Hotel Basant Vihar Palace Bikaner

... he ensured that our every whim was catered for. We had two rooms for the price of one and stored all our baggage during the safari. The sign outside clearly states "Camel Man desert tours since 1983" on talking with him he corrects himself saying in fact it was 1982 that he started, “why '83 on the wall then?” I enquired, “That was when I became really good and people paid me!” Camel man was very taken especially with Aidan & couldn't do enough for him ...

... every open bit of space... turned out in actuality to hardly be the case. There were A LOT of rats. So many so that holes had been carved into the walls to allow them to almost emerge from all over, but walking through was really quite simple. The only hard part was a small corridor that was entirely dark (I didn't want to step on the sacred things). While I used the flash on my camera, most Indian visitors used their cell phones ...

... is meant to be very auspicious. Well, while I was taking a close up shot (i know, idiot, right) a tiny rat jumped into my hand. "Varee Lukee" We did see the white rat which really is unique. Even more unique, his albino qualities meant he was an outcast to the other rats. So we actually saw a white rat with only one eye left and half an ear chewed off. "Varee Lukee"<br><br> The brief 21 mile/2 hour ride thru the ...

Drive to Bikaner via Nawalgarh ACTUAL: We got on the bus around 9:30, packing up from our luxurious hotel in Mandawa and traveled a short distance (it's all relative) to the nearby town of Nawalgarh, where we drove into town, through really small streets, and just when I thought the driver was lost again, the tour guide Indira told us we were getting out there to walk around for a couple hours. This town was another one that had "painted houses ...

... nous avions mangé du riz avec du dal ( puree de lentille) et bien sur comme a chaque repas les chapatis ( pain indien, ils mélangent la farine et l'eau avec les mains salles biensur puis le font cuire) L'ambiance était fort sympathique et nous avons décidé de fermer les yeux sur l hygiène en espérant quand même ne pas être malade. La nuit tombe vite dans le désert et du coup nous avons mangé tôt puis nous sommes réfugié à 5 dans la tente. Nous aurions souhaité plus de contact ...

... during the day. At the end of the trek we were dropped off at a rail station for our trip to Jodhpur, but not before it was recommended we visit the Karni Mata Temple, a temple where, according to legend, dead storytellers were reincarnated as rats. Rats are worshipped here, and fed milk and indian sweets by pilgrims. One ran over my (Rajiv´s) toes, which is considered good luck, but its definitely a place we could have passed on.

... flags pinned to the wall, mottled gilt-framed mirrors hung wonkily while sparkly, feathered Indian costumes hung up for decoration. We had a 4 poster brass bed that was very nice apart from the filthy stained curtains around it and the filthy stained curtains that acted as doors to rooms and alcoves. Everything was just so filthy. We even had a tiger and a deer skin pinned to two walls surrounded by rifles!! David said "I don't care about flaming Tiger pelts on the ...

... your shoes off, which means walking around in rat **** and with a strong chance of a rat crawling across your foot. While there we had the good fortune of seeing a white rat, which apparently means good luck, so there was much excitement with the worshippers in the temple, all of which we went along with...let's see if this white, tick and flea infested rat pulls through in 2008!!!

... brown in India doesnt mean theyre chocolate flavour!Shes not going to lieit wasnt that great! WHist lou was on her little trip tamsin made her way to the internet, had a nap and used the phone. That night we headed up to the rooftop restaurant (as everywhere seems to have) and had a realy pleasant meal with everyone. We prepared ourselves for our 5am start in the mornign and went to bed early. Next stop is Jaisalmer and a camel safari, cant wait, will be in touch son! Love Lou and Tamsin.

... laughing when I got off and walked away bow legged. It was wonderful to ride the camel and not half as painful as I'd imagined. The rocking motion and warm furry belly against my ankles was quite reassuring. Each day we rode for two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon with a chai break for us and a water break for the camels. It was wonderful to see the rural villages with their desert architecture. The women make their homes from sand and cow dung ...