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.

Ujjain - The Holy city

Ujjain is one of the most sacred Hindu places. It is also one of the sites for the famous Kumbh Mela which is held every year. We wanted to visit Ujjain since a very long time along with my parents. We searched about all the places to see there on the internet and found that it was quite an interesting place not only as a religious city but also because of its historical importance.

We planned a one day trip to Ujjain from Bhopal. Our visit was planned in the first week of October. The best time to visit Ujjain is from October to February. It’s very important to take care of this aspect as Ujjain is quite a hot place. The journey to Ujjain was planned via train from Bhopal (one can take the road route also, but train is just a little bit more convenient). We booked our tickets in the Bhopal-Indore intercity which was supposed to leave at 11 PM and reach Ujjain by 4 PM, but the train left at 12:30 PM. Surprisingly we reached 15 min before time. We wanted to see the morning aarti at the Mahakaleshwar temple so on reaching Ujjain we quickly went to a near by hotel to freshen up and then we hired an auto to the temple.

Mahakaleshwar temple

Outside the temple one can purchase flowers and milk to be used inside the temple. There was a clock room outside the temple where we had to deposit our luggage; we kept the camera with us. On reaching the temple check post, trough a long winding maze of railings, the policeman told us that camera is not allowed inside. So my husband had to come back to the cloakroom to keep the camera. The worst thing was that the path leading to the temple is full of bird droppings, and one has to walk over them….bare foot!! As it was very early in morning, around 4:45 AM so the place was more or less empty. Inside the temple there was again a long inter-winding path of railings, with very few people there. The size of the place gave us an idea of how crowded the place can be during peak tourist times. We had to wait at the temple entrance in a queue with approx 10 people in front of us. A number of TV sets were spread through the hall where we waited and the morning aarti was telecasted live on it. We had to wait there for a very long time and we were getting tired standing, so decided to sit. By this time the queue had grown quite long behind us. After almost an hour we were allowed to get inside the main temple. The shivling was decorated elaborately during the aarti ceremony. It was first bathed completely in ash (bhasm) and then garlanded with various jewels and other garments. The forehead of the shivling was smeared in sandalwood paste. The entire process was mesmerizing. The police and temple caretakers don’t allow people to stand by the shivling for a long time and keep hustling them out. We came out of the main temple into the complex which contained various smaller temples of other deities.

By the time we came out of the Mahakaleshwar temple the sun was up in the sky and it was a bright morning. We now planned out our day to visit the rest of the places. We booked an auto from outside the temple for the city tour. All auto owners have a card with the list of tourist places printed on them. It was bit disappointing as it had only temples listed but as per our search we had in mind a couple of historic places too. We had unfortunately forgotten the list that we had made out earlier and also didn’t remember any of the names that we wanted to visit. We finally agreed to go by the list provided by the auto driver.

Sandipani ashram
Anyway we started with our tour and the first spot was the Krishna Temple, which has a silver idol of Krishna. Our next stop was Sandipani ashram which is said to be the place where Krishna and Balram had their education. Inside the ashram a small open structure contained some large paintings depicting scenes from the Mahabharata. A large but empty pond was inside the complex called Gomti kund. The atmosphere was very peaceful and after spending some time there we headed to our next destination - the Maha-mangleshwar Mandir.

Maha-mangleshwar Mandir
This temple is quite famous and the driver informed us that it’s a must visit for people having a Manglik Dosh in their kundli. Our driver cum guide told us that Ashwarya Rai, Sonia Gandhi and even our president Ms. Pratibha Patil had come here. The temple is surrounded by some lush green fields.

The Banyan Tree and Kalidas Temple
After visiting the temple we went to a very interesting place made famous by the stories of Vikram and Betal. This small riverside place contained the banyan tree which is rumored to be the same tree on which Betal – the ghost spent its life hanging upside down. There are many other stories associated with the tree one of which is from the Mugal period. According to legends the one of the Mugal emperors ordered the tree to be enclosed inside an iron wall to curb the Hindu sentiments. The roots of the banyan tree cut through the iron walls towards the river. The Mugal emperor astounded by the fact ordered the iron wall to be brought down. Next to the tree was Kalidas temple, it is said that at this very place Kalidas was blessed by Goddess Saraswati.

