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North by Northwest

Sorry! This is my third travelogue here that is non-automotive based out of four. The current pandemic situation is not helping anyone travel but to recollect good ol' days. This is about one such tour I went solo in the December of 2014 riding close to 550km between Jaipur and Jaisalmer. I hope this travelogue inspires you to tour on a bicycle or visit the wonderful state of Rajasthan!

The toughest part of the tour was coming up with an itinerary. I am limited to 12 days on the road and can cover only so many places with minimum junk miles on a bicycle. With this limitation, I had to remove Chittorgarh, Bikaner, and Jaipur from the list of places I want to visit. I would love to cover these places in a car with my family in the future.

So the plan is to start riding from Jaipur and cover Sambhar, Pushkar, Jodhpur, Osian, Khichan, Pokhran, and Jaisalmer. Each of these places has a distinct landscape and I chose to ride along little-known roads instead of highways whenever possible.

A word of caution if you are planning to ride a bicycle. The terrain is F-L-A-T and involves riding long stretches of road with little or no change in scenery in certain segments and this may not be everyone's cup of tea. If you are planning to drive, the roads are excellent to burn some rubber!

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Jaipur to Sambhar

Finished my work at the office and took an evening flight to Jaipur from Hyderabad. Reached Jaipur at 930pm and by the time I assembled the bicycle and started there was no much traffic and street dogs just started to reclaim their territory. I was cycling for my life and checked in to Zostel, a backpackers hostel for the night.

Ready for the flight at RGIA

Woke up quite early the next morning and went riding in the Pink City area. I was quite surprised seeing Hawal Mahal. It is not as big as I have imagined from pictures of the front elevation. Beautiful structure nevertheless. I had kachoris at Laxmi Mishthan Bhandar and washed them down with a tall glass of lassi from Lassiwala@Jayanti Market.

Hawa Mahal


Pink City


Sweet & savoury kachori at LMB. This and dhokla seem to be the preferred choice for breakfast here.


Cold Lassi in chilly weather. It still tasted great.


Packed a ghevar from LMB. I have no clue how it tastes. Looks very crunchy.


Only in Rajasthan!

Sambhar is 70km from Jaipur and took around 3 hrs to reach. I did not find any place to eat lunch on the way, so had the packed ghevar. It was surprisingly soft, not so sweet and finished half of it. I took a room at Tatiwala Bhavan. It's a 4 storey building with lot of rooms and a large hall for functions.


Comfortable shoulder & empty roads


Occasional traffic


Mustard farm


Sambhar Town


Ghatte ki sabji. Made with roundels of besan and no vegetables

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Sambhar Salt Lake

This is one place I was most excited about. The largest inland salt lake in the country with an area of nearly 230 sq km.

First glimpse of the lake from Kochya ki Dhani


The students


and the master.




Shakhambari Mata Temple. This is 28km from Sambhar. You can catch a good view of the wetland from the view point on top of the hill behind the temple but I did not find it safe to park my bicycle at the base.


I cycled as far as I can and it was tough work due to the loose ground


What a contrast from the above pic!


The red hue comes from a bacteria that flourishes in water with high salt concentration




There was no one to give directions to the salt pans. So followed this railway track.






Rajasthanis are a colorful lot!




The brine is fed into ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested


Harvested salt


Another curry without vegetables

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Sambhar to Pushkar & Ajmer

Pushkar is nearly 100km from Sambhar. The plan is to be in Pushkar for 2 nights.

One of many long stretch of roads I encountered in this tour


Khejri is the state tree of Rajasthan. Also camels favorite for snacking. Thumma chettu in telugu.


More long roads and more khejri trees




Wheat farm with Aravallis in the background


It's Pushkar today


Rufous treepie


Panoramic view of Pushkar


Pushkar lake. Stayed at one of the hotels by the lake.


Engaged in condensing milk


Snacking at Halwai Gali


Had amazing Malpua at Sarwadiya Mishthan Bhandar. They run out of the stock pretty quickly! It is interesting to see them make Malpua. They put the batter in hot oil and it turns flat and gets fried. It is then soaked in sugar syrup.


