6th March 2009, 12:08
| #31 | |
| Senior - BHPian  |  Thanks Ashish, shall surely keep that in mind. Baramati in MH; isn't this Sharadrao Govindrao Pawar's constituency?Quote:
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6th March 2009, 13:01
| #32 |
| Team-BHP Support   | |
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6th March 2009, 13:10
| #33 | |
| Senior - BHPian | When I was posting that statement, a part of my hippothalamus cried - don't do it you idiot, you are in for a tongue lashing. And that is what happened. Like a true politician, I retract my statement and would like to say that I've been misquoted....  Sam: yes it indeed is not your style. Mrs. Sharath: my sincere apologies if I unknowingly caused a hurt...  Excellant prose...I must say.. Quote:
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6th March 2009, 13:24
| #34 | ||
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: MH42
Posts: 2,004
Thanked: 334 Times
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you are always welcome. Quote:
Last edited by ASHISHPALLOD : 6th March 2009 at 13:27. | ||
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6th March 2009, 14:53
| #35 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Toronto
Posts: 166
Thanked: Once
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6th March 2009, 21:15
| #36 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Instead of "ypo" it became "ippo" and you noticed...  I had gone past my editing time limit and couldn't correct the error. Quote:
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6th March 2009, 21:57
| #37 |
| BHPian Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: India
Posts: 30
Thanked: 2 Times
| Complements to Mr & Mrs Samurai An excellent logue and excellent photographs too  I happen to go on a similar trip to Rajasthan last December, mainly close to the Border with Pak. Was lucky to be on a road trip and the driving through Raj was an amazing experience in itself,Sri Ganagnagar,Suratgarh,Bikaner,Jaisalmer. The best roads I have seen,straight and barely any traffic(yeah sometimes with long army convoys)and camel carts and beautiful surroundings, although i admit i never thought that the desert could also be beautiful. With all due respect to Mr & Mrs Samurai and their excellent travelogue, I'd like to add couple of pictures, on road in Rajasthan. Cheers  |
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6th March 2009, 23:15
| #38 |
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7th March 2009, 00:05
| #39 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | You seem to have had a beautiful trip through Rajasthan, enjoying the architecture and the curios, the traditional artwork and the stark scenery,  the camels in plenty and the greenery in hiding. Your trip just reminded us of our own trip 3 years ago to Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and a place called Deshnoke near Bikaner, to visit a temple of RATS!  Keep writing, I am thoroughly enjoying your travelogue. |
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7th March 2009, 01:28
| #40 |
| Team-BHP Support | Travelogue Continues... No apologies required gd bhaisaab, it was NOT a tongue-lashing.  Fort palace, the guide explains that the king was often funded by rich jain businessmen in town and the treasury was often empty. That also explains why the havelis are grander than this palace.    View of the town  Gadisar Lake      It is 5pm when we get back to our hotel. It is brimming with European guests, at least 2 or 3 tours groups seem to be here. The hotel has put on a festive atmosphere with Christmas lights all around. We had to wait a while for dinner table since tour groups book their dinner in advance. The staff was very polite and apologetic about it; we didn’t mind it at all. Their food was good too. We really enjoyed our stay at Rang Mahal.  Feb 12th Jaisalmer – Jodhpur We set off for Jodhpur. One little problem, the AC in the tavera had stopped working on the way to Sam dunes from Bikaner. The driver said something broke in the compressor and the gas has escaped. Jaisalmer was too small a place, I doubt if Freon was available there. So, we were without AC since yesterday morning. Yesterday it was fine, since our drives were short. Today it was bad, at noon as we were nearing Jodhpur it was terrible. The minute we reached our hotel, I instructed our driver to inform his tour company and get it fixed the same day. He said he would drop us at the fort and go to the dealership, he was confident that it would be fixed at Jodhpur. We check into hotel Mapple Abhay. They are an international chain? Then I’m missing something. We had opted for 4-star accommodation throughout the trip, this doesn't get even 1-star from me. The corridor outside our room was dark, there was no window at our end, so we request them to switch on the corridor lights. They would switch on only on request, and promptly switch it off within 5 minutes. This happened atleast three times, they simply would not keep it on until after 6PM The carpeting in our room was old and dirty. Housekeeping staff gets the extra bed and wants to put it on the floor. I ask for a folding cot, guy pretends he has never heard of it. Only when I raise my voice,and he realizes I am not buying , he says “ek hai, dektha hoon” and gets it. The two guys were unbelievably clumsy at making the