[ajmat]

This travelogue has been a long time coming. We had planned this trip with a friend. To cut a long story short, we wanted a stress free chill out holiday. A lot of research was done on where to go. One of the resort owners, who was referred to us put us in touch with Rajasthan Tours and Travels - who put the whole thing together for based on our inputs.

The plan was to land in Jodhpur, by road to Manvar, on to Jaisalmer, a long 10 hour drive to Fort Chanwa in Luni. We then go into the hills and stop in Ranakpur, Kumbalgarh fort and then hit Udaipur. After two days, a train ride to Jaipur and then home.

Apologies for the photography, it was limited as it was an old film camera so one counts what one takes. Have since upgraded..so here goes

[ajmat]

Join the milling crowd at the airport. Check in and enter security. Bad omen strikes, security throw out my toilet case because of the various ointments etc. I run to check in 10 min before the flight. The nice lady from Jet looks at it and says chances of getting it in Jodhpur are slim but lets give it a try.

Re-enter the security holding area, having visions of growing a beard during the trip as a result of this. Flight was smooth but uneventful. Land in Mumbai except that we were totally unsure! What was a dump in 2002 has improved vastly. Hop onto the ATR to Jodhpur. An agonizing flight, noise and cramped seats plus the flight was 25 min late due to a congestion delay.

The landing in Jodhpur is spectacular. On one side, one sees the Mehrangarh fort on a hill and on the other side, the impressive Umaid Bhavan respondent in Jaisalmer stone. Airport is small and quaint, reminds you of the provincial airports back in the colonial days…Bangalore airport was like this a long long time ago. My toilet case was first on the luggage belt, bang went the holiday beard!


It was hot but not unbearable. Our Tempo Traveller was on hand to take us to our hotel. Bal Samand Palace Hotel, Mandore. This was 10km away. An impressive property, this is the summer palace of the Maharana Gaj Singh Rathore. Cars are not allowed beyond the drive way. We were in the garden retreat, a polite word for the stables. These were converted into rooms with a bathroom and a courtyard attached. It was more convenient as the kids could make a racket and it was near the restaurant.





The Palace is a 10 min walk unless you want to take a Jeep. Rooms cost a lot more but are less homely. It is a split level located on a hillock and overlooks a small lake. A large terrace overlooks the lake. In the middle of the lake is a small platform for entertainers. On the right on yet another hillock is an abandoned cottage - would make a great honeymoon suite!!!

Sorry but I never got the light right for the right pic and I never got up early but here is a pic at the lake ramparts.




Staff were very friendly and aim to give you a good time. Recommended, the “Kabab Korner” - excellent food and very few foreigners (they are hung up on their continental plan – buffet etc!). Plenty of locals come after 9.00PM.

Mandore – History Monkeyed about

Prior to dinner, we visited Mandore Gardens where the Chattries (cremation monuments) of Ajit Singh Rathore was located. Entered to be greeted by 200+ langurs. Scary but we walked past them carefully. The Chattries and structures are awesome…but neglected. Lot of garbage, wires and the pervading stench of ammonia. In the background, the dum dum of the hip hip hindi beats as someone has created a 3rd rate fun fair. Walked around looking for the “Hall of Heroes” – rock carvings of gods and warriors only to find that they have been covered in plaster of paris and look mundane.

Some views - so much potential, so much despair







Big difference between the Royals and the Government running the show

[ajmat]

Plan was to visit spend a day at the fort and then have dinner at Umaid Bhavan.

An awesome site, the fort towering abruptly above everything else, we stopped to take pictures from a distance. Reach the lower level car park. This is the best point to take pictures except for damn wires everywhere. If the old man was building his portfolio, he would be climbing poles and snipping off the wires. Great view of the “blue” city as Jodhpur is known. Why the light indigo blue ? – supposed to keep the buildings cool, discourage mosquitos and to give the city some character. Jaisalmer is golden, Udaipur is white, Jaipur is Pink!