The road to Ajmer


Wandered aimlessly in Ajmer

Ajmer is just 15km from Pushkar. The next plan is to take a bus to Jodhpur as there is nothing much I was interested in this route which is around 200km. Went to RSRTC bus depot and I was denied a ticket for the Volvo bus as they said they cannot accommodate my bicycle. This is not my first such experience Booked the ticket online for the same bus and boarded it!

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Jodhpur

Reached Jodhpur close to midnight and again cycled for my life and again checked in to Zostel.
Nothing much to do here. At least when on a bicycle tour as it is quite chaotic out there. Went to Mehrangarh Fort. It is majestic with some lovely architecture but it was too crowded. I have spent not more than 30min. Purchased few souvenirs and went back to the hostel.

Before you do anything in Jodhpur, you MUST have lassi, rabri and other dairy stuff at Shri Mishrilal Hotel at Clock Tower. Highly recommended!


There was a lot of crowd, mostly foreigners, at an omelet shop. Supposedly recommended by Lonely Planet.


Mehrangarh Fort


Beautiful doors at Jaswant Thada cenotaph which is just outside the fort


If you are a fan of Nolan's Batman trilogy, you know what this is. The pit from which "The Dark Knight Rises".








Gulab Jamun ki Sabji


This will be called a North Indian thali if served anywhere in the South.


Finally had dhokla for breakfast

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Osian

Osian is the gateway to the Thar desert. It is famous for its cluster of ancient Hindu & Jain temples.
I don't recollect what made me take the road I have taken. There were many sand drifts along the route and I started to get a feel of the desert that I was about to enter.

Is a Rajasthan tour complete without a pic in front of a blue house?


Sandstone mine


I could see roads like this through the tour.


Demoiselle cranes, probably on their way to Khichan






Desert road


On the right track


Dal baati ...


and Churma. An OK tasting food.


An intricately carved pillar at the ruins of a Jain temple






Oh! Nothing much to see here. Just another door in Osian!


A neglected step well. The other portion of the well is filled with garbage.


There is so much architectural brilliance all over Osian and here is my lodge! The entire room and bathroom had the same tiles including the ceiling. I felt like I walked straight into a kaleidoscope!


I would usually exchange the rotis for more rice

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Phalodi

I have no business in Phalodi. My interest is visiting Khichan to say hi to the Demoiselle Cranes that visit each winter. As there are no lodges in the village, I went to Phalodi. I don't know which route I took. I just kept pedaling north-west and ended up riding little over 100km. If you take the state highway, Phalodi is only 75km from Osian.

Parked my cycle and climbed a dune for no reason




One of many sand drifts that I had to walk through


Desert dessert- prickly pears. Available in abundance today.


Clicked with my mobile then. Moto G 1st Gen.




Comfort food on ride days. Rice, dal and curd.

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Khichan

Over the years, demoiselle cranes migrate from Eurasia and Mongolia to spend their winter months in Khichan, typically from November to February. A volunteer started feeding the cranes systematically by providing hundreds of kilos of grains per day in a feeding area. Around the feeding time, hundreds of birds converge at the feeding area.
To see this I have started from Phalodi very early in the morning and it was the coldest weather I have ever experienced. It is usually cold from night till 9am the next morning in Rajasthan. Actually, extremely cold for me. I think the temperature drops to single digits. Remember this is in December. But the winds while riding the 7km just cut me into a million pieces.
While I was expecting to see the birds, what surprised me was the stunning houses (and high number of dogs )

I could already see the birds while on my way to Khichan








Rajasthanis really love their doors and windows. Amazed to see such a wonderful window frame on a simple house




Hundreds of pigeons taken over the feeding area before the cranes arrived


Pigeons made way for the cranes




The closest pic of the cranes I could take with my 18-55mm lens

It is a spectacle to see hundreds of demoiselle cranes descend to the feeding area but I don't fully support the idea of human intervention in feeding the migratory birds. I have also seen large number of pigeons at the feeding area. That is too many and unhealthy for the population of the sleepy village of Khichan. I returned back with mixed feelings.

