Day 3 - Mandawa and Bikaner, Rajasthan

After a quite unexciting continental breakfast, our guide for the morning, Pinvin, showed us around Mandawa.
It was still early in the morning, so the streets were empty and filled with mist. That was a nice contrast to the usual hustle.
Pinvin led us to several havelis, built 200-400 years ago. Each of the havelis was unique, with different drawings on them. He also showed us a 4000 m deep well in the middle of town. I decided I should not lean over too far.

Streets of Mandawa in the morning

Haveli in Mandawa

Courtyard of a haveli in Mandawa

Dog feeding puppies

We ended up in a textiles shop, which was owned by Pinvins family.
Entering shops and buying goodies is always a huge procedure here. The merchant is spreading his wares before you, while you are being served tea. The items you like are put aside and presented to you again later.
I found a really nice wall hanging and we had a good and long chat with Pinvins brother about various subjects, like the Indian school system or salaries.

Donkey cart

Market Streets of Mandawa

Tailor in Mandawa

One of the many roadside merchants

One of the many camel carts

After having made our way back to the hotel, we left towards Bikaner. On the way we stopped at a roadside restaurant and I had a really really nice Malai Kofta. Taste was incredible and the food was so cheap (less than €2), just like Sanzi had told us.

Road to Bikaner

One of the many roadside tea stands/ restaurants

Before going to Bikaner, we made a quick reroute to Deshnok (30 km from Bikaner) for the Karnimata rat temple.
I found it soo cute having all the rats running around me and over my feet and trying to nibble my toes.

Rats at Karnimata temple

We arrived in Bikaner when it was dark already. The hotel looked awesome again, with an inner courtyard and four floors surrounding it. It even had Internet in the lobby, that is when I posted my entry about Day 1.