June 18 Thursday
We left the lazy pleasures of Samode Haveli, but not before a morning swim and two chocolate milkshakes, plus the usual fruit bowl, Indian pancakes and other items, for breakfast. A long drive ahead of us to Bikaner.
As we left Jaipur the landscape became increasingly desolate and the temperature of the window van kept rising. With some major differences, it was not dissimilar to the drive on I-15 after one leaves Victorville on the way to Las Vagas (or in my case to Ft. Irwin) through the Mojave Desert. Little greenery, few trees, sagebrush and lots of sand surrounded by mountains in the distance. The differences are that instead of a 4-lane highway, we were mostly driving on a 2-lane road; we regularly slowed down or came to a complete stop as we met cows, or goats (camels stayed on the roadside), and we periodically passed goat or cow herders. Also no In-N-Out Burgers.
With a stop for lunch, at a very forlorn and deserted food and gift shop, and a few bathroom stops, the trip took almost 6 hours. A few kms out of Bikaner we stopped at our hotel, the Heritage Resort. It did not compare favorably, or at all with our prior accommodations, but it had a pool, a good breakfast, no milkshakes, but good lassis, and was clean and quiet, even though there were a surprising number of visitors there, primarily a German tour group. However we spent very little time there.
After we checked in, we got back into the van and left for Bikaner. This is a dust swirling desert town that was founded in 1488 by Rao Bika (hence the name) who was the second son of the Roa Jodha, maharaja of Jodhpur. Since he was not going to get much from his dad, he hightailed it out of town with a few followers and founded his own place. After his dad died he launched a war against his brother, leading to several decades of warfare between the Rathore kingdoms. Eventually Bikaner made a good living providing protection, (pay me so I will not rob you), supplies and accommodations to the caravan trade and a friendly relationship with the Mughals by marrying their sons to the Mughals' daughters. It declined with the decline of the Mughal empire, but returned to prosperity providing camels and supplies to the British for the latter's endless, and largely unsuccessful, wars against the Afghans and Rajputs. Under a benign maharaja, it was the first desert princely state to get electricity and constructed a canal to bring water in from Punjab.
In Bikaner we went to the Junagarh Fort/Palace. Another in what has and will become a long line of monster forts in Rajastan forts and palaces. It was built at the end of the 16th century by a Bikaner maharaja who was also a general in the Mughal army. I could not verify this, but I suspect he married a Mughal princess. It had the usual large and sumptuous public and private assembly halls, the former was lacquered in garish red and gold while the latter was painted in blue clouds. It was now late afternoon and the temperature was over 110, and no matter how much water I drank I did not need to pee. One of the maharajas did up his wing in gold paint, mirrors and stained glass from Belgium. The rooftop had a nice view of the camel and horse stalls, still in use, and the city. There was a wing that housed a WWI De Haviland biplane bomber, given as a gift to the kingdom by the grateful British for the assistance the kingdom provided in the war fighting in the Middle East against the Ottomans.
The Old City had a medieval feel to it with a labyrinth of narrow streets that were choked with motorbikes (there are virtually no cars out here) and auto rickshaws. But we did not see much of it because we had to go to our camel ride and desert dinner.
We each mounted a camel without the aid of a platform or ladder. The camel bends down, you hop on and then it stands up, first front and then back, as you hold on to avoid getting tossed. The ride was kind of swaying and boring, no galloping. We rode into the sunset and then got to the camp. There they had set up a single table for us with linens and a full table setting. There was a cooking and serving staff of 6 and two musicians. The food was good and the beer was cold, but it was incredibly hot, even after the sun set. I was sweating throughout the meal and all I was doing was chewing and drinking. Staggered back to the hotel and took a swim in the pool. Not much relief until I went into the air conditioned room.
Had a morning swim before breakfast and before we took off on another long ride through the desert to Jaisalmer.
We left the lazy pleasures of Samode Haveli, but not before a morning swim and two chocolate milkshakes, plus the usual fruit bowl, Indian pancakes and other items, for breakfast. A long drive ahead of us to Bikaner.
As we left Jaipur the landscape became increasingly desolate and the temperature of the window van kept rising. With some major differences, it was not dissimilar to the drive on I-15 after one leaves Victorville on the way to Las Vagas (or in my case to Ft. Irwin) through the Mojave Desert. Little greenery, few trees, sagebrush and lots of sand surrounded by mountains in the distance. The differences are that instead of a 4-lane highway, we were mostly driving on a 2-lane road; we regularly slowed down or came to a complete stop as we met cows, or goats (camels stayed on the roadside), and we periodically passed goat or cow herders. Also no In-N-Out Burgers.
With a stop for lunch, at a very forlorn and deserted food and gift shop, and a few bathroom stops, the trip took almost 6 hours. A few kms out of Bikaner we stopped at our hotel, the Heritage Resort. It did not compare favorably, or at all with our prior accommodations, but it had a pool, a good breakfast, no milkshakes, but good lassis, and was clean and quiet, even though there were a surprising number of visitors there, primarily a German tour group. However we spent very little time there.
After we checked in, we got back into the van and left for Bikaner. This is a dust swirling desert town that was founded in 1488 by Rao Bika (hence the name) who was the second son of the Roa Jodha, maharaja of Jodhpur. Since he was not going to get much from his dad, he hightailed it out of town with a few followers and founded his own place. After his dad died he launched a war against his brother, leading to several decades of warfare between the Rathore kingdoms. Eventually Bikaner made a good living providing protection, (pay me so I will not rob you), supplies and accommodations to the caravan trade and a friendly relationship with the Mughals by marrying their sons to the Mughals' daughters. It declined with the decline of the Mughal empire, but returned to prosperity providing camels and supplies to the British for the latter's endless, and largely unsuccessful, wars against the Afghans and Rajputs. Under a benign maharaja, it was the first desert princely state to get electricity and constructed a canal to bring water in from Punjab.
In Bikaner we went to the Junagarh Fort/Palace. Another in what has and will become a long line of monster forts in Rajastan forts and palaces. It was built at the end of the 16th century by a Bikaner maharaja who was also a general in the Mughal army. I could not verify this, but I suspect he married a Mughal princess. It had the usual large and sumptuous public and private assembly halls, the former was lacquered in garish red and gold while the latter was painted in blue clouds. It was now late afternoon and the temperature was over 110, and no matter how much water I drank I did not need to pee. One of the maharajas did up his wing in gold paint, mirrors and stained glass from Belgium. The rooftop had a nice view of the camel and horse stalls, still in use, and the city. There was a wing that housed a WWI De Haviland biplane bomber, given as a gift to the kingdom by the grateful British for the assistance the kingdom provided in the war fighting in the Middle East against the Ottomans.
The Old City had a medieval feel to it with a labyrinth of narrow streets that were choked with motorbikes (there are virtually no cars out here) and auto rickshaws. But we did not see much of it because we had to go to our camel ride and desert dinner.
We each mounted a camel without the aid of a platform or ladder. The camel bends down, you hop on and then it stands up, first front and then back, as you hold on to avoid getting tossed. The ride was kind of swaying and boring, no galloping. We rode into the sunset and then got to the camp. There they had set up a single table for us with linens and a full table setting. There was a cooking and serving staff of 6 and two musicians. The food was good and the beer was cold, but it was incredibly hot, even after the sun set. I was sweating throughout the meal and all I was doing was chewing and drinking. Staggered back to the hotel and took a swim in the pool. Not much relief until I went into the air conditioned room.
Had a morning swim before breakfast and before we took off on another long ride through the desert to Jaisalmer.
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