Plan and execution
It was 25th October 2019, I had gone to meet my cousin. All of a sudden in the middle of our conversation came the idea of going out of Bangalore for a week. She forwarded an itinerary which her friend had forwarded to her. One plan was to go to Kutch and the other plan was to go to Varanasi. I give an idea of going to Rajasthan. We sat there and called one more cousin who instantly agreed. Now it was my turn to workout on the itinerary and budget, after studying a few possibilities we planned for a ten days itinerary covering Jaipur ,Jodhpur Jaisalmer, Mt Abu and Udaipur.
On 30th October we meet up again to book tickets for the flight. We planned to leave on 25th NOV, Bangalore to Jaipur and return to Bangalore on 4th December from Udaipur. We booked our flight tickets and the advance amount to book the hotels was also collected and the balance amount was to be collected by the 15th of November . We were 5 of us, we booked an Innova so that we could travel comfortably. As I had studied about the weather, I had told all of them to carry some warm clothes to stay in Jaisalmer camp.
Day 1:- Jaipur sightseeing
The day we were waiting for had come, it was 25th November. We had to carry less luggage as we had big plans for shopping. The flight was at 6 am, so we had to leave home early. We landed at Jaipur airport at 8.40 am, the chauffeur was waiting for us. As I had requested to the hotel manager, we had an early check-in and had breakfast at the hotel, after freshen up we left to Amer (Amber)Fort. As I did not know much about the fort. I had told the chauffeur to take us to ‘Panna Meena Ka Kund’ a stepwell near ‘Amer Fort’, so the first place to visited in Jaipur was ‘Panna Meena Ka Kund’ which is a very beautiful stepwell. We were there for some time (15 -20 Minutes) and later moved towards the Amer fort. We entered the fort through ‘Chandpol’ which I came to know later was the gate built for the entrance of the common people to the palace. The main enterance to the fort is called ‘Suraj Pol’ or ‘Sun Gate’ which is east facing and the royal entrance to the fort. To reach the fort you can go on Elephant Back or take a local jeep. We bought tickets and entered the fort. Though I had read about the fort. I thought it was better to hire a guide. They charge somewhere around ₹200 – ₹400. I think we did a very good job of hiring one. He was too good, he explained the history and about the art and architecture of the palace and Fort, as well as took some awesome photos of our group . We spent around 2 – 3 hours in Amer Fort. We did some shopping at the Fort outlet. We bought Razai and asked them to send through courier.
From Amer fort we went to ‘Jaigarh Fort’. It is on the top of ‘Cheel Ka Teela’ Hills in the pink city of Jaipur. The fort is connected to Amer fort through a subterranean passage. We saw one of the world’s largest ‘Cannon on wheels’- ‘Jaivana’ here, After spending around 45 minutes we headed towards ‘Nahargarh fort’. Nahargarh fort was built by the founder of Jaipur city, Maharaja Jai Singh in the year 1734,
all the three forts are close to one another. The best of the three fort is the Amer fort. Nahargarh fort has been featured in many movies like Rang de Basanti and Shuddh Desi Romance,
After visiting these three beautiful forts and palaces we wanted to have a cup of hot tea . We didn’t find any good hotel near by. We planned to visit Birla Mandir which was just a few kilometres from Nahargarh fort . It was truly a beautiful place to see at the time of sunset. After coming back to the city our Chauffer parked his vehicle near Bapu Bazar and we all went shopping . At Bapu Bazar we found good bedspreads and bought quite a few of them .We also bought Bandani sarees. We asked them if there was courier facility and asked them to send it to our address. They charged us extra for the courier , but that was better than carrying it with us for next few days . We went to our hotel at around 9:30 p.m. As we had taken MAP plan ,our dinner was waiting for us .We had good dinner and went to sleep after a long tiring day.
(Please visit the website to know more about each place )
Day2:- Jaipur sightseeing
We got up early and were ready by 7:30 a.m. but we had to wait for breakfast which was served at 8a.m. We had breakfast and started our day by visiting the ‘Jantar Mantar’. ‘Jantar Mantar’ is a beautiful place to visit if you are interested in astrology and astronomy. It is better if you hire a guide to know in detail about each instrument. We spent about one hour there and went to visit ‘Sawai Man Singh Museum’. Sawai Man Singh museum is a very beautiful Museum which is very informative. Here we are not allowed to take photos. You can see the pictures of all the Maharajas, their royal attire and the gifts given by other Kings. A ‘must- see’ are ‘two large silver earns’, collection of arms and weapons. Here we hired a guide who guided us well. After seeing this we went to ‘Hawa Mahal’ the must-see of Jaipur.
