[Topolino]

Originally Posted by cyclops

Itinerary for Udaipur and suggest a vfm Hotel. What would be the approx rent and other expenses? Have identified Jaiwana Haveli there, how good is it?

Jaiwana haveli is a good hotel situated on the bank of Lake Pichola in the heart of Udaipur City. The tourist attractions like City palace, Jagdish Mandir, Gangor Ghat, Old Bazaar are at walking distance from here. The only thing is that you will have to drive through narrow lanes to reach the hotel.

Originally Posted by cyclops

Ohh, so the route mentioned by mercedised is this one! Udaipur-Chittorgarh-Neemuch-Mandsaur-Ratlam. I thought its the banswara one. Hmm.. So anyone having any updates bout this route? Even i will try to find out from my sources..

As suggested by hvk sir I too would suggest you to take NH76 upto Chittaurgarh, but if you want to skip Chittaurgarh you can take turn from Mangalwar for Nimbahera, from Nimbahera you can connect with NH79 via Neemuch, Mandsaur, Ratlam & lebad. I have travelled upto Jawra (265 km) on this route. Apart from Mangalwar-Nimbahera stretch the whole sector is 4 laned. Udaipur-Banswara (165 km) route is quite ok ( 2 - Laned) but Banswara-Ratlam road is in bad condition.

[cyclops]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Yes the mandir and the drive to Tanot is an experience by itself.The place is approx 25kms from the border,sadly no more access to the Border points anymore for civilians.

Thanks for the info..

Originally Posted by gajadonga

Last week I was in Bikaner and Jaisalmer.
In Bikaner the fort is good and the Desnoke temple about 25kms from Bikaner.
In Jaisalmer if you want to stay away from the town then there are two places one is Sam dunes which is very commercialized place, the other option is Khuri.
I stayed in this village Khuri with their home food and Camel safari into the desert.
If you are interested in Khuri let me know will give the mobile no. and details.

I am looking forward to go to Deshnoke, but given the time lines, I wont be able to go there I guess.. Lets see how it goes..

Thanks for your tip on staying on outskirts of Jaisalmer, but I would rather prefer some place inside the town and go to Sam or Khuri just for sunset-dinner-safari...

Any suggestions for vfm hotels there???

Originally Posted by Topolino

Jaiwana haveli is a good hotel situated on the bank of Lake Pichola in the heart of Udaipur City. The tourist attractions like City palace, Jagdish Mandir, Gangor Ghat, Old Bazaar are at walking distance from here. The only thing is that you will have to drive through narrow lanes to reach the hotel.

Thanks for the inputs. I guess I can manage the narrow lanes, given the proximity to the locations. What tarriff should I expect now? The off season has begin now right? I am planning to drop in without any reservations..

Originally Posted by Topolino

As suggested by hvk sir I too would suggest you to take NH76 upto Chittaurgarh, but if you want to skip Chittaurgarh you can take turn from Mangalwar for Nimbahera, from Nimbahera you can connect with NH79 via Neemuch, Mandsaur, Ratlam & lebad. I have travelled upto Jawra (265 km) on this route. Apart from Mangalwar-Nimbahera stretch the whole sector is 4 laned. Udaipur-Banswara (165 km) route is quite ok ( 2 - Laned) but Banswara-Ratlam road is in bad condition.

Yes even I confirmed with my friend, the Neemuch route is better. And the only bad patch would be between Khandwa and Dharni.

I am not planning to go to Chittaurgarh, so I guess I can go till Mangalwar. Whats the place like?

[cyclops]

Originally Posted by MX6

I stayed in Hotel Silver Oak. Loved that place. Easy to get in and out of Indore as it is bang on NH3. Got a double A/C with extra bed for 1100 bucks all inclusive. Car park right in front.
Have a look at the location here.
22.683084,75.858707 - Google Maps

@MX6: Boss, any more details about this place?? I googled a lot, but it seems there are 2 Silver Oaks at Indore, everywhere I am getting the following one,

Silver Oak,
Rajeev Gandhi Circle,
Piplia Rao, Indore 452001, India

This one and the co-ordinates give by you are pretty far..

