Bikaner and Jaisalmer

We've come full circle in just a few days. On Tuesday, we left Jodhpur for Bikaner. The train was late (grrrrr), but our friend Raj waited with us until just before it arrived. Our train ride was, as expected, long and dusty, but we had the pleasure of sharing sweets and gifts with a wonderful extended family (grandmother, gradnfather, uncles, and a sweet little girl who broke the ice). They helped us get a fair price for a taxi-rickshaw and even invited us back to their home (but we couldn't go).

That night was the famous Karni Mata rat temple. It's absolutely amazing. Karen was freaked out by all the squeaking and scurrying rats, but I thought that they felt like strips of velvet running over my feet. Keep in mind that we were visiting a rat-infested buildingm, in the middle of nowhere, at night. Also keep in mind that there were people prostrating themselves in prayer on the floors and kids running around. Rather interesting. Took many pics and video.

The next day, we were up early (4:30am!) for our "deluxe, comfort" bus, which was anything but. It stopped at every shack, hovel and hole in the desert to pick up more and more people. And it was slow, and bouncy, and ... have I mentioned the dust and the blaring horns yet?

It was well worth the trip, though, to arrive at Jaisalmer and the superb Desert Moon Inn, run by Lois and her husband. We'd met Lois in Jodhpur and she is a most fascinating woman.

Jaisalmer is described in Lonely Planet as "a city out of Arabian Nights" and a "fairytale". And it is! The fort is, exceptionally, home to hundreds of people, restaurants, shops and, of course, cows. The narrow alleyways twisting through the gold coloured stone present you with new surprises around each corner. Amazing.

The Desert Festival was also a lot of fun. We enjoyed the camel decorating contest, but found the camel polo game to be a bit long (dusty and hot). I participated in the Foreigners vs Indians tug o' war, and the Foreigners won! Okay, the other team was all wearing sarees and maybe it's just because we outweighed them... anyway. We were quite proud of our win.

This morning, we hired a car (and driver) to bring us back to Jodhpur (no direct flights from Jaisalmer to Delhi). Tonight, we fly back to Delhi, and then.....????????????????????

We honestly don't know, at this point, where we might end up. All we know is that we still have a week here, and we have to be back in Delhi on Feb 8 (we fly out Feb 9 - arrive Tokyo Feb 10 morning, Seoul Feb 10 evening and get back to Suncheon on Feb 11, teaching on Feb 12).

This has been an amazing trip. I can't even express just how I feel right now...