Gupt Gufa

The next destination was the most interesting place of our tour. There are a couple of underground tunnels in the complex, saying goes that they reach the patal lok. Inside one of them, King Vikramaditya’s brother meditated for 14 years. We entered one of the tunnels and it was pitch dark inside. We used the mobile light to guide ourselves. The air inside was bit suffocating due to the ash particles and reduced air flow. One of the tunnels is said to connect all the char dhams. Though there are no proofs of any of the stories associated with the place. On the way back from that place, one of the priest showed us a Ganesh idol, on which if you press a coin and say “please take it”, then the coin will stick to the trunk and not fall. I tried it and it worked, but not every time.

Ram Ghat

Then we headed towards the Ram Ghat. This is the place where the Kumbh mela takes place. Few tourists were still bathing, but we didn’t find the water in good condition so we just satisfied ourselves with dipping our feet in the holy water.

Singhsan Bhattisi
We were quite enthusiastic about seeing the Singhsan Bhattisi, the famous throne of King Vikramaditya, but the driver informed us that the chair is lost and in its place a cement replica had been constructed. It was a huge disappointment to us. Our next stop was Harsiddhi temple, nothing special there just another temple. Then we moved on to a place called char dham.

Char Dham Temple
It is a recently constructed place which contains the reconstruction of the temples from the char dhams all in one place. A tunnel has been constructed though which one can pass and have a look at the various phases of Krishna lila, created by some life size moving idols.

Bade Ganesh

The last place that we visited was called Bade Ganesh. This temple has a huge idol of Ganesh and is near the Maha-kaleshwar temple. It was around 2pm by the time our tour came to an end in the sacred city. The auto dropped us near the bus stand. The railway station is near the bus stand. We went for lunch in a restaurant nearby. It was around 3pm by the time we completed our lunch, but as there was no suitable bus or train at that time so we hired a taxi to return to Bhopal. The taxi charged us Rs1600 and it took us 4 hours to reach Bhopal.

Our one day trip went well but we missed out on a couple of places like a fort and an observatory. Both of them are said to be in very poor condition and any visitor rarely goes there.

Jhansi-Orcha-Kajuraho-Gwalior

It was again a marriage occasion of one more of our close friend in Jhansi. For a long time we were planning to visit Gwalior and the marriage presented a good opportunity. On further enquiry we found that Khajuraho and Orcha were two more near by places which we could include in our trip.

Day 1:

Though there are many trains from Delhi to Jhansi, we decided to take the Mangla Lakshadeep Exp which brought us to Jhansi by 3:30 pm. Due to the tourist and marriage season in February we had difficulty in finding a suitable hotel. After much searching we booked at hotel Tulsi which is near the station for next 3 days. The tourist season in Jhansi and Gwalior is throughout the year (baring the peak summer months), hence it is advisable to book hotels beforehand.

We spend the rest of the day at the marriage venue and came back to our hotel well after midnight.

Day 2:

We had planned to cover the local spots as we were in no shape to brace a long journey. Keeping that in mind we left for Orcha at around 9 am after a sumptuous breakfast of aloo parathas. Orcha is about 20 km from the main city therefore we hired an auto for the journey. It took us around 45 min to reach there.

Orcha mainly consists of a cluster of prehistoric temples and cenotaphs. The auto dropped us in the main market from where we had to visit the spots walking.

First we went to the temple complex of which only one is still in use. There was lot of security and photography was not allowed. The unused temples, though still standing, are in a state of neglect and are at the mercy of local monkeys. How we wished that these structures could also be preserved like the main temple. All the temples are constructed using huge boulders. One cannot find much carving but the conical structures of the temples are unique.

We next headed towards the Rajmahal which is separated from the main market and temple complex by a small river. The palace is well made but again we find that the restoration is very poor. With the whole generation of monkeys living in this place, it is no doubt that the cleanliness of this place becomes such a difficult task. With monkeys there can be only one warning, be careful with your belongings being snatched away!

The fort lies just beyond the palace complex. You might tend to get lost in the maze of small and narrow by-lanes so don’t be shy to ask for directions from the local people. Entry ticket for the fort priced at Rs 10 per person but there is no ticket for any other electronic gadgets. The fort area is quite big but again the pictures and colours on the walls were mostly missing. There are only visible at a couple of walls. The fort overall is in good shape. We also managed to search out a couple of dark dungeons. What’s a fort where you can’t find a couple of dark alleys or abandoned dungeons! It enhances the mystery of that place.

