"Had I not created my own world, I would have certainly died
in other people's" ~ Anais Nin
Last month I quit my job in Bangalore. No, this is not the
beginning of another “How I quit my job to travel the world” blog. I quit my
job and now I have moved on to another in Mumbai!
Anyway, the job switch left me with a couple of days in the
middle; all to myself and then again the travel bug started itching my insides.
And this time I decided on a royalty laden odyssey in Rajasthan.
Being one of the most popular tourist destinations in India,
much has already been said and written about Rajasthan, however much still
needs to be explored and maybe the same old needs to be explored with a new
eye, as I did in my week long stay there.
My journey began from Jaipur, weaved through Udaipur and
Kumbalgarh and culminated in Jodhpur and some of most memorable moments are:
1. Visit Nahargarh Fort , Jaipur
Built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in
1734, the fort was meant to serve as a royal retreat. Standing on the edge of
the Aravalli Hills, the fort offers magnificent views of Jaipur city. Along
with Amer Fort and Jaigarh Fort, it forms a strong defence ring for the city.
However, make sure to have proper planning
while visiting the fort. While buses take you all the way to the entrance of
Amer Fort, they drop you around 5km away from Nahargarh. And with the heat,
dust, steep climb and poorly functioning lungs, the only way to go up would be
to hitchhike like I did if you don’t plan for your own transport! But the view
from the top is well worth the hassle!
Also rumour has it that Rang De Basanti was
shot here!
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| Amer Fort |
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| One of the many sights at Amer |
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| View from Amer Fort |
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| View from Nahargarh Fort |
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| Hawa Mahal, Jaipur |
2. Stay at Zostel Udaipur (and also the other
Zostels)
Udaipur is definitely one of the prettiest
cities in Udaipur. And the beauty quotient increases a few notches when you’re
staying at Zostel Udaipur! What can be better than waking up, pulling the
curtains, only to see the sun rising and illuminating the city palace! Yep, all
of this from your bunk bed! You have a worthy Instagram shot at 7am!
Another nice part about Zostel are the
people! The managers in all of them are super friendly and helpful and during
your stay you’ll end up meeting a wide variety of people which will only add to
the deliciousness of your travels!
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| Entrance to the City Palace, Udaipur |
3. Go for a cultural show at Bagore ki Haveli
Just in case the ghats, the city palace, Lake
Pichola, the tiny shops selling silver jewellery weren’t enough to capture your
heart, go for a cultural show in Bagore ki Haveli. These shows are organized
every night and display the varied cultural heritage of Rajasthan. From Chhari
dance (ladies dancing with pots balanced on their heads lit with fire) to
Bhavai Dance (at least a dozen pots balanced on the heads) and dancing on
broken glass, and puppet shows, this one hour is guaranteed to regale you!
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| Bagore ki Haveli on the ghats of Lake Pichola |
4. Definitely check out Kumbalgarh
Just about a 100km away from Udaipur, yet
most people would have never heard about it. The Kumbalgarh fort is a Mewar
fort, built on a hilltop which is around 1100m above sea level and has walls
extending to around 38km, making it the second longest continuous wall after
the Great Wall of China. From the top of the palace one can see kilometres into
the Aravalli range.
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| Walls of the Kumbalgarh Fort |
5. Only travel in local buses
Needless to say some of the best experiences
that one can have is on local transport and Rajasthan is no less. With a
landscape so dry, arid and barren, the colourfully dressed locals thronging all
buses could not have provided starker contrasts! Also, these are the cheapest
and some of the most entertaining ways to travel.
6. Walk up to Mehrangarh Fort
Finally, in Jodhpur, the most famous place of
visit is the Mehrangarh Fort and it is worthy of that status. While visiting
the fort, instead of driving all the way up to the entrance, it is better to go
via the Clock Tower and actually climb up an extremely steep path of close to
2km. The path meanders through tiny houses, all painted in bright blue shades
and on the way you’ll mostly encounter curious kids and happy go lucky goats!
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| Mighty Mehrangarh Fort |
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| View of Mehrangarh Fort from Jaswant Thada |
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| Jaswant Thada |
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| Mandor Garden |
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| Umaid Bhavan Palace |
Though these for me were some of the memorable moments, but my trip was made with the countless hours of waiting at bus-stops and train stations, of meeting warm strangers and striking up conversations, of watching sunsets and feeling lucky.
