To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!

yosbert · 27th May 2014, 13:49

We woke up to a foggy and cold morning in Bikaner. There was not much to do today so we lazed around quite a bit before finally packing up. The plan for the day was to visit the Camel Research Centre and the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnok, on our way to the Bishnoi Village Camp near Jodhpur. However, as we reached the Camel Research Centre we learnt that it opens only after 2:00 PM in the afternoon. There was no way we could have waited that long since we also had close to 300 kms to cover in the day, so we gave the place a miss and carried on to Deshnok. What a downer to begin the day with.

Karni Mata Temple
The Karni Mata Temple in Deshnok is also known as the Rat Temple and its legend is quite well known these days. The temple is unique for its population of about 20,000 rats, locally called kabbas, which are revered in this temple.

The front facade of the temple in white marble was completed by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3612.jpg

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3613.jpg

The doors of the front facade are made of silver, depicting the legend of Karni Mata.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3615.jpg

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3634.jpg

It is considered auspicious to feed the rats with your own hands and to eat food that had been nibbled by the rats. I did neither, and that is not my hand in the picture

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The main entrance to the temple, again in white marble. Notice the net covering of the open space, that is to keep away air borne predators of the rats.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3619.jpg

Painting on the ceiling of the nine planets according to Hindu mythology.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3621.jpg

You enter with a bit of apprehension and icky feeling, but that melts away in no time. If a rat runs over your feet it is considered auspicious. Also be aware that if you accidentally step on and kill a rat, you need to replace it with one made of solid gold!

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3623.jpg

The rats are literally everywhere, even in the offerings made to the God. They are not at all shy or apprehensive of the close contact with humans.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3625.jpg

All around the temple there are offerings made to the rat, of milk

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Water

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Laddoos

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3629.jpg

It is also considered auspicious to spot the rare white rat amongst the rats. My take is that it would be auspicious if you spot one by chance, but with hundreds of pilgrims actively looking for one, there is no great luck in spotting one, almost everyone gets to see one of these rare rats.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3631.jpg

I would say, it is much more rare to spot one striking such an amazing pose

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3633.jpg

And with that, we wrapped up our visit to the temple. A useful tip – with all the grains and other food offered to rat as well as rat droppings scattered all around, the temple floor is not the cleanest of surfaces. It would be useful to wrap small polythene bags under your legs or socks to prevent them from getting soiled. We saw a travel agent doing just that for a group of foreign tourists he was taking to the temple.

yosbert · 29th May 2014, 19:16

We decided to spend one night at the Bishnoi Village Camp near Jodhpur inspired by fantastic description of the place by laluks. Hence our next destination from Deshnok was this place near Jodhpur. There was nothing eventful to report on the way except to note that there aren’t any good food options available after you cross Nagaur on your way to Jodhpur. We made that mistake and had to make do with whatever snack and food items we were carrying alongwith for that afternoon.

It was past 6:00 PM when we reached our destination. The place was located well inside the Bishnoi villages near Jodhpur. The only letdown was the fact that the camp was deserted and we were the only guests staying there that night. I guess visiting this place makes more sense only during the peak tourist season when there are more people around.

Nevertheless, we set out for a walk around the place and spotted quite a bunch of animals including this herd of black bucks.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3636.jpg

After roaming around till sundown, we returned and settled into our cozy little mud hut, complete with an AC!

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3637.jpg

There was nothing much to do in the evening, and we engaged ourselves with whatever we found lying around.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3645.jpg

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3649.jpg

The dinner was a heavy affair with the local delicacy Dal Baati Churma being the highlight and after a day without a proper lunch, we ate to our heart’s content.

Secretariat · 29th May 2014, 22:00

A mud hut with an AC ? That must be a unique first !!

I know your kids would have loved some company, and being the only guests at the campsite would have been a let down. But consider the alternative - a nice camp full of loud tourists twerking to defeaning Bollywood music somehow detracts from the charm of the desert, don't you think ?

yosbert · 30th May 2014, 22:41

Yes, I do agree. I am not complaining too much about it. The whole place for ourselves was a nice change from the previous few days.

yosbert · 6th June 2014, 20:01

After a restful night’s sleep, today was the time to wrap up our trip and return home. Our return flight was scheduled at 2:30 PM, so we had quite a bit of time on our hands for a final few indulgences.