[cyclops]

At Udaipur, following is the choice,

Hotel Jaiwana Haveli,
14, Lalghat, Udaipur-313001

For Jaisalmer, I am planning to stay here:

Hotel Pleasant Haveli
Chainpura Street ,
Gandhi Chowk Jaisalmer -345001

Any first hand review of these places guys? I am planning to directly reach these places, without reservations, hopefully to get a better deal Good Idea??

[kingshukt]

Originally Posted by cyclops

At Udaipur, following is the choice,

Hotel Jaiwana Haveli,
14, Lalghat, Udaipur-313001

For Jaisalmer, I am planning to stay here:

Hotel Pleasant Haveli
Chainpura Street ,
Gandhi Chowk Jaisalmer -345001

Any first hand review of these places guys? I am planning to directly reach these places, without reservations, hopefully to get a better deal Good Idea??

Stay at RTDC when in Rajasthan. These are the best VFM hotels unless you you want something exotic.
You can book RTDC hotels on the net thro their website: Rajasthan Tourism- The Official Website of Rajasthan

[Topolino]

Originally Posted by cyclops

What tarriff should I expect now? The off season has begin now right?

Tarrif is between Rs. 1800-2000.

Originally Posted by cyclops

I am not planning to go to Chittaurgarh, so I guess I can go till Mangalwar. Whats the place like?

Mangalwar is a small place about 60 kms from Udaipur on NH76. Straight road from Mangalwar Chouraha goes to Nimbahera while left turn continues to NH 76.

[cyclops]

Guys! I am back from the Trip.

4000 KMs, across 4 States.. Amazing experience.....

Thanks to all for your help..!

[Judemayne]

Hi Cyclops,

Awaiting your travelogue eagerly as my wife and i are off on 19 Feb-Bangalore-Pune-Daman-Ahmedabad-Bhuj-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Udaipur-Sivassa-Pune and back to Bangalore. Please update me on the weather, hotels and any thing else you suggest.
Regards,
Col Jude Mayne

[cyclops]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Hi Cyclops,

Awaiting your travelogue eagerly as my wife and i are off on 19 Feb-Bangalore-Pune-Daman-Ahmedabad-Bhuj-Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Udaipur-Sivassa-Pune and back to Bangalore. Please update me on the weather, hotels and any thing else you suggest.
Regards,
Col Jude Mayne

Sorry! I completely missed your response. Was to tied up to cover up all these days backlog..

My writing skills are below average, so a TBHP standard travelogue is a distant dream for me. I will just put up the rough notes of my trip.

Leg 1 : Pune-Mumbai-Vapi-Surat-Baroda
This is probably the most discussed route here, nice 4 lane route but lotsa flyovers are under construction before Vapi and expect heavy heavy traffic till Ankaleshwar.

I was lucky enough to not find any jam at Narmada Bridge. Started on 26-Jan, a national holiday so that might be the reason..

Leg 2 : Baroda-Ahmedabad-Mehsana-Palanpur-Mount Abu
Amazing roads all the way till Mount Abu. Need to make frequent toll stops.

Stayed in a farmhouse at Mount Abu and the minimum temp that night was -3.5 degrees! Brr...

Interesting places: Delwara Temple, Gurushikhar, Brahmakumari's Peace Park, Nakki Lake and surrounding market.

Leg 3 : Mount Abu-Raniwara-Sanchore-Barmer-Devikot-Jaisalmer
Bad roads from Abu Road till almost Sanchore, beware of single lane roads around Raniwada, thereon amazing Rajasthan roads, straight 2 lanes, sans traffic, sans toll! Entry to Jaisalmer is also pretty scenic, with all the windmills around..

Stay at hotel Dhola Maru. Decent place, supposedly 3 star. Typical old-prime-property-needs-restoration types..