A small part of the fort has been converted into a restaurant and a heritage hotel. Since it was a quite hot day and we were tired after all the dungeon discovery, we decided to take a break at the restaurant. We relaxed there for some time and rejuvenated ourselves with a couple of cold drinks. The person at the reception told us to visit Chatris. The Chatris are located down the river bank and with some direction from the locals we reached the Chatris. Though the Chatris were not very far from the main market, we were completely exhausted by the time we reached there.

The Chatri complex is completely inside an enclosed area. Tourists are not allowed inside the complex which is well maintained. We were disappointed that there was no entrance to that place. So we had to satisfy ourselves by just looking around and peering from the wall gates. We could manage to capture some pictures though. We spotted an auto there and requested him to drop us to the market place from where we can get our auto. It was not far away but we didn’t want to exhaust ourselves any further. We returned to Jhansi by 1:30 pm. The trip to Orcha and back cost us Rs300 but that can be bargained to Rs 250. We decided to relax in the hotel for the afternoon.

Jhansi has just two places worth visiting, the fort and the Laxmibai palace. At around 3:30 we set out for out city sightseeing. We again decided to hire an auto for our city tour and reached the fort in 20 min. The auto charged us Rs30. The fort itself was not too large and we were able to complete our visit in 45mins. The main point of attraction was a board on which it was mentioned “Laxmibai jumped from here on her horse with her son tied to her back.” Peering down the steep slope, it was difficult to imagine anyone jumping off from there on horseback. We were yet again reminded what a courageous lady Laximibai was! Since we had lot of time on our hands, hence we decided to explore the fort further and went to some remote places where other visitors rarely ever come. There was a small Ganesh temple and also some doors which lead to the city below. The doors are now closed.

From fort we again hired an auto reached Laxmibai palace which is near by. The auto didn’t even have to start the engine as it was moving down the slope. We reached the destination in 5 min and felt cheated when we had to pay Rs 20. Photography was not allowed inside the palace. It was not much of a palace as it was a haveli. Entry ticket was Rs10 per person. The ground floor had a collection of some archeological items and the first floor had items which Laxmibai had used in her time. The rooms were very beautiful and well maintained. It took 30 min to complete the palace visit. We were back at the hotel by 6:30 pm. We were quite tired by then and hence decided to take the evening off.

At around 8 we went to visit the near by markets for dinner and some shopping. Jhansi is not the best place for shopping as we could not find any shops selling memorabilia. We had planned to visit Khajuraho the next day so we enquired about ways to reach there. We were very disappointed as no one was able to give any precise answer. People seemed to be confused about the starting point of the busses leaving for Khajuraho. Some told buses leave in morning at 6 from the railway station some told it starts from the main bus stand. After lot of discussion we decided to go to bus stand next morning. We couldn’t find any good restaurants in the market so we had our food at our hotel.

Day 3:

We had to wake up very early as we had planned to catch the 6am bus to Khajuraho. It is around 180km from Jhansi. When we reached the bus stand we saw the bus for Khajuraho ready to leave. So we quickly went in. To our bad luck, it turned out to be a private bus and the sitting space was quite congested. It also took 4 ½ hour to reach Khajuraho. It was a torturous journey. Luckily we meet a couple on the bus who were also suffering like us. We mutually decided that we won’t return by bus and will hire a taxi/cab on shared basis.

We reached Khajuraho and hired an auto from the bus stand for the whole day. The standard rate is Rs 350 but the price can be negotiated to Rs300. All auto drivers have a rough map of tourist area where all the temples are located. There are about 6-7 temple sites to visit; keep on tracing the places on the map it so that no place is left out.

We started our tour with the Jain temples. It consists of a main temple where the statue of Mahavir is worshiped. The rest of the complex consisted of a couple of well maintained temple structures. The work done on the stone wall of these temples was truly amazing. We would come across similar body of work on all the temples we would visit in Khajuraho.

Our next destination was a single quaint temple on the banks of a small stream. Since these are small structures, many tourists give them a miss, but these small temples are a miniature versions of the larger once of the Western complex. Each one of them has got a unique tale to tell. We got to explore these temples leisurely and they also made some very enchanting pictures. We also paid a visit to a small house where they had a small collection of items that was found in the temple excavations. We had no idea how authentic these items were but we did like a set of royal guards and we bought them for a sum of Rs400.