Walk into the fort entrance. Plenty of guides on offer but we select the one and only Nasiruddin Shah. He comes in the form of an audio guide for Rs 175 but well worth the money – guide is very informative and includes three generations of royalty speaking about what they have experienced. One needs to deposit a driving licence and photo id. An important tip is to not take the elevator- you miss out on a good view and some interesting aspects, like the portion where someone was buried alive to ward off evil and the sense of occasion on entering a fort through its gates (elephant proofed by high spikes!). The hill is not steep unless one is power walking. As you walk up, various artistes perform folk dances or try raising the limit in terms of sonic frequencies (whilst expecting a small consideration).

As you enter the gate, one is surprised by decent toilets before you peruse the museum. We were taken aback by the ornate hand crafted carvings of the jhalies. Even with modern technology, one cannot reproduce such elegance.







The entrance opens into a courtyard where the Maharaja’s coronation takes place.

The current Maharaja was crowned when he was 4 years old. He was sent away to UK to study on his return, the privy purse was stopped. He shrewdly transferred assets into various trusts and opened them up for tourism and worked with the government on this. Makes one wonder what potential could be done in Mysore. The other Rajput royals have done similar initiatives.

The museum opens into a courtyard leading to the howdah room, weaponry – some lethal weapons out there. It is amazing what engineering talent the British quashed! The creativity is mind boggling and lurid. Image a spring loaded three bladed knife that expands once thrust in!

After a few art displays, one goes through various rooms, durbar halls with hidden balconies for women to listen in. Personal chambers with coloured glass which could double as a set for Saturday Night Fever. We then relax in a room exclusively for people with the audio guide before making our way down. Not before taking in some spectacular views including looking down on a huge terrace (where the elevator comes up to). More about that later.







The tour leads into a street market of handicrafts, reasonably priced. A lot of work has gone into getting the local economy to participate. We have lunch in the café and notice that there is a facility to have dinner on that huge terrace for a mere Rs 350 each. We decide to try this and book a table for a nominal Rs 200. Café is decent but avoid the kathi roll – very thoroughly fried!

Returned back to Bal Samand for a quick swim and chill out. We planned on going on a Bishnoi safari but being veterans of Kabini etc we opt out

Night on the Town - A high life indeed!!!

Freshen up and drive back up the hill to the fort. We are overtaken by an Innova and an Octy L&K which drive into the fort…and we hear a ruckus. We enter by foot and see a brass band and a retinue of guards. We are discretely asked if we have a reservation and are ushered to the elevator. Some "got money honey" kids see us walk in and think they could go up for dinner, with a “paise he, table he” attitude and are promptly turned away.

Elevator reached terrace – at night, it is quite impressive and quite romantic – it is the kind of ambience, where with the right combination of drink, conversation etc, could lead into a night of pleasure. Hmmm, three screaming kids bring us back to reality.

Bottom line is that the Maharaja is holding his diwali party so any guest coming in gets the band welcoming him. We also have the minor inconvenience of watching the guests walk in past us to pass through the place to within the ramparts where he is having his diwali party. Bit like having page 3 live on your table except these people are the real thing- not wanna be’s trying to pay TOI for a bit of exposure.

Dinner was very reasonable – Rs 3000 for 8 people and beer – unbelievable. It gets cold and windy but watching Jodhpur by night and the fireworks distracts us. A great night, makes one nice and fuzzy!!!! Only a sample of some of my Scottish friends and a few naughty French aperitifs would be the icing on the cake.

For those motorists- the Maharana uses a Hyundai Embera and a Terracan

Literally came down to earth and back to the stables for a blissful sleep.

sorry folks, no pics...rather, it was really dark and the divali lights from the city provided the ambience.

[ajmat]

Focus of the day was a visit to Umaid Bhavan. Conceived in the Mid 1930’s Maharana Umaid singh (current Maharana’s grandfather), this massive art deco style palace took 16 years to complete. It was built out of Jaisalmer stone by the then Maharana Umaid Singh. Divided into three sections, a small portion is the museum, a lion share of the palace is converted into a hotel and the remainder is the royal residence.

The museum provides a lot of history about the palace construction. It was apparently built to provide jobs during a drought. Government information claims that people were paid a pittance. I rest my case on this one. Ice blocks were used to position the huge blocks exactly. Being a keen aviator, Umaid Singh inaugurated the palace with a banquet for the RAF officers, a menu card is on display – 10 types of cognac, 15 varieties of single malt.

