To Bikaner: November 11

Today marks the first day of Diwali, which is the biggest holiday of the year in India.  It is a Hindu celebration which is kind of like a combination of Christmas (how big it is) and Thanksgiving (its meaning).

Today’s ride was pretty bumpy, at least relative to how smooth most of the roads have been.  We stopped at an animal hospital which was around half way to Bikaner.  It is an amazing place, housing over 1,500 sick animals (mostly cows).  It is completely funded by donations and costs of 4,000 Euros a day to run.  Many of the cows have had amputations after being run over on the road.  There are also animals suffering for diseases like cancer.  What really was disturbing though was the cows that were there after having acid thrown on them.

Then it was time to visit Karni Mata Temple, a rat temple.  I’d been really looking forward to this.  I remember watching it on the Amazing Race years ago.  It was smaller than I’d anticipated, had not as many rats as I’d expected, and some of the rats looked rather ill.  Plus, I didn’t see a lucky white rat.  Still, I’d was still a really unique place to visit.  People drink milk from the same bowl as rats as it’s considered lucky but I certainly didn’t try that!

Some of the rats drinking some milk

The driver had difficulty finding our hotel in Bikaner. With Diwali, the hotels were all very busy and we ended up at a hotel that the company hadn’t used before. It ended up being a pretty nice hotel though. We were given flower necklaces on arrival. It must have been part of Diwali as we were also given them at dinner that night.

I’d been told that Bikaner received few foreign tourists but I saw more there than I had in Jodhpur. This was apparently because everyone was visiting the sites today as they would be closed tomorrow as the second day of Diwali is visiting family and friends.  Bikaner, more than anywhere else I visited, reminded me of the Middle East.  I think it had a lot to do with the desert environment there.

In the afternoon I visited Junagarh Fort which was quite busy, likely because of tomorrow’s closure. I then walked around the market which was insanely busy and not at all conducive to actually shopping. At first it looked like the street was pedestrian-only but, of course, then there were motorcycles.

In the evening, we were able to experience Diwali celebrations. Fireworks are a huge part of Diwali. We’d been hearing and seeing them for a few days but tonight there were so many.  They are done by individuals.  The fireworks come from all directions and you never know where they’ll come from next.  A lot of the fireworks are literally set off right on the street.  Obviously, safety standards are a bit different in India!  We walked around the market area again and with all the lights it really felt like Christmas.  Dinner was at a rooftop restaurant with a great view of all the random fireworks.  Unfortunately, I felt cold for the first time in India sitting out there.

Some fireworks on the street in front of the hotel.

Mystery fireworks, go-karting & vacations

Both last night and tonight, I saw very large fireworks displays from my window. They were clearly some distance away but with no tall buildings to block the view I saw them very clearly. The strange thing is that I cannot find anything in the local news about fireworks and both nights these huge displays lasted for some time. I am pretty sure that there is no holiday occurring here now. So, I have no idea what they are for but it seems they must be for something!

I went go-karting for the first time ever this afternoon. The place was at the edge of Dubai in Jebel Ali so it took me less than an hour to get there. I had directions that worked out fine but the place was more remote than I’d anticipated so I did at one point wonder if I’d ever get there. I discovered that making turns in a go-kart is so much harder (and more scary!) than in a car. For that reason, I decided to be in the so-called “bunny team” as I really didn’t feel comfortable actually trying to race. Going straight was fine but the steering wheel hardly moved when I turned it and when I turned I didn’t end up where I thought I should. So I’m not sure I’ll go go-karting again.

Lastly, I’m now only a week away from going to Jordan! I am very in need of a vacation though my last one really wasn’t so long away. I am a bit concerned about getting all the stuff at work I need to get done before I gone on vacation finished though! I will be home from July 15-August 5 and plan to do a lot of shopping during that time. I have also booked off time for October and will likely go to Nepal. I was pretty sure I wanted to Everest Base Camp but now I’m wondering if it may be a bit too strenous (and too high in altitude); maybe I’ll go with an easier, lower altitude trek. I’m pretty indecisive about this but I should make a decision soon as it looks like some trips are already filling up; though, if I delay long enough maybe a decision will be made for me!