fort. One of the sights is a Hindu temple, which was beautiful. It is the size of a small chapel, but the doors are beautifully decorated silver, and everything inside is artistically carved marble. The Vatican has nothing on many of the temples I have seen.
These forts are huge, much bigger than any European ones, and each one has some feature which just is outstanding. The Amber Fort has one area which is a reception area, meant to impress visitors. Marble, silver, lots of mirrors. Beautiful.
On the way back into the city my cabbie took me to a couple of sites not mentioned in the guide book. They are sites where royalty are honoured with cenotaphs. There are two sites, one for male, one for female, and they are not  near each other, but have similar designs. Each royalty is honoured with his, or her, own temple like structure; again all beautifully carved marble.
The whole day, with a generous tip, came to ten dollars, not counting admissions. I even had a nice cappucino at the Amber Fort.
Tomorrow I say goodbye to Jaipur, and I am off to Bikaner, which is a much smaller town. So far, I have enjoyed the small towns more than the cities, so we shall see.
Adieu till then

Jan 30 Jaipur

This morning I visited a couple of the tourist attractions in Jaipur. Jaipur is called "The Pink City" because one of the rulers decided to paint all the buildings pink. The problem is that I don't think most of then have been repainted since, a couple of hundred years ago.
First was the City Palace, which served as the residence of the ruler for more than a hundred years. It is now a series of museums. There is a textile museum, and armory, a cariage museum, and a couple of smaller ones. I was really impressed. The displayes were beautiful. The textiles were exquisite. Unbelievable beautiful. The armoury was equally impressive. Very many ways to kill. One unique weapon, was a dagger, which, once it was inside the enemy actually opened up, like a pair of scissors, just to make sure.
The buildings themselves were beautiful on their own. There was a large reception hall, still furnished, with a huge oriental carpet, and gorgeous murals on the ceiling.
After the City Palace I went to see an astronomical garden. This was a hobby of one of the rulers, and is fantastic, not only for its accurace in measuring the position of the starts and planets, but in its size. The largest sun dial is about 20 m high, and measures time to the nearest minute. The whole thing looks like a modern sculpture garden.
The final building I saw was a 5 story house built to allow the women of the harem to observe life in the city, since they weren't allowed out. It is a beautiful building, 5 stories high, but only a room thick. It was strictly for looking out. It is pink, of course.
Jaipur is different than any Indian city I have seen so far. No cows, although I have seen a few camels pulling carts, and one elephant wandering down a main street. The streets are wider, it is a bit cleaner, although the poverty is very obvious.
Ta Ta

Jan 29 Agra

I spent the day touring Agra.
It has been another interesting day. I arrived in Agra yesterday evening, without a hotel reservation. I shared a taxi with a British lady to the hotel where she was staying, and got a room there. It was lovely. They had no vacancies for the next day, but the owner booked a room for me at the Sai Palace Hotel. Tracey had a room at the Radisson.
We went to the Taj Mahal for the sunrise. Another disappointing sunrise, jus like Varanasi, and Tikal in Guatemala. Getting into the Taj was also fun. The entry fee for Indian citizens is 40 cents, for foreign tourist 15 dollars. To add insult to injury there are 4 separate lines, One for Indian ladies, one for foreign ladies, the same for men. The lines for natives was much shorter. The security was tight, empty all the pockets, metal detectors.
The Taj Mahal is said to be the most beautiful building in the world, and if you count the exterior only I agree. The marble and inlaid precious stones are fantastic. The interior is small, filled with too many tourits, and not well lit. The Alhambra is much more beautiful on the inside.
The next job was to check into our hotels. Sai Palace only makes sense if Sai means "not a". It appeared like a dump from the outside, and in this case it fulfilled its promise. It was a dump inside. I would have looked for another place, but Tracey and the cabbie were waiting, so I thought I could handle it for one night
After Tracey checked into the Radisson, an entirely different experience, we visited the Agra Fort, which is outstanding. The largest fort I have seen before this was the one in Carcassone. This one is about 6 times larger, massive stone walls, surrounded by a moat, which used to contain crocodiles, to discourage swimming. Aftwr the fort was built local nobles built about a dozen palaces inside. One of the problems that the Indian government has is that it can't afford to restore these buildings, so all that remains are the walls and main structures. The marble is wonderful, but I wonder what it looked like when is was filled with carpets and furniture.Must have been something else.
After lunch we went to see the "Baby Taj", another mausoleum. I loved it. The stone work wasn't any less impressive than the Taj, but there was hardly anyone there. It was very peaceful, and lovely.
One thing I have to say the tourist sites are clean, no garbage, no animals. That is fairly standard.
Our cabbie then dropped me off at my "Palace". The water taps on the sink did not work at all, they didn't even pretend there was hot water, nothing came out. I was pleasantly surprised that the toilet flushed. The matresses were quite thin, so I stacked them from both beds, and actually slept well.
The next morning I took a bus to Jaipur. It was a "Deluxe" bus, and, ny In dian standards it probably is. To be honest it wasn't that bad. After about 3 hours the bus stopped at the side of the road, and I noticed some people getting off. I went to check and it was a bathroom stop. Everyone, men and women alike, just squatted or peed in a line. I think a lot of Canadian women couldn't do that.
I arived in Jaipur by 4, and went to find my hotel. One of the frustrating things is that there are no street signs anywhere, at least not in English, so I ended up taking a bicycle taxi. There is no way I would have found the hotel on my own.