First up was a camel ride around the village.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3650.jpg

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3651.jpg

We spotted a chinkara and some other deer during the ride.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3656.jpg

Next we packed up and decided to cover the Umaid Bhawan Palace, which we missed during our stay at Jodhpur. This palace was built in the 20th century by then Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur, primarily to provide employment to thousands of people during the time of famine. It served as the private residence of Jodhpur royal family since then. Currently a part of the palace has been turned in a Taj Hotel, a part has been converted into a museum focusing on the 20th century history of the royal family and the rest serves as the private residence.

Entrance into the museum portion of the palace.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3658.jpg

A painting on the wall inside the palace depicting a war with Mehrangarh Fort in the background.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3661.jpg

The palace has a nice collection of several such well-preserved frescoes.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3665.jpg

A hanging chandelier

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3666.jpg

The palace also has a wonderful collection of vintage cars belonging to the Jodhpur royal family. However, terrible reflection on their glass enclosures ensured that I do not have any good photos to share.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3668.jpg

A final view of the full palace before we winded up our tour.

To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan!-img_3667.jpg

It was 1:00 PM by now and all that was left for us to do was make a final visit to the On the Rocks for a delicious lunch before we made our way to the Jodhpur airport.

At the airport it was time to bid farewell to our driver Mr. Nemichand and thank him profusely for his services and his efforts in making our whole trip such a memorable one. There is nothing more interesting to report after this, we essentially made our way back home via Delhi, just in time for a good night’s sleep on our home beds after a wondrous, gratifying tour of the Land of the Royals – Rajasthan.

Dry Ice · 22nd July 2014, 16:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by yosbert

...

Awesome log yosbert! Chanced upon it while researching Jodhpur for an extended weekend visit. Will shoot a PM in case I need some help!

yosbert · 22nd July 2014, 19:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Awesome log yosbert! Chanced upon it while researching Jodhpur for an extended weekend visit. Will shoot a PM in case I need some help!

Thanks. Feel free to message whenever required.

27th May 2014, 13:49	#46
yosbert BHPian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 154 Thanked: 241 Times	Day 9 #1: Deshnok We woke up to a foggy and cold morning in Bikaner. There was not much to do today so we lazed around quite a bit before finally packing up. The plan for the day was to visit the Camel Research Centre and the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnok, on our way to the Bishnoi Village Camp near Jodhpur. However, as we reached the Camel Research Centre we learnt that it opens only after 2:00 PM in the afternoon. There was no way we could have waited that long since we also had close to 300 kms to cover in the day, so we gave the place a miss and carried on to Deshnok. What a downer to begin the day with. Karni Mata Temple The Karni Mata Temple in Deshnok is also known as the Rat Temple and its legend is quite well known these days. The temple is unique for its population of about 20,000 rats, locally called kabbas, which are revered in this temple. The front facade of the temple in white marble was completed by Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner. The doors of the front facade are made of silver, depicting the legend of Karni Mata. It is considered auspicious to feed the rats with your own hands and to eat food that had been nibbled by the rats. I did neither, and that is not my hand in the picture The main entrance to the temple, again in white marble. Notice the net covering of the open space, that is to keep away air borne predators of the rats. Painting on the ceiling of the nine planets according to Hindu mythology. You enter with a bit of apprehension and icky feeling, but that melts away in no time. If a rat runs over your feet it is considered auspicious. Also be aware that if you accidentally step on and kill a rat, you need to replace it with one made of solid gold! The rats are literally everywhere, even in the offerings made to the God. They are not at all shy or apprehensive of the close contact with humans. All around the temple there are offerings made to the rat, of milk Water Laddoos It is also considered auspicious to spot the rare white rat amongst the rats. My take is that it would be auspicious if you spot one by chance, but with hundreds of pilgrims actively looking for one, there is no great luck in spotting one, almost everyone gets to see one of these rare rats. I would say, it is much more rare to spot one striking such an amazing pose And with that, we wrapped up our visit to the temple. A useful tip – with all the grains and other food offered to rat as well as rat droppings scattered all around, the temple floor is not the cleanest of surfaces. It would be useful to wrap small polythene bags under your legs or socks to prevent them from getting soiled. We saw a travel agent doing just that for a group of foreign tourists he was taking to the temple.
	() Thanks