Interesting Places: Fort, Ghadisar lake, Patwa Haveli, Badabagh, Sam Dunes, Tanot and Khuri (BTW its pronounced as Khudi). Missed the last 2 locations, couldn't manage with my kid. Strolled the local market a lot, you can get good handicrafts there and don't miss the local specialty sweet Ghotwa laddu, from Bhatia's shop. Ask any rickshaw guy to take you there..

Jaisalmer-Sam Dunes roads is a treat to drive, start a bit early or late, so as to avoid the sunset tourists traffic. I now feel that I should have added one more day for Jaisalmer.. Next time probably!

Leg 4 : Jaisalmer-Pokharan-Nokhra-Pokharan-Balesar-Jodhpur
Typical good Rajasthan Roads, but bad roads starts just 30-40 kms before Jodhpur, even Jodhpur bypass (maintained by BRO) is pathetic.

Visited only the Fort at Jodhpur and missed visiting Umed Bhavan Palace, most of it is the hotel anyways.. Gotta a lot of relatives there, so most time was spent with em. Don't miss the famous Pyaaz ki Kachauri, Maawe ki Kachauri and Mirchibada there, Rawat vs. Pokar is debatable..!

Leg 5 : Jodhpur-Nagaur-Deshnoke-Bikaner-Jodhpur
This stretch was done as a day trip just by me and my BIL, started late mornings and came back at night. Road condition is good, traffic is a bit denser (compared to RJ standards).

Visited the Deshnoke temple, had darshan peacefully devoid any rush. But was a bit disappointed as the rats visibility was very sparse. Moved ahead to Bikaner, just to shop for the famous Bhujia!

Leg 6 : Jodhpur-Bar-Beawar-Ajmer-Beawar
Nice roads till Beawar, last 20 Kms or so were bad stretch. Beawar-Ajmer, bad stretch, 4 laning in progress so need to be careful.

Park your car at the station parking and take a rickshaw to Dargah, driving there is not advised.

Savored the famous Kadhi-Kachauri, Chaat and packed Azad Halwai's Son-Halwa from Ajmer and Tilpatti from the one an only Beawar! Missus had a great time shopping at Chudi Bazaar in Ajmer, I never knew Chudi's cost this much!!!

Leg 7 : Beawar-Rajsamand-Nathdwara-Udaipur
Good roads with moderate traffic all the way.

Had darshan at Nathdwara temple, though crowded, but manageable. The timings are pretty odd, for the day we reached there, the first darshan would begin only at 3.30pm and that too for 15 mins. Could not do Eklingji that day.

Stayed at hotel Meera in Udaipur. Decent place, close to all the locations. Had first been to Jaiwana Haveli as suggested on many websites (and a few more around), but the place is in the middle of old city, good enough for firangs I guess..

Places of interset: Maharana Pratap Smarak, Sukhadiya Circle, Fateh Sagar Lake, Fort, Jagdish Temple, Rope Way, Boat Ride in Pichola. Visit the lake in the evening, the hotels and fort look amazing in the lights. Dined at a restaurant called Parkview, opp. Town Hall and had nice Pav-Bhaji at a stall near Town Hall.

I somehow feel Udaipur is a bit overrated, but it would be interesting if I get to stay at the Lake Palace Hotel! P.S. Guys, the malted beverages shops (AHEM!) close at 8pm sharp in Rajasthan. I love Maharashtra!

Sorry Topolino, couldn't meet you there..

Leg 9 : Udaipur-Mangalwar-Nibhada-Neemuch-Ratlam-Indore
The road till Mangalwar is okayish 2 lane road, with moderate traffic. The Neemuch Ratlam stretch is breeze to drive (wherever completed). The railway overbridges are yet to be completed, so there are huge traffic jams, which kills the nice road advantage. The road ahead of Ratlam all the way to Indore is really really bad...!!!!!!!! This was the most tiring stretch of my entire journey!