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Pokhran

I did not have a plan to see anything specific in Pokhran. My next stop is Jaisalmer which is 170km from Phalodi and it was too far to cover in the afternoon after my visit to Khichan. So stopped at Pokhran for the night after a 60km ride. It is New Year's eve and cold. Very cold. I was prepared for it with thermals and gloves. I checked into RTDC's Motel Pokaran and made a quick visit to the market looking for a Smiling Buddha souvenir. I couldn't find it anywhere! Smiling Buddha is the code name for India's first successful nuclear bomb test. It took place near Pokhran.

Sandstone


Pleasantly surprised to see farming in the Thar!








Spotted a Chinkara. It is extremely shy.


Pokhran Fort






A lady selling figurines made with clay inside the fort. No Smiling Buddha here as well.


I stayed here for the night and this is 100mt away from the dining room. It was cold, foggy, pitch dark and I was hungry. Outside my door were 2 aggressive dogs. With no courage left in my tank, I stood at the window shouting and flickering the torch to catch the staffs attention. Finally someone came to my room and helped me get out!

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Jaisalmer

I woke up at 9 in the morning and the visibility was poor. Very foggy and no sun. I waited till 12PM for the visibility to improve and started to Jaisalmer. It is 110km. The most boring route of the tour. It is Jan 1st and a lot of cars were doing well above 100kmph to reach Jaisalmer in no time. The plan is to stay inside the fort. It is a "living fort". A lot of people reside in the fort and it is a mini Jaisalmer in itself.

This isn't very bad but there are a lot of defaced road signs in Rajasthan. Here someone tried to made it look like 10 instead of 100. I wonder why.


Entrance to the fort


View of Jaisalmer, the golden city, from the fort


Jaisalmer is a touristy place and all cuisines are available. This is an apple pie with custard.


Fort's bastion from the outside and Hari Om Jewelers from the inside


Not a bad place to have a cuppa!


Gadisar lake. In the background is Jaisalmer Fort.


Patwon Ki Haveli has some stunningly carved structures out of sandstone








At the center is Ker Sangri ki Sabji


It feels like heaven to have tea with cinnamon bread in the chilly mornings

This is easily one of my most enjoyed bike tours and left Rajasthan with lots of memories. I took a train from Jaisalmer to Delhi. My coach was predominantly occupied by university girls from Jamia Millia who were returning to Delhi after their excursion. After reaching Delhi I had few hours to kill before my flight to Hyderabad. So I went to Chandini Chowk and had lunch at Karim's.


Sheermal with Seekh Kababs and Mutton Biryani at Karim's Chandini Chowk


Domestic airline scene in 2014

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Rajasthan is a wonderful place to tour. If I have the luxury, I don't mind spending a month here. I am still amazed by the kind of places I could cover in just 550km of riding. The next time I visit I wish to cover the following places:

• Laal Maas (mutton curry)
  Chand Baori
  Chittorgarh fort
  Forts in Jaipur
  Bikaner
  Udaipur
  Mt Abu
  Tanot
  Sam

Still a lot to cover! Isnt't it?!

More reading:

• If you are one of those who feel the Thar is a "wasteland" and yet wonder how people feed without irrigation, you must read these terrific articles by Arati Kumar Rao: https://www.aratikumarrao.com/longform-thar

• Death of thousands of migratory birds at Sambhar: https://indianexpress.com/article/ex...sthan-6127235/

• Illegal salt mining at Sambhar: https://www.thehindu.com/society/dyi...le34167696.ece

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[ninjatalli]

Wonderful thread. Threads like these remind me of similar cycling travelogues by another member (@adc I think?) to the mountains. Of course, he wasn't the foodie you are Loved the focus on the food options.

Suggestion : can you add a post on the preparations you did and the accessories and tools you carried. There are many budding long distance cyclists (guilty!) who can then look up to threads like yours for inspiration.

[sedanlover2021]

One word. Mesmerizing. I am from Rajasthan settled in Bengaluru. I had a gush of nostalgia I cannot explain in words. Ride on my friend!

[BoneCollector]

Superb! Mind blowing! Amazing would be an understatement!

The trip per se and the photographs are something you don't see often on the forum. This is more like a photologue than a travelogue. Kudos to you.