Hawa Mahal derives its name from its small window which allows cool breeze to enter the palace during summer. It was constructed to allow the women of the royal family to observe the festivities on the streets without being seen by the outsiders. It has ‘953 tiny windows’ known as the ‘Jharokhas’. The structure resembles a crown. it is made of red and pink sandstone. In the year 1876 when ‘The Prince of Wales’ and ‘Queen Victoria’ visited India, Maharaja Ram Singh had got the whole city painted in pink to welcome the guests. (pink denotes the colour of hospitality). It was then that Lord Albert had exclaimed Jaipur as Pink City.
Out of the five cousins only two of us went to see the palace from within, it was really very beautiful.
The steps are little high approximately 1.5 feet high, if you are not able to climb due to knee pain better avoid. We spent around 1 hour 30 minutes inside, taking photos and seeing the city from above. Later we joined our group who were busy shopping. As we were feeling hungry we had bread pakoda and kachori in a small shop opposite Hawa Mahal and continued with shopping I bought reversible sleeveless jacket and beautiful Indigo pallazos. My cousin bought joothis for her husband and son . We were there till evening . Later we hired electric auto who charged ₹10 per person we paid ₹50 and went to ‘Bangle Bazaar’ near by. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at ‘Jalmahal’.
‘Jal Mahal’ means ‘Water Palace’ it was built by ‘Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh’ In the year 1799 to serve as a lodge for duck hunting. Tourists are not allowed to enter inside Jal Mahal. You can see the palace from far and take pictures. As it was already late we were not able to take good pictures. We thought of taking it on the next day . We reached our hotel around 9:00 p.m. After fresh up we rushed to have dinner waiting at the table ,as we had skipped lunch we all were very hungry. After dinner we had to pack our bags and get ready to leave to Jodhpur early next morning.
Day3:- Jaipur to Jodhpur
As we had planned to start early around 6:30 a.m.We got up early and got ready to check out of the hotel by 6:30 a.m. By the time we put the luggage into our vehicle and left it was 7a.m. Though it was 7am it looked like 6:00 am. in the morning ,it was still dark and very few people were on the streets and the road was covered with mist. We did not find any tea- stalls or hotels open to drink tea. After traveling 7 to 8 kms we found a small tea stall just opening, we had some tea and biscuits and continued our journey. Around 8:30 a.m. we stopped at a small eat-out we had poha and tea.( we can’t find good eateries on the highway and for a South Indian it is very difficult, we don’t like to eat Kachori, Samosa, Roti early in the morning).
We reached ‘Ajmer Dargah’ by around 10:30 a.m. we had to park our vehicle and take an auto to Dargah. They charge ₹ 250 to and fro so we had to hire two autos and pay ₹500 (it was 100 per head) . They took us in some narrow lane with open stinking drainages, It was very dirty. I had picturised ‘Ajmer-e-Sharief Dargah’ as a very beautiful place in my imagination. I had kept it so high I just landed with a thud. It was very disappointing. As you go inside you can see people near the secred place asking for money. They give you blessings, if you give them money or else you will be pushed out. Though I saw this happening to others, I was lucky enough not to face it. Somebody gave me a rose from upon the Dharga and also blessed me. (It just happened). After coming out we sat there for a few minutes , we saw two groups of people who had come to visit ‘Ajmer Dargah’ from Bangalore . We exchanged wishes and one of them took a photo of us standing in the Dargah. We had to rush as our auto driver was waiting for us , as we had to be dropped back at our vehicle . After visiting the dharga our next destination was ‘Pushkar’.
By the time we reached Pushkar it was 12:30 p.m. We started walking towards the lake slowly, when we overheard someone calling out that the temple will be closed by 1:30 p.m. so we had to rush to the lake. Here you can see people doing ‘Pind Daan’ according to the Hindu customs . We just went washed our hands and legs and sprinkled some water on head and did some prayers at the lake and walked towards ‘Brahma Temple’. Brahma Temple is believed to be 2000 years old . The temple was originally built in the 14th century on the banks of the river Pushkar. We had to climb a series of marble steps to reach the temple. The temple is very beautiful. The idol of Brahma has four heads (chaturmukha Brahma/ Chaumurti) .Three heads can be seen directly, the fourth head which is at the back must be seen through the mirror .
