Help needed for a trip in Rajasthan

[dushmish]

From cold desert to hot desert, from Leh to Jaisalmer. Back from my trip to Leh and around. Did a short (600 km) trip to Kaas Pathaar near Satara. Now preparing for a trip to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Bikaner. My plan is as follows:

Travellers - Wife and my two daughters (6 and 2 yrs old) with me.

Vehicle - Iceberg, Dzire ZDi

Days available - 10th Oct to 22 Oct. Need to be in Jaipur on 15th, 16th and 17th Oct.Bak in Mumbai on 24th Oct.

Start from Mumbai very early on 10th Oct to reach the city of lakes, Udaipur by late lunch time. Plan to spend some time at Saheliyon ki Badi and then take the kids to the famous puppet theatre at Lok Kala Mandal. Spend the night at Kajri, the RTDC hotel. Shall start the next day early morning to reach Jaipur by brunch time. Spend the day at home (I hail from the Pink City).

Plan to start early on 12th Oct to Jodhpur. Shall stop at Beawar enroute. I did my schooling there. Will spend some time showing my wife around the town. Shall reach Jodhpur by 3 PM. The places we have decided to see in Jodhpur are - Ummaid Bhawan Palace and Mehrangarh. What else is worth seeing?

Need to rush to give my car for servicing. Shall continue with the rest of the plan leter in the day.

[phamilyman]

Osian dunes. The yellowness is beautiful.

Jodhpur fort itself takes 4 hours minimum (if you're history buffs - though kiddo can get bored)

Spend a night there for sure.

PS: hitting jaipur and then back to jodhpur = little sense!

[anainar]

Wow! am going to Rajasthan during that period as well. Am sure we will bump into each other. If you happen to see a Champagne Corolla with KA 05 Registrtation, that is me.There is a thread running already..

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...bangalore.html (Advise needed on Rajasthan road trip from Bangalore)

Quiet a few inputs there as well. Have a look. Or mods, can you the threads be merged?

Thanks.

Nainar

[dushmish]

I am back. Cannot believe the service station was so busy even on a weekday. Coming to the plan. Phamilyman, I am going to Jaipur as I need to drop my elder daughter there. Not sure if the younger one will stay back.

Osian is on our list but given the fact we are going to Jaisalmer and Bikaner is it a worth to spend some time at Osian?

Shall leave Jodhpur on 13th early evening. To reach Jaisalmer by night. Shall spend the day of 14th in Jaisalmer. Intend to visit the fort, Patwon ki haveli, the market and Sam in the evening, Shall Leave for Jaipur the next day. Need to be home for Diwali.

Will leave for Bikaner on 18th afternoon. See the Junagarh fort, Gajner palace, markets, Deshnok temple and relax for the night. The next morning shall drive to Suratgarh and beyond to Kalibanga, to see the excavated site from Harappan times. Will come back and rest in Bikaner for the night. 21st shall drive to Jaipur. Thats the tentative plan.

Need suggestions on places to visit and places to eat at and of course what to eat. some things on my list are

1. Pyaaz ki kachori at Jodhpur (any specific shop?)
2. Makhaniya lassi at Jodhpur
3. Kair sangeri ki sabzi in Jodhpur/Jaisalmer (need to know which is the best place to eat at)
4. Sweets at Chhotu Motu Joshi in Bikaner
5. Daal ki kachori at Beawar (near Chaang gate)
6. Til papdi from Beawar (Ramdhan)
7. Pyaaz ki kachori at Udaipur (Jodhpur Mishthan Bhandar)
8. Ras malai at Udaipur (Jodhpur Mishthan Bhandar)
9. chai at Sikar byepass (cannot remember the name of the dhaba)
10. Of course, I will buy lots of Bikaneri Bhujia at Bikaji (erstwhile Haldiram)
11. I also want to pick up the famous Kachora from Naseerabad while on way to Jaipur from Udaipur. Not sure of the best place to buy and if it will be open at 8 in the morning.

Any other not to be missed food items at best known places?

Please help me with best times to visit monuments/forts/markets and places where locals love to eat. Specially if there are any places on the highways. The usual stuff is the RTDC Motels.

We also plan to see the Black Buck Sanctuary in Bikaner. And if we can see, the camel breeding farm too.

Also we would love to meet fellow BHPians in these places. PM me for plan.

[dushmish]

Help needed people.

My car is back from servicing. Need to get the wheel alignment done now. Any suggestions on places to see and eat at in Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and other places enroute.

