Thirty km south of Bikaner is the Karni Mata temple or 'Rat Temple'. Rats scurry everywhere around and are fed by the monks with grain and milk. The rats are believed to be reincarnations of holy men.
Of course, like all temples, you go barefoot. "Ugh, what if a rat runs over your foot" said one of the girls. "Then you've been blessed" said the monk.
External view the of the Karni Mata Temple.
It always a guess whether to pay the money and take your camera, and find nothing, or to leave it outside and miss out on good stuff. This was the latter. The inside walls were covered with thousands of paintings of scenes from the temple's and area's history.
Forts, forts, forts; India certainly is full of forts, isn't it? This is the Junagarh fort in Bikaner, viewed from our hotel room.
A courtyard in the Junagarh fort. The mesh above is to keep it clean by keeping out pigeons, and stopping rubbish (or people) falling into the courtyard from the walkways above. I didn't test its strength. :-)
The audience chamber of the king of Bikaner.
The gardens in the grounds of the Junagarh fort. We're still in a desert region so it looks a little drier than normal.
A real one! The Bikaner regiment fought in 2 world wars, and the museum displays gifts (like this one) as well as captured German equipment, and the traditional swords and shields.
