Our this trip was a long pending one; we were bit indecisive about where to go first, Udaipur and Mount abu or to Jaisalmer-Jaipur. Jaisalmer was a place which was common to both of our choice, and this made us to decide for Jaisalmer-Jaipur trip. The trip was planned in mid week of Nov (from 13^th to 16^th). We boarded our train from Gurgaon station (Jaisalmer express), one thing that is very important to keep in mind is that the reservation should be done in AC class only. This will help in keeping away some disturbing elements out as well as in the long journey through desert it will be much more comfortable and help preserve the energy for the upcoming trip.

Day 0:

The train was 20 min late to arrive at Gurgaon station. On boarding the train we meet a person sitting in our coup, he started talking to us. We were initially bit hesitant to interact, but when we came to know that he is in army and presently posted in Jaisalmer we were more comfortable. He started telling us many things about the place and its history. It brought more interest in us for the place. He suggested us to stay in the camps of Sam dunes, but this was not there in our plan and didn’t suit our trip plan so we decided against it. Then came another family, newly married working in Air force and posted in Jaisalmer. This person was in complete contrast of the amry person and not having much knowledge about the place and also not much interested about it. This thing caused a bit of leg pulling in the conversations, and made the journey more interesting. It was a long journey of around 19 hrs. Most of the stations in Rajasthan were quite small and not much eatables were available.

We came to know that Pokhran have some famous stalls, selling some fried items and nice tea. Pokhran holds a special place in mind of Indians. The train halts there for 30 min as the engine is changed there, and the train moves in opposite direction after the change. This gave me a good time to move around the small station, I also went outside to find some small stalls. The snacks there was really good and we enjoyed it a lot. The army person gave us few contacts and tips, he also told us about shops where we can buy good items and places to eat. Though the food of Rajasthan is mostly same in its different cities and we already have tasted it. So we were not very inclined towards looking for some authentic Rajasthani food.

Day 1:

Just before the train was about to reach Jaisalmer, there were some agents in the train from tour operators. Initially we were bit septic, but thought to give it a try and talked to one of the agent. His offer was good and decided to give it a try. It’s very important to bargain to get a good deal. We reached Jaisalmer by 2 PM. The deal that we got was for Rs1500 (for 2) for a trip to sam sand dunes which included camel ride, folk program, snacks and dinner. They also had a budget hotel, which they offered at very low rates. We were not sure of how it will be, so we told him if the rooms are not good then we won’t be staying there. The Jaisalmer station is small but quite nice, made of yellow stone and kept very clean (unlike most other Indian stations). Every thing we passed by was made of yellow stone and thus giving the whole city a golden hue and making the saying correct “It’s a golden city”. On our way to hotel from station, we meet another family who also took the same offer. On reaching the hotel, we found it to be so so, and is ok to stay. The best thing that we liked was it proximity to the fort and the market. Just from the window we can see the fort wall and from the roof restaurant, a good view of the fort. The family that we meet discussed with us about the deal and Mr. Sanjeet said he will give a try to get a better deal. The trip to sam dunes was planned at 3:30 PM, so we went to get fresh and then went to have lunch in the roof top restaurant of the hotel. Then I went to meet Mr Sanjeet to know if he was able to get a better deal. And to my surprise he got a nice deal, in Rs750 not only today, the next days city trip will also be covered. It was a good deal, then I told about fossil park (a place about which I read in the internet). The place was included in the list with an increase of tour cost to Rs800.

Generally we like to move alone, as it don’t have any dependency but in this case we had to move in a group as the vehicle was a Bolero. We were 6, from three families. On the way to sam dunes we went to Jain temple. There was no entry free, but for camera it was Rs 75 and for mobile camera it was Rs30, which according to us was quite costly. This Jain temple had a kalpvirksh. The temple had nice stone work, cuttings and carvings. Outside the temple there were small movable stalls selling the stone works of Jaisalmer. I heard about the fossil stones which can be used to set curd, I saw it there. There was news paper cuttings kept as proof of the magic stone.

