[gd1418]

Made good time, took the Jaipur by-pass and by 7:30 was parking my truck at the Ajmer Dargah.

I must say that the expansion work at many places have been completed and most of the flyovers have been partially opened.

My regular Khadim - Syed Nadeem Chisti was waiting for me. The family paid its obeisance to the Saint and we were on our way to Beawar enroute to Jodhpur. Stopped at Bar as usual for refreshments and headed further. The Sendhra-Jodhpur road too is under expansion and that is a good news.

Checked-in at Ghoomar around 3 pm; nothing, nothing at all had changed here!!

The weather in Jodhpur was very pleasant with the mornings & evenings having a nip in the air. Keeping that in view I had booked online a non-AC room with an extra bed. I was surprised to see Jodhpurians wearing woollens even during the day that according to me was quite warm. Probably for a person coming from Delhi/NCR that was witnessing bone-chilling biting cold, this weather was simply awesome.

RTDC's Ghoomar



Was tired, so took rest. Had not informed relatives about our arrival so it was peaceful. We all were hungry as we had only knick-knacks on the way. For dinner we went to the Kalinga Hotel near the Railway Station. It is one of the very good Hotel/Restaurant in Jodhpur serving some excellent Rajasthani fare.

Hotel Kalinga - location



The Restaurant



Checking the Menu



Father & Daughter



We ordered Laal Maans, a typical Rajasthani delicacy. Kalinga makes it very well. Had a sumptuous dinner, returned to the Hotel and called it a day. Tomorrow was the day for visiting the temples.

to be continued.../-

[gd1418]

23rd Jan, 2013

We had to visit four temples as a routine; we always do so when we visit Jodhpur - Chamunda at Mehrangarh, Gajananji at Ratanada, Riktiya Bhairon & Pal Balaji. Gauri finished her breakfast in the Hotel and we drove to Mehrangarh.

Breakfast



The imposing Fort never ceases to amaze me. As it is the Fort is built on a hill and the temple is located on top of the Fort. The climb is very steep and tiring. Being a regular the priest gave me a smile of recognition and asked about my family's welfare. After praying Gauri & I left. Due to a minor injury in the knee, my wife didn't accompany us but remained seated in the car. Clicked a few pictures.

Mehrangarh Fort



The entrance to the Fort



Colourful royal flags in the foyer



Gauri on top of the Fort - Chamunda temple in the background



Gauri & Trishul



Guns of Navarone..oops Mehrangarh - a perspective in size



Climbing down



From here we went to Gajananji. Today being Wednesday, there was a rush of devotees here. Took the car right up to the top thus saving a very tiring steep climb. Had a nice 'darshan' and then proceeded to Bhairon ji. By the time we reached, the temple had closed and would reopen at 5 pm.

We decided to visit the next day and proceeded straight to Balaji. Chamunda & Balaji remain open throughout the day. Here too had a nice 'darshan' and returned to Kalinga again for lunch.

In the meanwhile our relatives were informed of our presence and one of Gauri's maternal uncles had arrived at Kalinga. After lunch Gauri left with her uncle on his Mcycle to their home.



Wife went marketing and from there would go to her relatives & I to the hotel to rest.

After a nice rest I went out to Mehrangarh again to capture the illuminated fort in the night.

Illuminated Mehrangarh Fort



After the lights were switched off



The fort in the ambient night light



While I was clicking the pictures of the Fort I could see the illuminated Ummaid Bhawan at a distance. I drove near the Palace to take its pictures. Was enjoying my solo tour immensely.

Ummaid Bhawan - on fire



Illuminated Ummaid Bhawan



Came back to hotel room. The lunch was so heavy that I didn't feel like having dinner. My family was to have dinner at their relatives. So, I decided to take a long walk. Walked a kilometre away to this place - my all time favourite. Enroute I got packed 100 gms of crispy Desi Ghee jalebis. Let the photographs speak.

Doodh Mandir



Hot Milk cauldron



Boiling Milk



Glass of hot milk



Jalebis dunked in the glass



Doodh Jalebi - yummm



After this satisfying delicious "dinner", walked a little further till the Railway Station and then returned back to room. Watched some news on the TV and went to sleep. The family returned sometimes past midnight and the day ended on a satisfying note.

to be continued.../-

[sudev]

.....and you did not want dinner because lunch was heavy?

Jalebi and milk is a potent combo and welcome i cold of winters.

[gd1418]

Ha ha ha. I shall try to explain. Howsoever bad the traffic jam is, if the President's car arrives, somehow the way is made for it. Similarly, even if stacked till the throat, space and way for Doodh Jalebi will be made.

And indeed it is a very potent combo in winters. During my childhood in Benaras, at least thrice a week we used to have this in the night.

Originally Posted by sudev

.....and you did not want dinner because lunch was heavy?

Jalebi and milk is a potent combo and welcome i cold of winters.

[gd1418]

24th Jan, 2013

Riktiya Bhaironji visit was pending. Got up early and by the time we all got ready to leave it was already 9:40. The temple would close at 10:30. Just made it in time and had a 'darshan'.

While coming out wife said that she also wanted to go to Osiyan Mata that was on the Jodhpur Nagaur road and about 65 kms away. Left for Osiyan, had a darshan and came back in total 3.5 hrs.

Osiyan Mata Temple







One of my wife's cousin was waiting at the hotel with some refreshments and after having them my daughter left with him to his place. Wife went for her shopping.