[dushmish]

Still waiting for help. I thought Rajasthan is a hot destination and will have tonnes of information about. Seems there are not many TBHPians there. People in Jaipur listening?

[anainar]

Dushmish,

Check the thread I have mentioned. And search. There is a fantastic travelogue by Ramkya where he has outlined what he did. There are tonnes of them.

This one is by VKochar..

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ravelogue.html (Holi Day & A Road Trip - Jodhpur & Udaipur - A pictorial travelogue.)

Nainar

[dushmish]

Checked your thread. It is more of route information. I am looking for places to see, other than the usual stuff. There are some amazing water storages tanks (300 yrs or more yrs old) on way from Bikaner to Jaipur. I am wanting to locate them and stop enroute.

Might include a trip to Barmer. Not sure what the city has to offer. I have lived in Bikaner and trust me, it is a lovely city. Check out on net to see places of interest. If you are interested in ancient history than don't miss the excavation site at Kalibangan near Suratgarh. It dates back to Mohanjodharo and Harrappa's times. That is more than 50000 years old.

In the meanwhile I am checking Ramkya's thread.

[Eddy]

Dushmish: I was in Jodhpur last week and was most impressed by the city. I don't know whether I went there in the middle of an MCD drive or anything but the city was immaculately clean and very well organised. I can compare it to, lets say, chandigarh of early 2000s. Let me suggest you some things to do based on my experience:

- Reach Mehrangarh fort early in the morning. Please remember to take a guide to show you around. The fort has a cafe where we had a stupendous lunch. A non-veg Rajasthani thali costs around 150 bucks and is totally worth. Its a fixed menu thali and can be shared.

- Umaid Bhavan Museum. Again, please take a guide ts generally the guards who do this duty for some bakshish of 70-80 bucks. Nice place for photographs.

- Gypsy Restaurant: (Sikanderpur road). Fantabulous place for a Rajasthani dinner. Unlimited quantity veg thali at 120 bucks. Very nice ambience and service. Its on per head charging basis with no sharing allowed (obviously due to unlimited quantity). Highly recommended.

- Jodhpur Sweets. Right next to Gypsy for all your kachori needs and your sweeth tooth. Not tried but was highly recommended by a local acquaintance.

- On the rocks: A nice place to have dinner. But something that you will easily find in Mumbai so you can give it a skip.

- National Handloom (Near Circuit house): You get a li'l bit of everything here. Something like Big Bazaar but more localised stuff.

All the best and enjoy the trip

[deky]

@Dushmish;- Sorry cant help you much here except with Udaipur and Jaipur as the rest of the places I havnt seen myself.

Jaipur I am sure being your home city you wont require any help and Udaipur you are more or less certain as to what you want to do. Also add the light and sound show at the city palace in Udaipur to the list, its worth watching and the kids would love it (atleast the 6yr old will).

But to help you out, there is a travelogue on Rajasthan by Samurai that you could refer too.

While you in Jaipur would love to meet up with you. I am Pm'ing you my number so get in touch if you like.

Regards
Dhiraj

[AltoHoncho]

Some inputs from my side

Udaipur:
PLACES
- Lake Palace
- Gulaab Baug
- Saheliyo ki Baari (Famous for its natural fountains)
- Drive around Fatehsagar Lake
- Picchola Lake
- Rajsamand Lake
- Famous Nathdwara Temple (almost owned by Ambanis)
FOOD
- Early Morning Doodh Jalebi at Bus Station
- South Indian cuisine made in North Indian way @ Purohit Cafe
- Evening snacks at Sukhadiya Circle (Kids will enjoy this)

Jaipur:
PLACES
- Jaigarh Fort (The famous Jaiwan Canon)
- Nahargarh Forth
- Amber Fort (Must Visit)
- Jalmahal Palace (On the way to Amber Fort)
- Hawa Mahal
- City Palace
- Janta Mantar (Sun-based clocks)
- Albert hall Museum

FOOD
- If Non-Veg, then dont miss out the Muslim cuisine in Ghatgate Area
- Famous Rajasthani cuisine @ Chhokhi Dhaani (Near Airport)

Naseerabad (Only for the Kacchora):
- Cchotulal Halwai near the bus stand

Rest places like Jodhpur, Jaiselmer and Ajmer I last visited a long time back so cannot give precise inputs.

[tsk1979]

If it helps, you can look at my 5 day trip last year in October. Its in the travelogues section

[dushmish]

Thanks Deky, Eddy, Samurai, Tanveer and AltoHoncho for your valuable inputs. Busy preparing for the trip. Shall share the experience soon.