bed. Usually it is a pleasure to watch the crisp manner in which they do it. When we returned from our tour, we find the bathroom dirty. I call room service, they send someone to clean. And he says their drains are clogged so they are having this problem. What a relief! Our room was got getting cooled, we kept AC at max, but since it is central AC, I think the temperature was kept high at the central control. Only at 8PM the AC started working normally, but somewhere in the middle of the night 1AM maybe, they again start their cost-cutting tactic. There was no hot water at night. Another call to room service, they say keep the tap open for 10 minutes. Fine, I keep the tap open for 20 minutes, still no hot water. Again I call, they send someone, he keeps the tap open for a long while, there is slight warm water. He said hot water is coming and disappeared. So, did the dream of a bath. I was tired from the drive and tour, tried of calling room service and front desk umpteen times. I resisted the urge to blown up while checking out the next day. Even left with a smile, after all I am never ever going to come to this hotel again. It just happened to be a lousy day, with some bright spots. Jaswant Thada , the cremation ground of Jodhpur rulers    These graves belong to other members of the royal family, like the king’s brothers, uncles etc.  Meherangarh fort  To Be Continued... |
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7th March 2009, 08:59
| #41 | |
| BHPian  Join Date: May 2006 Location: Somewhere
Posts: 226
Thanked: 15 Times
| Glad that she did not Samu  ,she look to me a natural photographer and I like 6 shots of her v.v.much of camel,desert and palaces to be precise.Most of women are born artist and this is an example,spendid work Mrs.Samurai.I enjoyed each and every shot captured by you keep it up!Quote:
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7th March 2009, 11:10
| #42 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Mrs. Shetty, allow me to apologise for the nightmare that you went through in the Hotel at Jodhpur. Jodhpur being my "sasuraal", I feel I must apologise on their behalf. It is a wonderful city with wonderful people. My only grouse is, I wish Sharath had checked with me about Jodhpur. Not that I claim to be the resident expert, but surely would have been of some help. During my travels, I normally make it a point to stay at the State Tourism facilities/youth hostels that apart from being easy on your pockets also are decent. On an outstaion tour the biggest cost is the lodging, that robs all the charm of sightseeing. Moomal in Jaisalmer and Ghoomar in Jodhpur are RTDC properties and above average. If I had known, I could've put in a word at Ghoomar. Quote:
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7th March 2009, 12:03
| #43 |
| Team-BHP Support | |
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7th March 2009, 21:00
| #44 |
| Team-BHP Support | Travelogue Continues... SS-Traveller: We heard about the Deshnoke Rat Temple, EEKS! Uncle wanted to go, but me and my aunt vetoed it. ajmat: Rang Mahal truly gave us no reason to be unhappy. We walked in groggy from the camp at 10.20AM (check-in time is 12), they gave us a room within twenty minutes. We needed same day laundry service; their policy says clothes have to be given by 10. We gave at 12.30 with a request, and they delivered the same evening. We could see that the hotel was full and they were stretched to the limit, yet we were not inconvenienced in any way. ONWARD… Meherangarh fort was founded by Rao Jodha. The fort walls are deceptively built around a granite hill, to keep the enemy occupied at the base. The palaces and living areas are twelve storeys higher than the base. There are many similarities in architecture between this fort and Bikaner fort as Rao Bika is the enstranged son of Rao Jodha.         Howdas /Palanquins    Curved Mughal sword  Rajput sword  British sword  Dewan-e-khaas      It’s a swing, the puppets move when the swing is rocked     Private courtyard for women    Feb 13th Jodhpur-Ranakpur- Udaipur We start our drive towards Ranakpur. AC in the car was still not working, driver says compressor needs to be replaced, that is expensive and he can’t get it done. I call the tour company, they assure they’ll replace the vehicle at Udaipur. It was a hot drive, I’m homesick and missing the kids now. Uncle is cheerful as usual. My aunt is tired; she’s having a tough time with her arthritis. Her enthusiasm alone is carrying her through the trip. For the seven years that we lived in NJ, their home at NY used to be like my parents home. I thought we were mostly done with Rajasthan. The thought lasted until we reached Ranakpur… The Jain temples are simply magnificient. Emperor Akbar had been so impressed, he had decreed that nobody should harm these temples. The dullness vanished and I went ballistic with the camera here, I must have captured every one of the 1444 pillars.     To be Continued... Last edited by Samurai : 8th March 2009 at 08:46. Reason: extra info |
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7th March 2009, 21:18
| #45 |
| Team-BHP Support | Travelogue Continues... I tried pretty hard to get the front entrance without any people, just as I thought I got my shot, the guard walks in, grrr                               To Be Continued... |
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