Bikaner

320km from Jaisalmer is Bikaner, another desert town founded in 1488. Later when the British arrived, Bikaner gave the finest camel to them in exchange for their freedom.

Bikaner is also home to the famous rat temple.

Karni Mata temple, also known as the rat temple, is located about 30km from Bikaner. According to legend, Karni Mata, a 14th-century incarnation of Durga, asked the god of death, Yama, to restore to life the son of a grieving storyteller. When Yama refused, Karni Mata reincarnated all dead storytellers as rats, depriving Yama of human souls.

Took a rickshaw (20 rupees) from the train station to the GoGo bus station, and from there, we had to take another 40 minutes bus (20 rupees) that goes to Deshnok where the rat temple is.

As with other temples in India, it is always mandatory to take off any footwear before entering the temple. Whats not so usual was the belief that it will bring one bad luck if he/she steps on the rat and on the contary, if a rat was to run itself onto your feet, it will bring with it good luck.

And its not just the rats that are lying around, some people are even lying around in the premises. Omg.

Anyway, this is the rat temple. Went to the Camel Research Institute next and a return trip from the train station costs about 150 rupees. There is nothing much to see at the Institute, just 10,686 camels in the farm farting and shitting around. But they do sell camel milk at 5 rupees/ 200ml and camel milk ice cream for about 30 rupees.

Aborted camel foetus