Hotel Shivam Palace Bikaner

... glasses to look at the painting and see the detail. This was the case with all the paintings actually. The colours for the paintings are mixed from stones, plants and herbs which we thought was clever. The guy even painted a small picture on Ed&#8217;s finger nail of Ed, Erica, and me outside a temple with birds overhead. We were shocked that a painting as clear as that could fit on something so small. It was amazing!<br><br>Our last stop today was Lalgarh Palace ...

... all the cities of Rajasthan were once the princely states in themselves. Thus there are several magnificent forts, elegant palaces, terrific temples, lovely lakes and gorgeous gardens in the cities. All these depict the royal and glorious past of the cities and the state. Almost all the famous cities of the state are well connected with the excellent road transportation network. So traveling ...

Arriving in Bikaner at night, we went with a bus station tout named Prakash...turns out he was the same guy recommended to us by a traveler we met. Though his guesthouse is a bit away from the city center, it was quite an experience to stay there, feeling more like a homestay. There are only two rooms, but they are clean, inexpensive, and come in an inviting family atmosphere. Prakash also ...

... had to direct the hapless taxi driver back to the hotel. We then walked back up the road to a fruit stall. As usual we soon attracted a small crowd and the guy was keen for us to try a fruit we hadn't seen before. We can't remember the name but it was small, green and a bit hard, almost like a nut. The white flesh was similar to a water chestnut. We pleased the guy by buying a handful to add to our bulging bag. Back at the hotel we ordered a couple of ...

After our bad bus journeys we decided to treat ourselves and get a car to Bikaner, our last stop in Rajasthan. Bikaner was a refreshing change as it was not as touristy as they other places we had visited in Rajasthan. On our first day we visited the rat temple. It was a bit duanting as we had to take our shoes off. So barefooted in we went expecting to see swarms of rats, there wasn't so many of them though. The rat is holy in ...

... on razor sharp saws, nails and broken glass with a flaming inferno balanced on her head but the best was when she simply danced. The prices were ten times as advertised but worth every penny! Certainly a night to remember. Tonight we're taking the sleeper bus once more back to the madness of Delhi, as we're catching an onward flight to Trivandrym in Kerala. Then we can escape the cities for a while and experience life on the coast for a few days.

... women standing out in the vivid reds and yellows of their garments, splashes of colour against the faded desert shades; the children running towards us waving and grinning, calling 'ta ta!' (hello) and 'bottle?' (many of the kids spend their days as goat herds and seek empty plastic bottles to carry water with them on their long routes between villages.). <br><br><br><br> We named the camels Lawrence (after he of ...

... oder wenn einem eine ueber die fuesse laeuft oder man eine der wenigen weissen Nager sieht. mir war beides nicht beschieden - nun denn, ich hab ja auch schon genug glueck... meine liebste hat uebrigens gestreikt und ist nicht mitgekommen - warum nur?

... s moustache). Then they had dancing contests, and such finished with fireworks. I rode a camel, and tried on the driver's turbin... ~ Then day 2, took place near a small village, some 45 km away. Here amongst the sand dunes, a group of a couple hundred people gathered to see camel races, a dune climbing race (in which I took part, but didn't win), and tug of war (which I didn't take part in), forigner vs. Indian... Both times they tried it, the rope actually broke! What a great lesson~