From this place we moved to our main destination, sam sand dunes. It was almost 40km from Jaisalmer city, as we were closing on the place we were getting more exited. We can see large envoy of camels, and there colorful dressed owners. We got down from our vehicle and there were some camels waiting for us. It was aroung 4:30 pm, the camel was in good health, it’s name was Michael. We got on to the camel back, as the camel moved from sitting to standing position it shook up our whole body. We enjoyed the ride on the camel back as it moved in the desert, there were many more caravan moving around us making the desert colorful. We reached the sunset point by 5:30 pm, so we had some more time left with us before the actual sunset. I was bit disappointed with the view of the place, the tourist there had made the place dirty and the view of the desert was not as I expected. The owner of the camel told us that it we go some further into the desert we will get much better view but we have to pay extra for it. We decided to go for it, as I was not at all happy with view of the place. On reaching to the other place it was better. We got down from the camel there and enjoyed the place to fullest. The sunset was great, but little bit more colors in the sky at the time of sunset would have made it even better. Small insects specific to desert were crawling around, and there foot prints were leaving behind some nice trails.

It was now time to return after the sunset, and to our luck it was also a full moon night. Desert in a full moon night is something to watch for, the moon as a background of the camels was showing amazing beauty of nature. We reached the point where we have to board our cab to reach the folk program and dance camps. After a 10 min drive, passing many similar camps we reached our destination, the place was nice with many tents (for those who want to stay there in night). There was sitting arrangement around a bon fire. All the seats were occupied along with a group of foreigner tourists. We were served some snacks and tea. We are not very fond of tea, but the tea served there was amazing and we both liked it a lot. We asked for two more servings of tea, some one was telling that it was made with un-boiled goat milk. At the same time folk dance and songs were going on. There was a dance called “Kalbeliya”, in which the dancer picks up a needle and a blade with her eyes, it was an amazing performance and equally dangerous. Liquor was also available and was served to the guests there (but just a caution here, the liquor is not free and is exorbitantly charged, which is not told at the time of serving). We also just went around the tents to have a look at the arrangements, which appeared to be nice. We spent almost 2 hrs there, but a group of rowdy people (who appeared to be from good families) were also there, who were more involved in shouting and drinking, spoiling the evening there. At around 8:30 we went for the buffet lunch. The food was pure veg. but well prepared. After finishing the lunch we asked if we can have one more cup of tea, and they obliged. We left for the hotel on with a great after taste of the last cup of tea. The full moon in the desert was throwing light like 1000s of tube lights. We reached hotel by around 10 pm. After the whole day expedition we were quite tired and went to bed to get full rest.

Day2:

All the three families were to go for the city tour, we have to leave by 9 am. After getting ready in morning we went out for breakfast, it was 8:30 am and since the market was nearby we though that we will be able to return by 9 easily. On reaching a restaurant we ordered for dosa and aalu paratha, hoping that it will be served soon but to our surprise (and conformation to what we saw yesterday in lunch) they started the preparation from scratch. It took a lot of time, and by the time we returned it was almost 9:30. We were feeling bad that others have to wait for us but we were relived to know that one of the other family also just arrived after breakfast. It was now time for our city tour.

The first place that we visited was Gadisar Sagar. It’s a lake and source of water supply to the city. It’s a beautiful lake and facility of boating is also available there. There were some old structures around the lake adding more beauty to the place. There are some spots from where the fort is visible in whole but due to smoke in the air the view was not very clear. After spending around 30 min there we moved on to our next destination Maharaja Haveli. This one was not in our original list of “places to visit”. There is an entry fee of Rs10 per person. A part of the palace is still occupied by residents, some part converted to hotel and a part open to visitors. We have to pass by a stable, where some very nice horses were kept. The guard there didn’t allow us to stand there. We bought the tickets to enter the palace at the gate. The walls there are nicely crafted, and then we moved inside the palace where pictures of the by gone era were displayed. Then we moved on to the roof of the palace from where we can see some view around.