One is take to different rooms with collections of clocks, glassware, replica of a lounge and finally the durbar hall, lined with gold leaf and art deco (by a Polish American) murals of the Ramayana or used to be lined as poor moisture protection means that most of the murals have peeled away and gold leaf looks quite shabby.

We exit the museum. The hotel is cordoned off by a thin velvet rope. A quick hop across to take a picture is met by fanatical whistling of the security. Only way in, is to go to the vehicle and drive to the door.

We do precisely that and enter the reception area, the dome is amazing. Before we can take the beauty in, the staff start pushing you into a restaurant, we are pushed onto a veranda cafe where two or three tough looking foreigners are sauntering around and then forced to move to a restaurant overlooking the back lawns.






The menu card rates are to die for- Rs 1000 for a sandwich, Rs 250 for tea. Women vamoose to the ladies room and spot a familiar looking girl with an oriental child, who can it be ? Before recovering from shock, a helicopter hovers and lands and who appears, Brad Pitt! This is one of the few occasions when my wife has left me for another man. Next time, it will be George Clooney. Anyway, the rich and famous have their own area so mere guests never saw them.



After our “shockingly priced” refreshments, we wander around the public area (much to the disgust of the hotel staff but we have paid our way!!!!). Hanging around is an elderly dignified lady called Bhai. She is part of the Maharaja’s staff (the Prince Regents Grand Daughter) and keeps an eye on the property. She gives us a lot of information about the history of the place and the royal family. Apparently the delay in our flight arrival was due to the fact that Prince Andrew (randy andy) and Fergie were also in town (leeching british tax payer money). They were, at that moment, having lunch in our hotel, Bal Samand, hosted by the Maharana. The Rothschilds are also around. (at those prices, one can expect only such people).

A huge group of American tourists come in garlanded. Before they can admire the palace, they are pushed into a dining room. Apparently, they are from the Palace on wheels.

We found the treatment of guests a bit disgusting and decided it was time to leave. Our driver - a bit of a grouch – suggests a place called “anderux”. It sounds dodgy but being Diwali, we have limited choice. “Anderux” is actually called – On the Rocks. Located in Ajit Bhawan, (yet another palace hotel). Cosy place, decent well priced food (after Umaid, anything is!).

Next door to “anderux” are all the high end handicraft shops – Anokhi etc. Women go mad, I get tired, children get restless. Get back to hotel and I decide to take the kids swimming. Trudge to the pool and I see a Terracan and a Safari in the grounds and a big built man talking to some guests. Sure enough, it is the Maharajah himself, walk towards him and he is looking at me incredulously, I turn around and see why. The kids are walking behind me with their swimming kit on and playing “who can toss the chaddies the highest!” Am not sure if it was more interesting than Polo but I quickly greet him with a nod and walk on fast.

In the pool meet an interesting guy who runs a fleet of Ambassadors in the UK as taxi's (Karma Kabs). Mentions how difficult it is to run these as the UK Authorities have it in for him on safety and other regulatory reasons.

Another round of kebabs and it is time for the safari tomorrow.

[ajmat]

Van arrives and we have a different driver, Jawan Singh, an ex-military person. Load up and it is a 2 hour drive to Manwar en route to Jaisalmer in the middle of nowhere.

Manwar Resort is on the highway. Beautifully landscaped 2 acre plot built out of nowhere. However, we are not staying there, we are staying in a desert camp, 3 km away. People normally check in at the resort, have lunch and in the late afternoon, make their way to the resort by camel or jeep. We are early and are taken to the tents to freshen up and return. The tents are groovy but it is hot. So we return to the resort for lunch.

The resort is owned by a scion of the royal family – Mothi Singh Rathore. He is a classmate of a good friend of ours so he spends time and tells us more about the place. His father was granted a huge tract of land, rather brackish desert. He used irrigation and managed to get some agriculture going. Mothi started the resort with a view of generating employment. The resort employs around 100 people directly and another 200 indirectly in terms of supplying food etc.

Mothi suggests that we take a 2 hour camel safari into “nowhere” and a jeep will pick us up. After lunch, kids jump into the pool, we snooze till 4.30. The camels arrive.

