Indian Stories - Part 3 - Bikaner and Thar Desert

From touristy Jaipur I escaped to a small town of Bikaner (Rajasthan). The differences were striking. I was left alone to wonder around town, everybody would stare, but nobody would dare to speak. In the quest for old havelis (merchants' mansions of Northern India) I got lost only to be found by a gang of kids. In Hindi they would demand to be photographed, fighting for the spotlight, and later rushing to see themselves on the screen. Lots of fun.








Then I was saved by an English speaking teenager and my journey around Bikaner began. I saw havelis, I took more pictures of kids, I visited a Hindu temple, the bazaar, witnessed a wedding procession, talked to some curious tailors on the street (now with the help of my guide). Finally I ended up in his cousin's house where the girls were painting my feet with henna. My "go with the flow" theory has worked flawlessly. I could not have asked for a better day, but I got it - in the afternoon I visited the magnificent Junagarh Fort built by Raja Rai Singh.

It must have been not only its beauty, but also quietness of the fort that made such a strong impression on me. I spent at least 3 hours wandering around and still did not manage to see all the room and listen to the full audio guide. Each room had a story and its own design.



My next two days I spend flowing through the Thar desert on a camel's back. The camel safari around the area is known to be less crowded and more "authentic" than in Jaisalmer. The experience is a bit too slow as the landscape is not changing, but I appreciated a lot to experience the simple food cooked for us, the desert village life and sincere curiosity and smiles of kids on the way.







Also discussing the cast system in India with our guide was quite a revolution for me.

More pictures from Bikaner are on flickr set.