[pulsar56]

Rajasthan in pictures is just half the fun! Being there & watching those huge palaces & imagining to have been a part of the lavish life is a priceless experience altogether. Nice photograhpy skills there Mrs. Samurai.

My favorite in Jaipur is the Amber fort and the one near it which has the largest canon.

Since when? I have been 'inside' the Hawa Mahal atleast twice. Once in 1994-5 and once in 2004 or 5 (I think). I think I went inside on my 1992-93 trip as well but I cant remember that far back.

Even we were not allowed entry in 2002.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Wow - thank you Mrs.Samurai - this brings back memories of the wonderful Great Escapes which we had in Mandawa in February 2002 and in Bikaner in February 2003. As you leave Jaipur and drive out of Jhunjhunu for Mandawa, you can see that all areas here are an M&M fortress. There are only M&M vehicles. We stayed at a resort having mud huts and thoroughly enjoyed Rajasthani hospitality. In Bikaner, we stayed in a royal palace with rooms having 50 ft high roofs and 4 poster beds. I still remember a small shop known as "Chotu Motu Joshi" where we would have lovely sweets and lassi in the cold nights. God - I wish those days come back. My lovely CJ340 MH01P2540 - where art thou? Abhi kuch karna padega! Karega! Abhi kuch Karega!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[finneyp]

Very nice pics! Having a Photography expert hubby helps

Was confused when I heard about 'bear', then I realized what it was, it is a common fruit in the north especially in the villages and road-sides, it is better pronounced as 'bair'.

And that Rajasthani thali looked yummy!

[Samurai]

To be honest, she has not received any photography training from me. She shot all the pics using Panasonic FX-36 ultra compact camera in auto mode, it doesn't have any manual mode. There has been no post-processing either. She dumped 750 pics on the PC and asked me to fix them. But I ran away looking at the sheer number. Therefore, none of the pics have any manual PP on them, they were bulk resized using Picasa. Only one photo was fixed using CS4 for distortion.

[Sabareesh]

Awesome travelogue Mrs. Samurai, photos are equally good too. We are waiting for the remaining part.

[Samurai]

Wife Continues:

Thanks everyone. I'm a happy point and shooter, and I imagine hubby laughing away when you mention my photography skills. The place is such that it looks good any which way!

rjstyles: Sure he is capable, but he has never taught me a thing. Despite my asking.

Mobike: It was a roadtrip, but I hardly have any pictures of road scenery, you could look at gd1418's Rajasthan thread for that.

Navin: No one was allowed on that day. I wouldn't know about other days.

Sam: Hi Sam, Rajasthan is a special place indeed and I was fortunate enough to experience it. Glad to refresh memories. I have read quite a few of your threads, and at times you've made me laugh till I had tears in my eyes, Thanks for that!

[Samurai]

Travelogue continues...

A WW-1 aircraft, gifted to Maharaja Rao Bika by the British. He was a pilot in the British army.



Palanquins and howdas







Silver howda



Lalgarh Palace, it’s a hotel now.







A colorful handicrafts shop





We rushed to Sam dunes, it was a really long drive. The entertainment had already begun when we reached camp at 8 in the evening.

Kalbelia dancer



Some forgettable food and then we tried to sleep. The night was very cold and uncomfortable. It was breezy and fine sand would get in everywhere, even eyes and mouth, though we were inside a tent.

Feb 11th Sam dunes-Kuldhara-Jaisalmer

Daybreak was a relief.



We try the camel ride. Whoa, easy there









I was SO extremely uncomfortable over the dunes, Babloo must be wondering why she has to ferry jokers like me



I was curious to know what camels eat, ‘sangri’ says the handler. Ah! Now I know why food was bad yesterday, I was eating camel feed. It’s a thin dry weed-like thing that I’m yet to develop a taste for.

We get back to camp and leave for Kuldhara. Kuldhara is a village abandoned by paliwal Brahmins about 80 to 100 years ago. They are many legends; one such is that Salim Singh, a diwan of Jaisalmer used to harass the Brahmins excessively. But when he demanded that a 14 year old girl be handed over to him, the entire village was outraged. Salim Singh threatened to destroy the village. That very night the villagers abandoned Kuldhara, and to this day they or their descendents have not been traced.











We continue to Jaisalmer, check into our hotel and sleep for nearly two hours. Last night we had slept poorly, so really needed this break. Later we start on a city tour, starting with the havelis.

Patawon ki haveli, it is a group of 5-6 havelis built by a rich jain businessman. Jaisalmer was a flourishing trade center as it fell on the ancient silk route.





Colorful Puppets



Sonar Qila- The Golden fort



The second gate



To be continued...

[kaushik_s]

Loved the photographs and many of them are composed so well. May be Samurai-San can try some PP and bring out some more magic. Waiting for more..

[Zappo]

Ma'm congratulations on a very nicely written travelogue. Some of the pics have really come out very nicely. Rajasthan in all its colors is truly breathtaking. Your narration only makes it even more glitzy.

[vicky5669]

hey samurai the pictures are amazing, im myself from Rajasthan originally but never got the chance to tour the whole of it.

[Sar]

What a lovely holiday, my son and I read through it together, he is amazed at how 'clever and talented' people were in ancient times; he is 9. You've been so descriptive and have taken such beautiful pictures, thanks for sharing. Hopefully one day when we visit India we'll be able to visit Rajasthan.

[suren181]

Beautiful, excellent photographs. Makes one feel that he is right there, in the midst of it all. Well it also makes one to go to Rajasthan Pronto.

One thing though the write-up, by the authorities, on the Gangajali, The silver pot, used to carry Gangajal made a mention that it holds a place in the "Genies Book of world records". Could this be an attempt at humor by the authorities???

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Mrs Samurai,
Nice travelogue with nice pics.
Rajsthan being my ancestral home land, i always wanted to visit this place but could not do it up till now. Those pics in this travelogue encouraging me to visit this lovely place as soon as possible.
As you mentioned about food i.e. daal baati and churma, it is typical Marwadi food.
About saag of sangari, it is my fev saag. You should have this saag at typical marwadi house like mine and i am sure, you will start to like it. [ Saag is marwadi word for subji]

[gd1418]

I'm all mouth Ashish. When is the invite coming for some delectable Kair Sangri, Saag, Choorma, Bajre ki roti and kheechada. Although the winter is waning away, I will still......

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

About saag of sangari, it is my fev saag. You should have this saag at typical marwadi house like mine and i am sure, you will start to like it. [ Saag is marwadi word for subji]

The pics of Jaisalmer again rekindled the urge to go and visit. Thanks Mrs. Sharath for those wonderful pics. No, i shall not thank you for the travelogue as it is being ghost written by Sharath unless you were dictating...

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by gd1418

I'm all mouth Ashish. When is the invite coming for some delectable Kair Sangri, Saag, Choorma, Bajre ki roti and kheechada.

Its open invitation to all bhpians, whenever you pass through Baramati, just call me little before and its my great pleasure to have some daal baati with you.