Next we moved on to “Patwano ki haveli”. We hired a guide there, who told us that there are 5 haveli in sequence made by the king for there sons. It took 80 years to complete the haveli. One of the haveli which is said to be best maintained is taken over by private care taker and the entry ticket there is for Rs80. Another 3 havelis are under govt. where entry ticket is Rs15 (for all 3 Haveli). The guide took us around one of he better kept palace, explaining the various rooms and architecture. From the roof of the Haveli a large part of the fort was visible and this gives one of the best views of fort. One of the major thing to watch for is the combination of both Hindu and Mugal architecture and there symbols grafted there (the sun and the moon). Also we saw the various safety measures, separate guest room, hidden safes in walls and many more things. The maintenance is not very good and cleaning of peagon droppings needs urgent attension. The guide told all the five Haveli have similar structure. Then he took us to the second one, and truly it was a replica of he first one that we saw, just a bit smaller. So we decided to give a miss to other Havelis. He also told there were many film shooting done in these palaces. Another attraction of this place is the person with the longest moustaches, he keeps them rolled. One has to pay him to see it, they are supposed to be 5 ft long and his name is there in the Guniness book of records. There are many shops there and one can do some shopping from there, specially the yellow stone items. But as we were told that there are better shops in he fort (like “light of east”) so we decided to do the shopping from there.

Now we moved to the fort (also called golden fort or sonar quilla). The fort is an amazing structure in the Thar desert, rising up in the sky from nowhere. It is one of the only forts which is still inhabited by the descendents of the actual dwellers of the fort. There are some hotels inside the fort also. We reached the fort at around 11:30 and we had around an hour and half to roam around, which is quite less looking at the massive size of the fort. We went to the Jain temple first, which closes by noon. The temple was similar to the one that we visited yesterday, but bit bigger. The idol has a long history associated with it, and is said to be brought by digging a 10km underground tunnel to another temple. Here also one has to buy tickets for camera as well as for mobile cameras. From here we went through the inter-winding by-roads of the fort to reach the famous shop “light of east”. Here we looked for the yellow stone items and fossil stone which can be used to se curd. Unfortunately the designs which we were looking for in yellow stones were not available here and the shopkeeper told us to go to patwano ki haveli shop. This caused a problem for us, as we have to catch our train at 4 PM.

After buying couple of items from the shop we went to the main palace “Raja ka Mahal”, it’s basically a museum having collection of various items from the by gone era. After finishing the tour of the mahal, we came out and asked if there is anything else to see in the fort. They told about the “toup” (cannon). We went there and saw a large cannon kept at the top facing the city. It was already 1:30PM, and time to leave for our next destination fossil park, but unfortunately we haven’t taken lunch and there is no time for it, our other cab members were supposed to be waiting to leave for the next place. Our meeting point was our hotel (as it was very near to the fort), we quickly came there but found one family missing, there were still out for lunch. It was very frustrating to wait; we skipped our lunch so that others don’t have to wait for us. We also have to go to pawano ki haveli, so need to save some time. After a long wait the third family arrived and we started for fossil park. This is not at all a place where tourist visit, but I was exited to visit it after reading about the place in the internet. The entrance fee there was Rs5. It was a huge disappointment for as inside the park there were few logs of wood kept in closets and given some number, no details were there about it. After seeing couple of them we left the place, and at the gate we saw a board which stated logs of wood 18 crore yr old, we were exited to read that. The history about the place was that there was ocean there, and we expected some museum with articles from under sea and mark of flowing water over rocks. We missed these things there, may have been overlooked by us.

As we were getting late, so we decided to get down at patwano ki haveli. From there we did our shopping and went to railway station to catch the train. On reaching the station we saw “Palace on Wheels”, and were quite exited to see it. We board our train to leave for our next destination – Jaipur.

Day 3:

We reached Jaipur at 5 in the morning, then went in search of hotel but were not able to find a good one in reasonable budget. The hotels were very costly compared to Jaisalmer, ultimately we got one after extending our budget a little. We went to sleep as it was still early in the morning. We booked an auto for Rs900 for whole day, including choki dhani. We started our city tour at around 9:30 am. The first place we went was Birla Temple, some restoration work was going on there in the temple. The temple was well made and inside equally beautiful. In the same complex there is Birla museum, where there is collection of life history of Birla. The museum was quite nice. After spending almost 30 min there we went to the state museum, also called Albert Hall. The museum was started by Swai Raja Mansingh. For the first time we took an audio guide, just to have an experience. It was for Rs80, the entry ticket was for Rs20. The museum was very nice and had a diverse collection. One of the special attraction was a mummy bought by Mansingh from Egypt. The audio guide was good and provided many information, but found many things missing also. Moreover, it makes the movement slow.