We visited all the remaining small temples by 2:30pm. We still had to visit the largest group of temples called the Western group. This complex is situated in the central market place. We had our lunch at a small restaurant where we had freshly cooked food. There are many such small eateries where the house owners share their home made food with tourists for a minimal price. The food is simple and people are courteous.

After lunch we headed towards the main western temple complex. It is a huge complex with many temples. It is in these temples where you come across the famous sculptures associated with Khajuraho. The small temples previously visited did not contain these sculptures. With an exception of only one temple – the Devo Mahalaya, all the other temples do not contain any idols. All the temples were devoted to Lord Shiva. The temples are exquisitely carved and contain many erotic sculptures. If you look carefully, you can find an amazing number of sculptures depicting intercourse with animals.

The daily puja is performed at the Devo Mahalaya. The Shivlinga inside the temple is huge. There was an ongoing yearly Khajuraho festival and a light and sound show was scheduled in the evening. We had to give it a miss since we had to return to Jhansi in the evening. For people who want to stay a day there are lots of lodging options in the central market.

Sightseeing over, it was now time to return. Since we had decided to not return by bus, we had to arrange for a taxi. It was a nightmarish time for us to arrange for a taxi. There are two things to keep in mind, a taxi that has come from Jhansi and is to return empty to Jhansi will cost around Rs 1000 to Rs 1200. If you hire a taxi from Khajuraho, it will also ask for the return fair, so it will cost almost Rs 2500. We had decided in the morning that we would share a taxi with another couple, so we were in total 4 people. After a lot of struggle we managed to arrange an Indica but we had company in the form of the taxi owner apart from the driver. So we were in total 6 people. At first we rejected it, but in the end when all options were exhausted and we saw no other way out we agreed to it. The journey back to Jhansi was not as bad we were expecting with 6 people in one small car. We reached Jhansi in 3 and half hour. We were dead tired by then and after dinner had a good sound sleep.

NOTE: It is advisable to book a taxi for the round trip from Jhansi to Khajuraho and back. It costs around Rs2300 – Rs2500 so sharing the taxi with other tourists can bring the cost per head down. All kinds of options from Indica to Innova/Sumo are available from the railway station. You can also take the help of your hotel since they mostly have some options available.

Day 4:

Our next destination was Gwalior. There are a lot of options to reach Gwalior. Since it is just 1hr 45min from Jhansi, we did not bother to enquire about the train timings. We thought we will just reach the station by 8am and book ticket on the next available train to Gwalior. We could not have been more wrong! We reached the station by 8am and got the tickets to Gwalior for the next train but to our horror we found that the train was to come at 9:30 am. We waited at the station thinking whether we should have gone by bus instead. At around 9am an announcement was made that the train was running 1 hour late. So we decided to cancel the train ticket and go to bus stand as it was getting late. On our way to the bus stand we saw a bus to Gwalior that had just left. When we reached the bus stand we got another bus which was to leave after 1 hr and to add to the pain it was told that it takes more than 2½ hr to reach by road. We felt trapped. We were now cursing ourselves for not bothering to find out the train timings to Gwalior. We finally reached Gwalior by 2:30 pm. We kept our luggage in clock room and quickly had our lunch. We had our return tickets to Delhi which departs at 5 pm from Gwalior station. We just had around 2 hr on our hand to visit all the spots in Gwalior.

The two main places to visit in Gwalior are the Gwalior fort and the Madav Rao Sindhia palace. We hired an auto to the fort first. The fort is spread over an area of about 10km. To cover it on foot will take around 3 to 4hrs. We reached the fort entrance from where the auto couldn’t go forward as it was a very steep road till the main fort structure. People generally take a walk to the fort from there admiring the huge figures of Buddha carved out in the mountains on the way. The fort is almost a km away from there. For people who do not want to walk all the way, there is guide service available along with vehicles like omni/indica etc. which cover the entire fort area. As we were running short of time so we took the omni service. He charged us Rs300 including guide charge and entry tickets. We reached the fort in 10 min. The fort looked splendid from the outside. It was undoubtedly one of the best palaces we had seen in a very long time. It had three underground levels and we went to each. The guide kept on explaining all the things. He also showed us a bhul bhulaiya. Then from there we went to a near by place, a shiv mandir (temple) but there us no trace of temple there. The guide explained us about the place. Next we headed towards the sas bhau temple, a temple having structure similar to south India temple architecture. Since it is at a good height hence the entire Gwalior city is visible from here. The site was great. We were running short of time, so we moved quickly. On the way we also saw the famous Sindhia School and also saw a pond. It was time for us to proceed to the next site. We covered the whole fort area in 1hr which will generally take 3 to 4hrs easily.