Reached Indore quite late, directly checked in the hotel recommended by MX6, Hotel Silver Oak. Sorry mate, but the hotel is pathetic, paid 1000 bucks, but not even worth 200 bucks. But was dead tired to search for any other option.. P.S. It has a party lawn adjacent to it, so we heard munni & sheela at least a dozen times before sleeping!

Leg 10: Indore-Khandwa-Dharni-Achalpur-Amravati
Indore Khandwa is 2 lane road with heavy traffic, though road condition is okay. No decent place to halt, had breakfast at some roadside stall, but that was the only option.. But that guy had made some nice poha, typical Indori style, full of 'saunf'!

Khandwa-Dharni is single lane road, you get bullied by bigger vehicles.. Once you enter MH border, road turns into 2 lane all the way till Amravati, road condition is good, and it passes through Melghat Project Tiger. One of my favorite route to drive, very sparse traffic, all twisties and all jungle! You can take a break at Semadoh and have some Dahi-Rabdi..

Leg 9 : Amravati-Karanja-Jalna-Ahmednagar-Pune
This route is already discussed a lot here and I have done it a lot of times.. Good 2 lane state highways till Jalna, very low traffic, few places to stop en-route, though new places are coming up. Jalna bypass is bad as always. Jalna-Pune is nice 4 lane road.

When I reached home at Pune, my ODO confirmed that I've driven 3891 KMs! My humble Alto covered all the terrains without any hitch, smooth! I had put a roof luggage carrier for this trip, but wont advise it, it messes with the aerodynamics big time..

Whew.. Quite a long post, never realized I could write so much!

Thanks for bearing!

Cheers!

[hvkumar]

Great update, cyclops, thanks for that!

I was also on the same Bombay-Ahmedabad highway on Jan 26, but way ahead of you (having left Bombay at 330 am and reached Ahmedabad by 1030 am, en route Rajkot). I encountered a traffic jam at the River Narmada Bridge, but I managed to escape taking the left shoulder all the way to the head of the long Q of trucks.

How many hours did you take for the Jodhpur-Deshnoke drive?

I am surprised about you mentioning that the Udaipur-Mangalwad road was 2-laned, looks like you took the wrong road. The direct route os on NH76, the GQ 4-laned road to Chittorgarh (via Mangalwad) and you can cover the 110 kms to Chittorgarh itself in 1 hour, the road is that good.

Bad to hear about the condition of the Neemuch-Indore road, I thought the 4-laning was complete till Lebad (near Dhar)? Is it still 2-laned? How much time did you take from Neemuch to Indore?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Bad to hear about the condition of the Neemuch-Indore road, I thought the 4-laning was complete till Lebad (near Dhar)? Is it still 2-laned? How much time did you take from Neemuch to Indore?

What you said is correct. At least thats what I got to know when I was at Ratlam end of Jan. A local driver told me that the GQ extended till Lebad.

Even I was surprised about the mention of 2L on 76/79 combine. I thought may he must have used the route through Pratapgarh. But the mention of Neemuch is very clear. So the doubt on 2L is still vald!

[cyclops]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Great update, cyclops, thanks for that!

Wow! Feels good that I could add some value to the great HVKpedia!

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I was also on the same Bombay-Ahmedabad highway on Jan 26, but way ahead of you (having left Bombay at 330 am and reached Ahmedabad by 1030 am, en route Rajkot). I encountered a traffic jam at the River Narmada Bridge, but I managed to escape taking the left shoulder all the way to the head of the long Q of trucks.

Guess I was lucky. Man your timings are great! Wish I could achieve them sometime!

Originally Posted by hvkumar

How many hours did you take for the Jodhpur-Deshnoke drive?

Started from Jodhpur at around 11am and came back at 10pm, covering Deshnoke & Bikaner. There is a lot of Punjab bound traffic on this road and few railway crossings which can kill time.. Breaks only for Darshan, Bhujia Shopping, Lunch & Dinner with Beverages..