Mounting the camel reminded me of the old hydro-pneumatic Citroens, front rises and then the back. But the smooth ride ends there, the camel rocks and one has a phallic like saddle horn to grip.

We ride into the desert through scrubland and see the occasional bleached set of bones. Quite a few chinkara can be observed. The peaceful, leisurely pace makes me realize that we are on holiday and I am far away from Team-bhp. Going down hillocks on the frisky camel is an experience, camel wants to go faster and my grip on the saddle horn is questionable.

You really get transformed into another world, one so quiet and where any movement is spotted, It is all so quiet (barring the kids!)





Two hours later, the safari ends on top of a dune. The kids have a whale of a time, rolling down dunes, burying themselves etc and soon our jeep (a Mahindra Pik-up) arrives. Jump into the back and hay ho, a spot of “wadi bashing” . The truck was amazing and I then realize that the city boy in me is far removed from Mahindra’s customer base. Mothi incidentally hosts The Great Escape for Mahindra in Rajasthan.

We return to camp to find local folk singers and the “nautch” girls performing. A quality performance, not a tired “throw me a fiver” type of dance. Pillows and cushions are well laid out and drinks are available. Dinner is served around 9pm.

We then retire to the tents but in actuality, sit outside the tent till 1.00am getting pissed and enjoying the tranquility.

[ajmat]

,,and also my memory starts failing as I wrote the first four days back in 2006.

Get up early to take pics of the camp and enjoy sunrise from the dunes. You can feel the cool sand heat up in seconds

Start packing to get going to Jaisalmer. My daughter get the "runs". Although we have medication, it still gets bad. We call our doctors who tell us to administer the medicine as there is not much else we can do. We are in the middle of nowhere, we either take a risk and carry on or go back to JOdhpur. We decide to proceed.

We realise the cause is her drinking in half the swimming pool. We get to Jaisalmer just after lunch. We check into the Rang Mahal, looks okay, seems comfortable. We have a late lunch and relax. My wife is tense due to my daughter's situation. She is improving but weak.

We decide to visit the Fort. This one of the oldest and one of the few living forts. Barring a Maruti car dealer, everything happens in here. Plenty of guides, being the fag end of the day, their prices reduce. All languages are spoken in the shops and also all food.







Note: These pics are of the haveli's, we were too tense to take pics that day!

We take a tour around for a couple of hours, what went into it was amazing however, it is not as well preserved as there is no ownership, too many tenants and no owners. Things are deteriorating, too many wires and that ammonia stink. Being the western outpost, the view across the desert is amazing.

Get a phone call about someone we know went to Dubai for a holiday and their infant son dies of a mysterious ailment. This makes us more tense! Suddenly, my daughter says, "she has to go", we run out of the fort and a friendly restaurant let's us use the bathroom. We buy more medicines and get back to the hotel. Van goes back to fetch rest of the gang

Meanwhile I order dinner and I realise the colour of "Rang Mahal' to make you see red!

"I would like, rice, curd, and a cheese sandwich"

"Sir, we have a buffet with live dancing, etc"

"No, I want to eat in my room, my daughter is sick"

"okay sir"

Our friends arrive, look in freshen up and say decide to go back into town to shop and eat

One hour later

"Where is my rice, curd, and a cheese sandwich"

"Sir, we have a buffet with live dancing, etc"

"No, I want to eat in my room, my daughter is sick"

"okay sir"

30 min later

"where is my.......okay sir!"

Our frineds come back from dinner, our dinner has not arrived.

After a big ruckus, it finally arrives.

[ajmat]

Wake up with apprehension

Luckily the little girl is weak but getting better.

After breakfast (room service, you're kidding!), we get going. We first visit the haveli's. If Antila stuns you in terms of size, these haveli's stun you in terms of intricacy. I 'll let the pics in the previous post do the talking.

Our present driver is a great guy and tells us of the current royalty politics etc. We then get in for a long 10 hour drive to Jodhpur and beyond. The Luni desert.

En-route, we stop at Manvar resort for lunch and continue. The roads in Rajasthan are good if narrow. There are none of the BPO indicab style driving and we did not see many accidents.