We quickly reached the Sindhia palace. We had about half hour to spend in the palace. About one half section of the palace remains closed to the public. The royal family still resides in a part of the palace just outside the main gate. The main palace complex is divided into 3-4 big halls containing various royal memorabilia. The first hall contains the portraits of the entire generation of Sindhia’s which ruled in Gwalior. The second and largest hall houses one of the largest royal courts in India. There are about 4 huge chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. It is said that before hanging the chandeliers the strength of the roof was tested by making 100 elephants stand on the roof. Now you can imagine the shear size and weight of those beauties! Another attraction was the silver train that is kept on the dining table. Once in a day the train is started for the visiting public to see though we were not able to find out the exact time.

We were able to finish our Gwalior trip in the desired time, but we missed the pleasure of leasurly looking at all the places. We reached the station on time and boarded our train to Delhi.

Visit to Jodhpur

A close friend’s marriage over the weekend of 24^th Jan 2007 gave us an opportunity to visit the blue city – Jodhpur. We planned out a 2 day trip there.

An overnight train (Marwha exp) journey brought us from Gurgaon to Jodhpur. We reached there at 7:00a.m. on 23^rd Jan. Our friend Lalit had come to receive us at the station and we headed to his home. The preparations for his marriage were at full swing. We met his family and had a hearty breakfast of mirch-parathas with them. The morning was spent happily chatting away with the groom and his extended family of cousins. Our lodging was arranged in the neighboring house where the owner was kind enough to let Lalit’s visiting friends stay for a couple of days.

We had almost listed out the places that we wanted to visit in Jodhpur. We discussed the list with Lalit and were able to add a couple of new places as well. We headed out for our first destination leaving him having his beauty message of sandalwood paste and turmeric.

Day1

Mehrangarh Fort:

Like most of the forts in India, the Mehrangarh fort is situated at the top of a hill overlooking the entire city. We had hired an auto-rickshaw for the entire day. He brought us to the main gate of the fort. The fort is a breathtaking vertical structure having about 12-14 stories. You have the option of climbing floor by floor or taking a lift straight to the 12^th floor of the fort. We decided to take the lift and visit each floor on our way down.

The fort is well maintained and the top floor houses a museum containing the artifacts like weapons, palkis, clothes and other daily used items by the rajputs. The most interesting part was the room which contained exquisitely carved baby cradles. The music room was also very eye-caching with the walls painted in gold with full length mirrors in between. It gave the room a very bright and airy feel.

The roof of the fort has many canons lined up against the boundary. The canons being so heavy, you wonder how they were moved around during the war times. You can get the aerial view of the entire city from the top. Looking down, I realized why it is called the blue city. Every third house is painted blue here – either with blue colored distemper or with copious amounts of ‘neel’ in the white-wash.

We descended floor by floor, each one containing some history about the lives of its rulers. Walking on the cobbled streets inside the fort, you can see the fort walls bearing the mark of the wars being fought here, in the form of bullet marks. The ground floor houses a small restaurant serving lunch, dinner and snacks. It also contains a state govt. emporium which contains a collection of memorabilia – jewelry, wood decorative items, books, miniature paintings etc.

Jaswant Thada:

Jaswant Thada is located on the way down from the Mehrangarh fort. It is a beautiful temple complex with the mail temple being built of white marble. The surrounding complex is well maintained and very pleasing.

After our tour of the fort and temple, we had the traditional lunch of Dal-Batti at a local restaurant and headed to the Umaid Bhawan Palace.

Umaid Bhawan Palace:

The palace structure is huge and stands up magnificently over a plateau. The entire palace is made up of red sand stone which gives it a very regal touch. A part of the palace has been converted into a museum. The museum contains various antiques ranging from ottomans to silver ware that were used by royals of Umaid Bhawan. The most engaging room is the one which has an amazing collection of clocks and watches either owned by or gifted to the royals. Each clock is unique in its looks and working style.

