Travel to Bikaner (Rajasthan)
- Sights in Bikaner (Rajasthan) : Bikaner has a very beautiful old town with fantastic buildings and a non touristy atmosphere (Bikaner is one of the least visited cities of Rajasthan). You can walk around for hours and behind every corner you keep finding another breath taking Haveli. Ask one of the rickshaw drivers to let you off in the "Balla Bazaar", if you simply ask for the old town they stop at the harbour in the busy new part of town from where you have to walk for about 30 minutes to get to the nice part of the old town. From Bikaner you can join camel safaris and tours into the surrounding step landscape for about 400 rupees per day including meals. The rooms of the Fort of Bikaner are very beautiful and really worth visiting. The rest of bikaner is very busy.- Fort of Bikaner : the fort of Bikaner is surprisingly beautiful on the inside, with splendid rooms.
- Budget Hotels and accommodation in Bikaner : Hotel Harasar Haveli, near Karni Singh stadium, telephone no 0151-209891-527318, is a very clean middle range hotel heel with very flexible prices, rooms cost from 200-1000 rupees per night and friendly staff. In the nice roof restaurant they serve delicious food (and chicken!) and every night there is a folklore show. The hotel is also organizer of camel safari trips.
- Exchanging money : a very difficult task in Bikaner, there are no exchange offices and most of the hotels don't exchange money. You have to try in a normal bank. There is only one cash point in Bikaner, next to the Punjab National Bank, but it was out of order during my visit.
- Restaurants, eating out : there are not many restaurants in Bikaner, and the few that are mostly have bad food. Almost no meat is to be found on the menus, a disappointment for me coming from Pushkar that for religious reasons is almost completely vegetarian I was longing for a bit of meat.
- Kolayat Fair (religious celebration) : the village Kolayat can be reached by public transport (local bus) from the old bus station. The trip takes about two hours for 52 km (it is allowed to sit on the roof of the bus!). The Kolayat festival is not touristy, it lasts only for one day but is still really worth visiting. The village is for this day absolutely filled with Sadhus, more than in Pushkar. It happens on the day of full moon in November which is the same day as the last day of Pushkar Mela.
- Internet : there are many internet cafes in Bikaner, on a small square north of the fort you can surf on the net fro 15 rupees per hour.
- Travel by public transport in Rajasthan - bus from Bikaner to Jaisalmer : night bus or day bus (departs at 5.45 in the morning, arrives at 10.30) leaves from the Old Bus station, 11 rupees.