Refreshments



On the pillion



I picked up my camera and left to explore Jaswant Thada.


to be continued.../-

[gd1418]

Jaswant Thada, located on the same approach road as that of Mehrangarh Fort, is a traditional cremation ground of Jodhpur rulers.

Built completely with white intricately carved sheets of marble in the memory of HH Maharaja Jaswant Singh II (1838-1895) by his son HH Raj Rajeshwar Maharajadhiraj Sardar Singh Bahadur.



Entering the complex, one finds a natural water body replenished by rains only. This serene small lake, called the Dev Kund, attracts some migratory birds. This was a surprise to me. Had I known about this fact, I would've carried my 300mm lens. Sadly, I had to make do with the 24~70mm.

Dev Kund



While I could see some Storks, Cormorants, Darters & Lapwings at a distance, could not take their pictures because of the lens limitation. Could manage pictures of some birds that came quite close.

White-breasted Kingfisher






Moorhen






Little Grebe



Fountain in the foreground



A folk musician singing folk songs praising the Marwar lineage in the Jaswant Thada's courtyard.



After finishing the tour, I went for an important personal work. Rajasthan, the land of Rajputs and different sects of kings is identified by the type and way a turban (saafa) is tied. The Jaipur turban style is different from that of Jodhpur and so is that of Udaipur, Bhilwara, Jhalawar etc. By looking at the way the turban is tied one can make out the region one belongs to. Gifiting a 'saafa' to someone means giving a lot of respect & reverence. Being married to a Jodhpur Rajput girl, accords me a special status as "Kunwar ji". So, at every function or occasion I am gifted 'saafaas' - kesariya, lehariya, satrangi etc.

I had carried two saafaa clothes to get it tied and take back to wear on special occasions. Over the years there is one guy in Jodhpur who ties my turban. Refer to post #: 25 here. The kesariya saafa has been tied by him.

My permanent turbanator - Kailash Lodha of the Rajasthani Saafaa House tying the Lehariya Saafa for me in Jodhpuri style.



Collected my tied turbans and went back to hotel to rest. The evening dinner was at Kalinga again and this time we ordered Rajasthani Handi Gosht. An extremely delicious, finger-licking dish. Called it a day.

to be continued.../-

[gd1418]

25th Jan, 2013

We didn't have much to do today. Gauri left in the morning with her maternal uncle to their place. We had to go to the market to buy our annual stock of spices for home. After having finished our shopping, dropped wife to her relatives and returned to room & rested. Dinner was a simple fare. Tomorrow was the check-out.

26th Jan, 2013

India was celebrating the Republic Day. Quite close to the Hotel was the Ummed Stadium where the Republic Day celebrations were being held. Some roads were blocked & barricaded to facilitate VIP movement. We waited for the celebrations to end.

In the meanwhile I completed the check-out formalities and loaded my vehicle with our belongings. The function had ended by then and the traffic restrictions were removed. Time to leave..!

The diesel tank had been topped up the previous evening itself & air pressures checked in the tyres. The right rear had showed 28 psi as against 32 psi in the rest of the tyres. Wondering about the loss of air topped-up and forgot about it.

We were about to leave and I had almost cranked my car that the relatives arrived at the porch. I started getting jittery as it was 11:30 am and I had a long distance to go. They had come to give us gifts. After the rituals, left at 12:15 pm. Somehow remembered about the loss of air in the right rear and stopped at the nearest pump to check. The gauge read 30 psi, a loss of 2 psi. Strangely it still didn't bother me and moved ahead after topping it up.

The railway crossing of Sabal Pur near Bar was closed for an approaching goods train and we stopped. With my camera I sauntered towards the track and sat down about a foot & half away to click the approaching train. Let the pictures narrate:

TB II at the crossing



Other vehicles across the track



Sabal Pur Station



The approaching Goods train pulled by a Diesel behemoth



Closer - vibration on the ground could be felt



More closer - vibrations felt like 3+ on the Richter scale



Almost upon me - ground shaking & felt scary. One last shot and moved away just in time



Not much to write about the rest of the journey as it was un-eventful & sedate. Stopped at a dhaba after Behror to eat dinner - Daal, Bati & Choorma. Delicious & hot. Felt very drowsy after sometime so stopped after the toll to take a nap. I guess I slept for an hour.

Reached home by 1 am. Thus ended my this trip successfully. Total distance travelled - 1600 + kms at an average of 95 kmph. TB II returned a mileage of 13 kmpl.

p.s - My friend and a fellow TBHPian n.devdath had come down from B'lore and had burst his car's one tyre on the way. As his other tyres too had gone bald, he wanted to replace the tyres. We went to our known & regular tyre shop in Gurgaon. I casually mentioned about the loss of air in the right rear tyre of my car. A check revealed an embedded nail that was the culprit. The puncture was repaired.

[wirefree]

All 3 siblings, 2 sisters & me, are going to Ajmer via Jaipur from Delhi next week. We're flying to Jaipur.

Original Poster, gd1418, says, "I must say that the expansion work at many places have been completed and most of the flyovers have been partially opened."

That was circa February 2013, and I assume was with reference to the Jaipur-Ajmer stretch. What is the status of this stretch as of November?

Google Maps mentions the Jaipur-Kishangarh Expy being a partial toll road; how many lanes does this 131 kms stretch have? And speed limit?

Would appreciate an update.

Best,
wirefree