A Visit to Rajasthan
Hi friends. I have not been able to post an entry for last two months now. It was a tough time rather. I was in IIMA for FDP which got over by October 4, 2008. I returned to my University on October 6, 2008. And then there has been a vacation from October 25 to November 15....a short one na! Initially, we had plan to visit South India this time, but the tour was canceled by the travel company....what the hell! But, we (me and my family) decided to hire a taxi (in desi language – QUALIS) to visit Marwar (Rajasthan, India).
We started our journey on November 1 from my home town, Bhavnagar, Gujarat. We landed to Nathdwara, Rajasthan on the same day by evening. There was a heavy rush because of the Diwali vacation. We found a room- kind of a big hall- and stayed overnight therein. Wooh! We had to pay Rs. 1500/- for that one, which would be available in off-season for less than Rs. 600/-. After getting fresh, we moved out for shopping and food. We chose the hotel run by the temple trust for the dinner as we wanted good Indian healthy food. We had to wait for some 70 minutes after purchasing the coupons for it. There was a loongggggggg cue! After the dinner, we enjoyed thandai - a liquid item made from milk which is having a lot of dry-fruit and which is served chillded-naturally chilled in a matka- a pitcher.
Next day, on November 2, we moved on to Kumbalgadh. This is a beautiful fort and somewhat in a Jungle. The architecture is beautiful. But, there is no direct connectivity easily available. We had plan to visit Ranakpur, a famous Jain temple, but we had to cancel it for the want of time. In between, we managed to visit the Haldighati museum which was beautiful in itself.
We moved on to Pushkar from there which was our second night halt on November 2. Pushkar is a holy Hindu place and the only Brahma temple is there is in Pushkar. We visited the city in night. The city is having a global culture and you will find people from all over the world there. It is a small place, yet you will find Thai, Italian, Continental etc food available here! A lot of cyber cafes are available. The beautiful silver ornaments are available here in the bazaar. We enjoyed a lot of Alu Parathas (Potato Made Bread) along with curd, rice and dal.
November 3, and we moved on to Ajmer. We visited the DHAI DINO KA JOPDA AND THE DARGWHAH of KHWAJA MOUDIN CHISTI. Both are Islamic monuments. The visit to Dargah in particular was amazing. Both, Hindus and Muslims can be seen offering prayer. It was a memorable visit and I learnt various aspects of the Muslim culture there. The surrounding area was also Muslim community and that's why you can feel the Islamic culture when you visit the Dargah. Me and my brother in law went inside the gumbaj where holy carpets made of roses are presented to the tomb stone of the saint.
We moved on to Jaipur the same day and visited the fort of Aamer. Aamer fort was the home to Jodha and we learnt the history of the same there. A visit to Rajasthan provides authentic historical knowledge. The fort was beautiful.
November 4, After spending the night in Jaipur on Nov 3, we continued our visit to Jaipur. We visited Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahel, Museum, City Palace etc. We skipped the Birla temple for the want of time but that is also a beautiful place to visit. You must have some academic interest if you want to truly enjoy the visit to Rajasthan otherwise all the forts look the same! Some reading in advance is also helpful. We left for Ranthambhor jungles after that and reached there by 11 pm.
November 5, After spending a night in Ranthambhor, me and my brother in law woke up at 4 am to secure the tickets to visit the jungle. The visit to the jungle is arranged by the forest dept of Rajasthan Govt and you have to visit the jungle by their vehicles, which could be open Gypses or trucks. The tigers are there in the jungle. But, securing the tickets on current booking would be very difficult. We somehow managed it but it is advisable to get its booking over Internet in advance or via some agent. The jungles are deep and we did see the footmarks of tigers and beers but unfortunately, we could not see any tiger. But yes, it was an amazing visit and you really get to see the beautiful wild life therein.
November 6, We moved on to Bundi which is famous for its paintings etc. After visiting a fort and a museum there, we visited Chitorgarh. The Chitorgadh fort is the biggest of all and an old one. IT IS FONDLY SAID THAT GHADO MEIN GHAD CHITORGARH BAKI SAB GADHAIYA, RANIO MEIN RANI PADMINI BAKI SAB RANAIYA… It was attacked 30 times by the Islamic kings and 27 times The Rajputs had won and three times the Islamic kings had won. Much of its architecture has been destroyed by the Islamic kings which creates a sorry feeling in our minds. But, the fort is a beautiful one.
November 7, we moved back to Bhavnagar from Chitor - a journey of 650 km one stretch. Oh my god! Too long. Our total journey was around 2158 km and we covered 50% of Rajasthan. The places we could not visit but are worth visiting: Ranakpur, Kota, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Jodhpur etc.
