Day 3 Bikaner

Our next lap was 180 Kms to Bikaner. In the early morning hours we saw a very different side of the Churu city. Unlike yesterday, the streets were silent and we could barely see people, mostly drowsy faces just starting the day. I did my elementary check before heading to the highway: withdrew cash, checked air pressure and loaded fuel tank.

Highway from Churu to Bikaner is excellent but not surprisingly I came across 4 legged animals more often than the vehicles. I had a narrow escape while trying to avoid bumping into a goat that decided to make a sudden U-turn leaving me helplessly trying all my reflexes and impulses.
It was a hot sunny day and for several miles I didn't see any civilization.

We passed through a stretch of road with high dunes on both the sides, a very unique and splendid view. I stopped to take few pics when a guy on a bike approached us. As Expected, he was surprised to see two of us alone in that desert and that too on a bike. He asked if he can join us up until Bikaner and I politely refused since it's not a good idea to keep trying to match the pace. He took a selfie with us and told though he has read about female bikers on internet but this is the first time he has met someone in person.
After riding for few km. we were desperately looking for a shade to take a break and all we could find was a thorn tree with barely any leaves. In that arid land even this tree felt like a heaven and we took a short break under it.

By noon we were in Bikaner, the city was very different than what I had imagined. Modern, colorful, clean and green. After a long drive in the desert, this was a luxury. We found a cheap yet clean hotel for our night stay. We decided to rent an auto-rickshaw to explore the city and kept our bike aside. My fingers were already hurting after two days of continuous maneuvering on hard clutch. Though we didn't have a list to do for Bikaner, I wanted to visit Junagarh fort, camel farm, an old Jain temple, a haveli and the local market of old Bikaner.

Junagarh fort, worth a visit, captured our hearts with its impressive gradeur and huge facade. We had to hire a guide to give us a tour. As we were climbing the stairs, I was saddened to see spit marks all over the wall. It's a shame that though we boast proudly of our culture, heritage yet we are so insensitive and disrespectful to our rich historical remains of the same heritage. A huge structure standing tall for decades as a symbol of power, creativity, wealth and art, it sprawls over several acres.

Our next stop was the Camel farm, the only camel breeding centre in India. Four different breeds of camel are found in India and this centre raises all. There were around 300 animals of all ages, ranging from a cute few months old baby to several years old grownup. I had an impression that camels are silent peaceful creatures but our guide told that if angry, a camel can literally bite. At the end of the tour our guide offered us "camel" ice cream and my sister had a weird expression not realising it's not the camel in the ice cream but only its milk.

Our auto driver was an amiable and a very humble guy however the only problem was his auto that generated enough noise to insulate us from the rest of the world. Soon we were in the old town of Bikaner, congested with narrow streets shared by people as well as bulls and cows. We crawled through these narrow lanes to reach "Rampuria havelis" which is basically a long street with several havelis. Just like how I felt to see other havelis and forts, I was in awe with the beauty of these red structures, made with redstone. Sad part is there is noone to take care of these havelis. I took several pictures but none of them can even do a bit of justice to original fine details of the architecture. The owner is a businessman who lives in Kolkatta and the caretaker changes every now and then.

We did some shopping in the local market and spent couple of hours roaming through the colorful streets. On our way back to hotel, we visited old jain temple. While dropping us off to the hotel, the auto-rickshaw driver, very politely, bid us good bye and told us to take care while riding on bike (somehow he knew we were on bike). A tiring yet memorable day came to an end as I retired for the night.