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I am surprised about you mentioning that the Udaipur-Mangalwad road was 2-laned, looks like you took the wrong road. The direct route os on NH76, the GQ 4-laned road to Chittorgarh (via Mangalwad) and you can cover the 110 kms to Chittorgarh itself in 1 hour, the road is that good.

My bad.. Actually I meant Mangalwad-Nimbaheda was 2 lane road, Udaipur-Mangalwad is great.. I dint got till Chittaur and saved around 50kms, joined the 79 directly at Nimbaheda.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Bad to hear about the condition of the Neemuch-Indore road, I thought the 4-laning was complete till Lebad (near Dhar)? Is it still 2-laned? How much time did you take from Neemuch to Indore?

Again I missed, actually the 4 laning is complete from Neemuch to Lebad, but the railway flyovers are still not done, they cause jams and kill time.. I am not sure but I must've taken around 4-5 hrs to complete Neemuch-Lebad. Lebad to Indore, around 50 kms is 2 lane, NH59 I guess, and its bad bad..! Took me around 2 hrs to cover this small stretch..

Originally Posted by ampere

What you said is correct. At least thats what I got to know when I was at Ratlam end of Jan. A local driver told me that the GQ extended till Lebad.

Sorry, I meant Lebad-Indore is real bad. Ratlam to Lebad is good. But the last 50 kms are so bad, they drain you out..

Originally Posted by ampere

Even I was surprised about the mention of 2L on 76/79 combine. I thought may he must have used the route through Pratapgarh. But the mention of Neemuch is very clear. So the doubt on 2L is still vald!

Please refer my reply to hvk. Udaipur-Mangalwad is 4 lane, there after I left 76 till Nimbaheda to join 79..

Man, I gotta be extra careful while writing anything here, experts are watching!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by cyclops

Please refer my reply to hvk. Udaipur-Mangalwad is 4 lane, there after I left 76 till Nimbaheda to join 79..

That explains it. But if you notice many private tour operators dont take that route. From Mangalwad, they shift to Choti Sadri and reach Ratlam via Pratapgad/Banswara. That way they avoid toll in GQ and also some bulk tax amount by not crossing the state boundary (i.e. if they have have have to reach some where Ratlam but within Rajasthan).
But need to careful in this region. I heard from folks, that night driving is not advised as vehicles get looted. Many times they are taken in a convoy.

[amitwlele]

Originally Posted by cyclops

Sorry! I completely missed your response. Was to tied up to cover up all these days backlog..

My writing skills are below average, so a TBHP standard travelogue is a distant dream for me. I will just put up the rough notes of my trip.


Whew.. Quite a long post, never realized I could write so much!

Thanks for bearing!

Cheers!

@cyclops - Nice quick notes on yout travel.

- So totally how many days was this trip?
- Also any pictures that you can upload for each leg?
- How did the Alto do during the trip? Mileage?

Am i being too demanding?

[cyclops]

Originally Posted by ampere

That explains it. But if you notice many private tour operators dont take that route. From Mangalwad, they shift to Choti Sadri and reach Ratlam via Pratapgad/Banswara. That way they avoid toll in GQ and also some bulk tax amount by not crossing the state boundary (i.e. if they have have have to reach some where Ratlam but within Rajasthan).
But need to careful in this region. I heard from folks, that night driving is not advised as vehicles get looted. Many times they are taken in a convoy.

Okay, but there is no toll on NH79, the toll booths are ready but vacant, probably due to the incomplete work or railway flyovers.. I travelled during day, will keep that in mind for night journeys..

Originally Posted by amitwlele

@cyclops - Nice quick notes on yout travel.

- So totally how many days was this trip?
- Also any pictures that you can upload for each leg?
- How did the Alto do during the trip? Mileage?

Am i being too demanding?

Thanks man!

- It was a 15 day long trip.
- My picture taking capabilities are not that great (though, I still bought a FZ35), but I was busy driving, and wife busy with kid, so no on road pics.
- Alto did great.! Not even a single niggle. Only I was not happy with the roof luggage carrier, it has put scratches on paint..