The spellings in this blog may not be correct at times. I will edit this to make it more accurate and correct in future. Right now, I have to leave. My wife is waiting for me for the lunch. Hope you enjoyed it.
Please feel free to give feedback.
Pathik, Nov 13, 2008, 9:15 PM IST
We started our journey on November 1 from my home town, Bhavnagar, Gujarat. We landed to Nathdwara, Rajasthan on the same day by evening. There was a heavy rush because of the Diwali vacation. We found a room- kind of a big hall- and stayed overnight therein. Wooh! We had to pay Rs. 1500/- for that one, which would be available in off-season for less than Rs. 600/-. After getting fresh, we moved out for shopping and food. We chose the hotel run by the temple trust for the dinner as we wanted good Indian healthy food. We had to wait for some 70 minutes after purchasing the coupons for it. There was a loongggggggg cue! After the dinner, we enjoyed thandai - a liquid item made from milk which is having a lot of dry-fruit and which is served chillded-naturally chilled in a matka- a pitcher.
Next day, on November 2, we moved on to Kumbalgadh. This is a beautiful fort and somewhat in a Jungle. The architecture is beautiful. But, there is no direct connectivity easily available. We had plan to visit Ranakpur, a famous Jain temple, but we had to cancel it for the want of time. In between, we managed to visit the Haldighati museum which was beautiful in itself.
We moved on to Pushkar from there which was our second night halt on November 2. Pushkar is a holy Hindu place and the only Brahma temple is there is in Pushkar. We visited the city in night. The city is having a global culture and you will find people from all over the world there. It is a small place, yet you will find Thai, Italian, Continental etc food available here! A lot of cyber cafes are available. The beautiful silver ornaments are available here in the bazaar. We enjoyed a lot of Alu Parathas (Potato Made Bread) along with curd, rice and dal.
November 3, and we moved on to Ajmer. We visited the DHAI DINO KA JOPDA AND THE DARGWHAH of KHWAJA MOUDIN CHISTI. Both are Islamic monuments. The visit to Dargah in particular was amazing. Both, Hindus and Muslims can be seen offering prayer. It was a memorable visit and I learnt various aspects of the Muslim culture there. The surrounding area was also Muslim community and that's why you can feel the Islamic culture when you visit the Dargah. Me and my brother in law went inside the gumbaj where holy carpets made of roses are presented to the tomb stone of the saint.
We moved on to Jaipur the same day and visited the fort of Aamer. Aamer fort was the home to Jodha and we learnt the history of the same there. A visit to Rajasthan provides authentic historical knowledge. The fort was beautiful.
November 4, After spending the night in Jaipur on Nov 3, we continued our visit to Jaipur. We visited Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahel, Museum, City Palace etc. We skipped the Birla temple for the want of time but that is also a beautiful place to visit. You must have some academic interest if you want to truly enjoy the visit to Rajasthan otherwise all the forts look the same! Some reading in advance is also helpful. We left for Ranthambhor jungles after that and reached there by 11 pm.
November 5, After spending a night in Ranthambhor, me and my brother in law woke up at 4 am to secure the tickets to visit the jungle. The visit to the jungle is arranged by the forest dept of Rajasthan Govt and you have to visit the jungle by their vehicles, which could be open Gypses or trucks. The tigers are there in the jungle. But, securing the tickets on current booking would be very difficult. We somehow managed it but it is advisable to get its booking over Internet in advance or via some agent. The jungles are deep and we did see the footmarks of tigers and beers but unfortunately, we could not see any tiger. But yes, it was an amazing visit and you really get to see the beautiful wild life therein.
November 6, We moved on to Bundi which is famous for its paintings etc. After visiting a fort and a museum there, we visited Chitorgarh. The Chitorgadh fort is the biggest of all and an old one. IT IS FONDLY SAID THAT GHADO MEIN GHAD CHITORGARH BAKI SAB GADHAIYA, RANIO MEIN RANI PADMINI BAKI SAB RANAIYA… It was attacked 30 times by the Islamic kings and 27 times The Rajputs had won and three times the Islamic kings had won. Much of its architecture has been destroyed by the Islamic kings which creates a sorry feeling in our minds. But, the fort is a beautiful one.
November 7, we moved back to Bhavnagar from Chitor - a journey of 650 km one stretch. Oh my god! Too long. Our total journey was around 2158 km and we covered 50% of Rajasthan. The places we could not visit but are worth visiting: Ranakpur, Kota, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Jodhpur etc.
The spellings in this blog may not be correct at times. I will edit this to make it more accurate and correct in future. Right now, I have to leave. My wife is waiting for me for the lunch. Hope you enjoyed it.
Please feel free to give feedback.
Pathik, Nov 13, 2008, 9:15 PM IST
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