29th May 2014, 19:16	#47
yosbert BHPian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 154 Thanked: 241 Times	Day 9 #2: Bishnoi Village Camp We decided to spend one night at the Bishnoi Village Camp near Jodhpur inspired by fantastic description of the place by laluks. Hence our next destination from Deshnok was this place near Jodhpur. There was nothing eventful to report on the way except to note that there aren’t any good food options available after you cross Nagaur on your way to Jodhpur. We made that mistake and had to make do with whatever snack and food items we were carrying alongwith for that afternoon. It was past 6:00 PM when we reached our destination. The place was located well inside the Bishnoi villages near Jodhpur. The only letdown was the fact that the camp was deserted and we were the only guests staying there that night. I guess visiting this place makes more sense only during the peak tourist season when there are more people around. Nevertheless, we set out for a walk around the place and spotted quite a bunch of animals including this herd of black bucks. After roaming around till sundown, we returned and settled into our cozy little mud hut, complete with an AC! There was nothing much to do in the evening, and we engaged ourselves with whatever we found lying around. The dinner was a heavy affair with the local delicacy Dal Baati Churma being the highlight and after a day without a proper lunch, we ate to our heart’s content.
	() Thanks

29th May 2014, 22:00	#48
Secretariat BHPian Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Bangalore Posts: 287 Thanked: 2,567 Times	Re: To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan! A mud hut with an AC ? That must be a unique first !! I know your kids would have loved some company, and being the only guests at the campsite would have been a let down. But consider the alternative - a nice camp full of loud tourists twerking to defeaning Bollywood music somehow detracts from the charm of the desert, don't you think ?
	(1) Thanks

30th May 2014, 22:41	#49
yosbert BHPian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 154 Thanked: 241 Times	Re: To the Land of the Royals - Rajasthan! Yes, I do agree. I am not complaining too much about it. The whole place for ourselves was a nice change from the previous few days.
	() Thanks

6th June 2014, 20:01	#50
yosbert BHPian Join Date: May 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 154 Thanked: 241 Times	Day 10: Returning Home After a restful night’s sleep, today was the time to wrap up our trip and return home. Our return flight was scheduled at 2:30 PM, so we had quite a bit of time on our hands for a final few indulgences. First up was a camel ride around the village. We spotted a chinkara and some other deer during the ride. Next we packed up and decided to cover the *Umaid Bhawan Palace, which we missed during our stay at Jodhpur. This palace was built in the 20th century by then Maharaja Umaid Singh* of Jodhpur, primarily to provide employment to thousands of people during the time of famine. It served as the private residence of Jodhpur royal family since then. Currently a part of the palace has been turned in a Taj Hotel, a part has been converted into a museum focusing on the 20th century history of the royal family and the rest serves as the private residence. Entrance into the museum portion of the palace. A painting on the wall inside the palace depicting a war with Mehrangarh Fort in the background. The palace has a nice collection of several such well-preserved frescoes. A hanging chandelier The palace also has a wonderful collection of vintage cars belonging to the Jodhpur royal family. However, terrible reflection on their glass enclosures ensured that I do not have any good photos to share. A final view of the full palace before we winded up our tour. It was 1:00 PM by now and all that was left for us to do was make a final visit to the On the Rocks for a delicious lunch before we made our way to the Jodhpur airport. At the airport it was time to bid farewell to our driver Mr. Nemichand and thank him profusely for his services and his efforts in making our whole trip such a memorable one. There is nothing more interesting to report after this, we essentially made our way back home via Delhi, just in time for a good night’s sleep on our home beds after a wondrous, gratifying tour of the Land of the Royals – Rajasthan.
	() Thanks