The rest of the building is empty with long elegant corridors. If you are lucky enough, you can get a glimpse of the royalty which still occupies a part of the palace.

The palace offers another attraction – antique cars. The Bentley, Cadillac and other cars owned by the royals are kept at display on the ground just outside of the museum. They are in perfect working condition. It’s good to see them being maintained and cared for. We just stood admiring them as they gleamed in the afternoon sun. The tour of the palace took up the entire afternoon and we next headed to the lake to cool off in the evening.

Kaylana Lake:

The Kaylana Lake is just a couple of kilometers outside the main city. It has a very picturesque setting with low-rise hills surrounding the lake from all the sides. The lake has boating facilities and we immediately booked one. The boat ride on the lake was a soothing experience after site-seeing all day under the hot blazing sun. The boat rides are for 20mins and the total numbers of boats are kept at a minimum number to prevent the lake from being overcrowded.

We came back from the lake and after a few hours of rest and sharing our day’s exploits with Lalit, we went to the nearby market for dinner. We wanted to have authentic Rajasthani food, but could not find a suitable restaurant, so we ended up eating some regular roti-sabzi at one of the popular eating joint in the market.

Day2

Mandore:

Mandore is situated just 8km outside Jodhpur. We again hired an auto rickshaw for the trip. We headed for Mandore after a light breakfast with Lalit.

Mandore houses the cenotaphs of various Marwar rulers. It is rumored to be the birth place of Mandodari – The wife of Ravana. The cenotaphs are contained in an enclosed area. The site is fairly well maintained with shady trees and concrete roads connecting all the structures. The structures are very old and made of unpolished red stone. The temple structures remind you of the temples in Banaras.

The complex also houses a giant wall containing the idols of various gods and goddesses. It also has a very ancient temple right next to the wall.
A small museum completes the places to visit inside the complex.

Ganesh mandir:

We returned to the main city and decided to visit the Hanuman mandir. The temple is located on a small hill top near Ratnada. We decided to explore the temple surroundings and we chanced upon a very old abandoned structure. The Umaid Bhawan was visible from this place and created a very beautiful combination when pictured together.

We also visited a near by Krishna Temple which had nice wall pictures, telling story from Ramayan. The roof is also painted with many mythical pictures.

Umaid Gardens

On our way back we stopped at the Umaid Gardens. The park area is quite large and it also has a mini zoo. The Govt. museum having a collection of royal armory, utensils and robes, is situated right in the middle of the park. The fort forms a beautiful backdrop for this garden compound. It’s a good place for relaxing in the evenings.

Sadar market:

We returned to our abode and after resting for the remaining part of the afternoon we decided to visit the main Sadar market place in the evening. The bustling and colorful market is spread around a clock tower. This is a good place to buy dry fruits. Lovers of antique jewelry and local handicrafts can fish out small handloom shops in the by lanes of the market. High prices are always quoted for the articles’ hence bargaining is advised. The Mirchi pakoda is a must have and a very popular delicacy here. One can always find a big crowd in front of the shops selling them. Inside the market there is a very famous shop for evening snacks. We tasted some the items there and it was really good.

We returned to join in the marriage festivities with our hosts in the evening. More of our common friends had arrived by then and the later part of the evening was spent catching up and general chit-chat with them.

We headed back for Gurgaon the next day after attending the morning celebrations of the wedding day. People having a couple of more days on their hands can also visit Jaisalmer (6-7hrs by train) and Ossian (65km from Jodhpur). For us, it was one of the most enjoyable weekends that we had spent in a long time. We are very grateful to Lalit and his family for their love and hospitability. While staying with them we never felt away from home. It is these memories that will live with us forever, more than the memories of Jodhpur city.

Train Tickets: Rs 1500/- for two people to and fro (Delhi to Jodhpur and back).

Hotel rents: Rs 500/- to Rs 600/- per day (approx). As we did not stay in any hotels, this is an approximate figure. Hotels are easily available just outside the railway station.

Travel costs: Rs 500/- (2 day full auto)

Food: Eating options are abundant here. From simple Dal-Bati to Non-Veg cuisines, everything is available at reasonable rates.

Best time to visit: Feb to March mid and Sep to Nov mid.