Of all the Temples we visited in Rajasthan, the Rat Temple in the city of Bikaner was the one I finally balked at.
Three weeks as part of a small group of Brits, a Kiwi,  Americans and ourselves, travelling close to the Pakistan border through the very dry countryside of the Indian state of Rajasthan, was certainly a soft adventure to remember; this was no three-day Indian “Golden Triangle” tour.
We picked up our bus in Jaipur after a very early morning train trip from Delhi and that was pretty much the last time we saw a city until we again passed through Jaipur on our way to Agra and Delhi for departure.
A city hotel was a rarity as we trooped most evenings into a series of Heritage homesteads restored for the tourist trade, usually flanked by their attendant villages.  The standard varied, from cleverly designed “mud huts” to stables converted into bedrooms with ensuite, marble bed bases and solar hot water; sometimes the attention to detail was exquisite – on other occasions it was tolerable.
It was getting hot towards the end of the tourist season in late February and the European, mostly French, tourists we found everywhere were beginning to flag, despite the excellent Kingfisher beer we ended each day with, often beside the Bougainvillea-decorated swimming pools.
Magnificently moustachioed and turbaned staff glided about, attentive to our every wish.  Meals were generally buffet-style with the occasional a la carte on offer, sometimes under the stars, but always in magnificent settings.  Unlike the majority of our travelling companions, we stayed healthy throughout by careful attention to personal hygiene, not touching our eyes or mouth and taking a daily dose of probiotics in pill form.
Temples and historic homesteads were not the only places visited of course, as Rajasthan is filled with Palaces and Forts originally constructed from the 8th Century onwards by the monarchs of the various provinces, usually on ridge lines or hilltops high above the commoners’ villages, protected by high thick walls with redoubts reminiscent of English keeps and towers.  From the 12th Century these were fought over by waves of Islamic Mughals who often defeated the inhabitants and whose positive architectural and decorative influences today remain a high point in a Hindu-oriented society.
The Indian Government is obviously conscious of the value of the tourist dollar to the economy and is promoting the restoration of such sites, though those still owned and furnished by the families of the pre-unification monarchs are the most fascinating to visit.
Don’t get the idea it was all fun and games though; on one afternoon we all mounted camels (mine was a bit premature getting up and threw me off the stirrup into the sand) and our camel train headed into the setting sun for a night under canvas in the Rajasthan desert.  For the uninitiated, a chafed backside can be an unintended bonus.
It was the Hindu requirement that you enter their temples barefoot that was the final straw for me at the Rat Temple in Bikaner.  Undaunted, my wife took the camera and left me outside to guard everyone’s shoes.
Travelscene Samford would like to thank Bob for this lovely travel article.  Don’t forget that only Travelscene American Express lets you travel anywhere, any time and pay with your membership rewards points so contact us on 3289 3700 and let us help you turn your American Express membership rewards points into your next trip.