Approach Jodhpur and bypass it. Scenery turns from sandy to brackish.
Suddenly, the temp turns off into a village track, bypassing lots of cows, buffalos etc. We are checking into Fort Chunwa but this is only a Fort by name!

We enter a village and see a huge wall with two wooden gates. No cars are allowed in. We walk in and are welcomed. The gardens and architecture remind you of those baroque art deco tuscan style villas in hollywood movies.

We were still reeling after Manvar camp. While the only evenings were bliss out there, spending a day chilling out here would be okay. I believe Madonna took my advice and chilled out here last year.

We jumped into the pool, my daughter also but I told her to keep her mouth shut! This was followed by drinks on the lawn and dinner

[ajmat]

We departed late morning and drove into the Aravalli hills to Ranakpur. Amazing scenery. With the A/c, and 9 aboard plus luggage, the tempo traveller was pushing it.

We reached Ranakpur around lunchtime and checked into Maharani Bagh hotel. This was a resort on a hill top with cottages. Okay if a little rustic. Food was spicy and a group of italians having lunch were rosso red in the face.

This day was more of a chill out session, we drove 5 km up the road to see the temple complex. A lot of pilgrims from gujarat were around. Evening is quiet, we chill out and enjoy a cooler climate

[ajmat]

Load up the Tempo - meaning carry the baggage down the hill and load up to go to Kumbalgarh Fort.

It is a steep climb so we put the a/c off and slowly make our way up. We see whatever is left of the fort is the distance. What is impressive is the wall, it goes on, enough to rival the great Wall of China.

Arrive at the gates and it is going to be a long climb. My daughter is weak but improved, will she make it. some of our friends get lost - rather son in law and father in law bonding - they go for a long walk on the walls. We climb up to the top. there is not much left of the fort beyond the basic structure and a few sanitation fittings. The view is amazing, you wonder, where exactly is out population problem!







It is lunchtime but the cafes there look dodgy, hit the van and we drive into a resort only to find it is closed. We then find a restaurant in a hotel in town to eat. Ladies wants to use the toilets, they are appalling. So we get into van and tell the driver to find a decent place to stop. Jawan Singh does one better, he goes into the hotel and makes them open up a hotel room for our use. The man carries clout!

We then proceed to Udaipur. Road is pretty narrow and boring. After a couple of hours, we hit the national highway and enter Udaipur.

It is quite regal, nice wide roads, not much traffic. Hell, I could live here. We are to stay at Ram Pratap Palace. Nicely located along the Fateh Sagar. We have a lake facing room. All is fine until we realise the bathrooms were ancient.

Go down with the kids to explore, They have vintage cars on hire so I book an MG TD for a drive with the kids for the next day. Evening, decide to go to the old town to Jagat Nivas for dinner. Jawan Singh pleads helplessness as the Tempo is impossible to drive in there.

Plan for dinner, in the Lake Palace for the next day. Ring and they hum and haaa. You cannot even put your foot in there without a reservation of sorts.

We take a couple of ricks and get to Jagat Niwas. The old town is rip off ville - too many foreigners around and everything overpriced. There is an Octopussy fixation. Every cafe screens the movie 25 years on! Jagat niwas, reluctantly allows us to have dinner (must be the quantity not the white quality!). Despite that, it is recommended to eat and watch the lake life. There was a puppet show on the roof which the children enjoyed.

Tried for a boat ride but that would need to wait for the next day.

[ajmat]

After a late breakfast, we hop on board to get dropped at the City Palace Complex. Before we leave, we ask hotel to follow up on a dinner booking at the Lake Palace.

Arrive at the Palace complex. Before you enter, you are provided with a wide menu at extortionate prices, from raiding the citizens, it is raiding the tourists. We sign up for the Lakeside Palace tour, the Palace complex tour and the car collection+ lunch

The Lakeside Place is a heritage hotel. Tour takes you around the early 20th century relics. Lots of glass ware, silverware etc. The views are spectacular. They use old american cars as airport shuttles. The cost includes coffee in the banquet hall.

