Rats & Camels

If you’re a Caucasian Westerner, and want to know what’s it like to be famous, come to India. Today I had three requests for photos with me. Not having let fame go to my head just yet, of course I obliged. I’m one of those approachable celebrities – always up for a chin wag with my fans.

If you’re someone who prefers to blend in, I would advise to apply the opposite to yours truly. Don’t be white. Don’t be tall. Don’t have a blonde girlfriend by your side.

Speaking of which, I still haven’t had any offers for Lise yet. I’ve heard the going rate for fair Western women is 20 camels (of the animal variety, not the cigarette), but I think given the skills that she possesses, twice that amount is not out of the question no?

To travel matters now. We are currently in Bikaner, a large dusty desert city in the North of Rajasthan. We were in a small town called Mandawa last night.

Only really two things of note to mention;
Earlier today we visited the Karni Mata temple. A nice temple for sure, but far from impressive structurally or historically. To add to matters it was in a small town 30km outside of Bikaner. On this, hardly worth the effort right? Well you see, the temple houses living re-incarnations of old Hindu story tellers, and it just so happens that they’ve all been re-incarnated as...well... rats! And not just a handful either. There are thousands of them – all roaming the temple freely as worshipped rodents!

Oh, and no shoes permitted.

It was quite an experience to walk amongst holy rats with no shoes on, but this isn’t why I came to Asia. No siree Bob!

I would like to formally announce that today I had a stomach bug, and spent quite a bit of time in pain and with a nagging need to head to the toilet. Hurray! Only 3 days in! The first of many I'm sure.

I do feel ok now thankfully. Lise’s 11kg backpack contains 10.7kg of medicines, so surely I can’t sell her for camels now...

Or has the price just gone up? :-)