Bikaner… not what I really imagined.
Yes, a city of 600,000 people in the middle of nowhere, but very, very not touristy. A small handful of restaurants dot the main street, one internet café, with one computer that we could find and not a lot else.
Why come here? About 20 miles away, in a town called Deshnoke, a nationally famous temple exists. From the time I heard about the Rat Temple (it does have a proper name too) I was obsessed. This temple is filled with tens of thousands of rats, and they are worshipped! I had to go there… and was well aware that the 6 hour train ride each way, followed by the 45 minute rickshaw drive did seem a little much. That’s the very definition of obsession. Besides, I was not the only one. When I met Rhys in Delhi, he was making for the same place… and so were the French couple we met on the train to Bikaner.
After convincing a rickshaw driver that four hundred rupees (less than $10) was a good price to have him ferry us to Deshnoke and also the National Center for Camel Research, we were off.
Did I mention that you have to take your shoes off to go into the temple? Or that the rats have no problem running right across your feet as you stand amid the food offerings, pee and rat poop? Minor details. I must be getting used to India, it’s filth and it’s charm, because this really didn’t bother me at all!
What an amazing place. Large bowls of milk, sweets and something that looks like birdseed dot the floor. Rats of various sizes scoot back and forth. The marble temple is one big rat house. Little holes are cut into the floor and walls accommodate them. But surprisingly, it doesn’t smell that bad. At least, not as bad as I thought it would. In fact I almost find them endearing… in a Rat-a-touille sort of way!
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