Move on to the old City Palace complex, this is old and it was scary, being post diwali, plenty of local tourists. the passages are narrow and constricted and it was difficult to take pictures as one was pushed around. Comprises of various different mansions from different eras.

Some pics below





We then go to the garages for a thali and to see the cars, various ponton and fintail mercs. A fine collection of Rolls Royces. I have a few pics which I will upload in another section sometime. Seeing that we were car buffs, the attendants let us look inside. They are not concours but are well kept. The current maharaja dabbles in solar power vehicles so some concepts are on show.

Get back to hotel to ride in the MG except - they forgot to book or pretended to have even remembered. I got mad. As for the Lakeside Palace, they refused to consider us saying one needs to book in advance.

We go back to the old town for shopping and dinner on a rooftop restaurant. We make it for a boat tour around Lake Pichola.

Day 11

Went over to Chittorgarh

built on a high plateau, it was an impressive fort but nothing much there. I need to find the pics for this but again, under ASI supervision, the ammonia smells appear again.

Returned back, freshened up to take a train ride to Jaipur

[ajmat]

Arrive in Jaipur and another Tempo meets us and takes us to Narayan Niwas hotel. Around the corner from the government buildings.

Freshen up and go into the old City. The palace complex was better laid out and the musuem was quite detailed in terms of history. We then decide on lunch and driver takes us to the Raj Palace hotel. An impressive if embarrassing place. It is high end and very well kept but if you walk around the staff, if you encounter them keep bowing and saying namaste over an over again.




After lunch, we return to the hotel and chill out. Ladies go shopping.


Next day, we visit Ambar fort. This is a beautiful fort overlooking Jaipur. We had three choices of transport - Jeep, foot or elephant. We take the latter. It is well organised. You pay your ticket and mount the old bus. It is well regulated and the animals only work from 9-12.









Our Hotel



Hawa Mahal - nothing much behind that facade



Reach the top. First we visit the Durga temple, scary but impressive and then climb around the fort. We engage a guide. It is impressive and are impressed with the various artwork remaining .Where has all that craftmanship gone ?

Return to Jaipur for lunch and a cholesterol inducing lassi and the ladies go shopping and get lost. Find them and again they go shopping to Anokhi - the head temple of which is in Jaipur. I take the kids for a swim.

After the swim, we go to the Sheraton for dinner. It is our last night, energies are fading. See a plam reader out there. Looks at my hand and says - you will not have any more serious accidents! More? oh yes, my vtec is still awaiting repair after avoiding the cart in the road. It could have been a lot worse. Reality is coming back

Next day, catch the flight back home, by some errors, we get bumped up to business class to Mumbai. The breakfast is good and my daughter discovers waffles.

Concluding, this was a great trip. we loved Jodhpur and the surrounding area and would love to go there again. Jaipur and Udaipur and rather commercialised in my opinion. The Rajastani's take tourism seriously, from roads to basic courtesy and it pays off.

i have more pics but I need to compress them. Sorry if the latter part is flagging in detail but I am writing after two years.

Cheers

[Sam Kapasi]

Did you like the Amer Fort?

A wonderful travelogue. Brings back so many memories. Somehow it feels like you visited my home. Thank you Ajit. I guess all the recent travelogues on Rajasthan have re-kindled you urge to share this with us. I am glad.
I've been across rajasthan countless times and still my heart skips a quick beat when I think of Saalim Singh's Haveli. Wonderful.

[Samurai]

Wow, that's one long and yet crisp travelogue, liked your narration style. Good thing you finally decided to write it.

By your tone, it feels like many places you visited were not too customer friendly. Too much tourism?

[spadival]

My family did the trip in 2004, skipping Jaipur though.

Oh yeah.. staff at Umaid Bhavan Hotel wouldnt let us use the toilets even though they were within the museum part of the hotel !! Maybe some day, I am gonna land up there in a chopper like Brad Pitt did and then take a royal pi%% right there in the middle of the reception hall. LOL

[srijit]

Interesting read there Ajmat. Nicely written Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by spadival

Maybe some day, I am gonna land up there in a chopper like Brad Pitt did and then take a royal pi%% right there in the middle of the reception hall. LOL

Please dont forget to take pics of that. Video too, if possible.