Our next destination was Hawa Mahal, it too was under restoration and to our surprise they were painting the building yellow instead of pink (the original colour, from inside). At the ticket counter there was a fight going on for return of money, and it lasted for whole 30 min till people from the management came to resolve the issue. Entry ticket there was for Rs10 per person. We quickly moved in and went around it. Near by was Jantar Mantar. Entry ticket there is Rs20 per person, it’s quite an amazing place and a guide could explain things better. We were amazed by the different astronomical structures which have been put up there. At a walking distance from there is City Palace. It’s a privately maintained place so the entry ticket is quite costly, Rs40 per person and Rs80 for camera. The place is quite big and many things too look for. Major attractions were the world largest silver vessels and the “Sabha Niwas”, a museum. It takes almost an hour to complete it. By now it was lunch time and we went to a restaurant named “Maharaja Restaurant”. Inside we can see only foreigners, and we were the only Indians among the guests. This gave us idea that it will be a costly lunch, but since we were coming from Delhi the prices were not shocking (though definitely costly). After finishing the lunch, the driver told us that the Jal Mahal is also nearby, so we decided to visit that also. It’s a nice place, a palace in the mid of lake. The surroundings gave us an idea that the place will look much better in night when the lights are switched on. After spending 15-20 min there we decided to return and take some rest. On the way back the driver told us that we can visit some emporiums where we can buy some articles (there were few things we want to have a look and if we like, it can be bought). We reached an emporium, where we were shown how block printing and colouring is done. Then we went inside the emporium where we looked in some sarees and decorative articles. We liked a set of swans made up of combination of 5 metals.

We returned to hotel and took some rest. In evening we went for choki dhani, quite a distance from the city, reached there around 7:30 PM. Entry fee was Rs350 (per head, including food). We spent a good evening there and enjoyed it a lot. The place tries to capture and recreate the village. Some of the huts were quite occupied, one we found very interesting was serving freshly made bajra roti and one can also try there own hands making it. As the place serving food in traditional was crowded we took the modern way. We returned by 11 to hotel.

Day 4:

Next day it was time to visit two forts, both were in the same direction and made on same mountain range, the Jaigarh and Amber fort. We first went to Jaigarh, which is made on top of the mountain up and higher than Amber. The fort was quite large, we reached with our auto till the entry gate. There is option to hire another vehicle from the gate which will take inside the fort, but we decided to take a walk. Rs10 was enrty fee for the fort. The fort is quite vast and there were some nice sights. There was a bhulbhulaiya, which is enjoyed walking around and there was a guard to guide so one don’t get lost in the winding gully. There were workshop where canon’s were made, places preserved where food was served to the king, etc. The whole Abmer fort is visible from the Jaigarh fort. Then we moved to look for the world’s largest cannon on wheel, it was named jai vaan, enormous in size and it took a long walk to reach the spot. It was now time to return and move to Amber fort. Outside the fort there was a kulfi vendor, I bought one expecting it to be as tasty as the one I are outside the jantar mantar, but that was not to be, but it was ok.

The road to reach Amber fort is quite tough and long and it’s advisable to hire a jeep that regularly commutes from the main road to fort entry. As our auto dropped us mid way to the fort road, so we took a walk which was quite straining. If you are lucky then you get elephant ride to the fort also. Amber for is much better maintained than Jaigarh and some restoration was still going on. There were some nice gardens, mirror work, colourful wall paintings. There was couple for good museums also. It was now time for us to return and we were quite tired after visiting two forts. We returned to city and went to kanak vridavan garden. It is one of the less visited place but certainly a good place to come, specially evening. We took a walk around the green lawns and fountains. Now it was time to visit the last stop or destination, it was a nice place used as a place for the Queens’ memorials. There was Rs 5 entry ticket, and only 1 tourist was there.

As we were hungry so we moved for lunch, and then to hotel. As we didn’t had the return train ticket, so we went to the bust stand to get the bus. There was no ticket available in vovlo, so we has to settle for express bus. It was a nice experience to travel by bus but took more than expected time. We reached home by 11 PM, bring to end one more of our memorable journey.