Gayatri devi is sitting on the side of Brahma. (photography is strictly not allowed inside the temple, but managed to take a few with requests). Our next destination was ‘Osiyan’ which was around 209 km.
It was already 2pm when we started from Pushkar, we did not stop anywhere as we did not find any good hotel for having lunch . We had carried with us some snacks which we ate, we reached ‘Osiyan’ at around 6pm, it was getting dark , I was so upset as I wanted to see the temple in daylight. Anyway we reached Osiyan and parked our vehicle at the parking area. Our vehicle was not allowed inside as we had to pass through a narrow lane. We have to hire electric auto at the auto stand. They charge ₹100/ auto , 5 people can sit . Auto dropped us near ‘Sri Sachiya Mata temple’. The temple is believed to have been built during the mediaeval period
between 8th and 12th century. The temple is built of sandstone and has intricate carvings . We have to climb a series of steps to reach the temple, when we reached the temple the evening pooja was in progress. We had to wait for sometime , we had good darshan of Aarti and Idol of the god in small but very beautiful. I was not able to take good photos due to the glare of the light bulbs. (Those who would like to visit please visit before sunset it is really a beautiful temple.) Next we visited ‘Mahavir Jain temple’ .After the the temple visit we came down and continued our journey to Jodhpur after one kilometre or so we stopped at a small tea shop. We had some pakoda made from Green Gram and some good hot tea. We reached our hotel around 9:30 pm. As we had booked earlier I had called on their number to confirm our check -in time, so they were also ready with the dinner. As soon as we checked- in to the room and were settling down with our luggages and as we all freshened up there was a call from the reception for us to go down for dinner. After a long day journey and after having dinner, we planned for the next .
Day 4:- Jodhpur sightseeing
After having breakfast, we went for Jodhpur sightseeing. The first place we visited was ‘Jaswant Thada’ which is also known as the ‘Taj Mahal of Marwar’. It was built in memory for ‘Maharaja Jaswant Singh’ by his son ‘Maharaja Sardar Singh’ in 1899. We bought entrance tickets (₹30/-). As we enter inside a small pond adds to the beauty of multi-tier garden. We saw beautiful paintings and portrait of the Rulers of Jodhpur. It is a small place hence it does not take much time to see the palace. From there we went to ‘Mehrangarh Fort’. It is a magnificent fort and also one of the largest fort in Rajasthan. Perched upon a hill at around 400 feet, and spreading across 5 kms in the heart of city of Jodhpur Mehrangarh fort was built by Rao Jodha in 1438, after whom the city of Jodhpur is named. The name ‘Mehrangarh’ is derived from a combination of two Sanskrit words ‘Miher’ means ‘Sun’ and ‘garh’ means ‘fort’ . The families that lived in the fort is believed to have their origin from the ‘Sun god’ (according to Hindu mythology Surya vamsha). Hence you find an Emblem as the Identity of the family . We hired a guide who explained the history of the fort. The Palace at the Fort is called by different names like ,’Sheesh Mahal’ (made of mirror), ‘Moti Mahal’ ( painting made from pearls), ‘Phool Mahal’ where the leisure activities of the royal family would take place. The women’s quarters is called ‘Zenana Deodi’ built of sandstone. When we climbed to the top of the fort our guide pointed at a distance about Ravana’s temple. After completing our visit to the fort ,we went to see the Ravana’s temple which our guide had said . It was a Shiva temple where Ravana’s idol too was present. It was time for lunch, we had lunch and later went to see ‘Umaid Bhawan’.
‘Umaid Bhawan’ is one of the world largest private residency. The palace has 347 rooms. The construction of the building was started in the year 1929 to provide employment to the farmers in that area who had faced 3 years of severe drought. The palace was built at a slow Pace and it has provided employment for around 2000 – 3000 people in its construction. It was completed in the year 1943 . The palace is divided into three parts, as the residence of the royal family, a luxury ‘Taj Palace hotel’ and ‘Museum’ focusing on the history of Jodhpur royal family . After Umaid Bhavan, we planned to do some shopping at Jodhpur. Shopping at Jodhpur is like shopping in Bangalore commercial street , you find only branded stuff. We enjoyed shopping in Jaipur ( comparatively). We returned to our hotel and packed our bags as we had to leave to Jaisalmer the next morning.
Day 5:- Jodhpur to Jaisalmer
As planned we checked out of the hotel around 6:30 a.m. I had informed the Hotel Manager about early check out , he had obliged to pack some breakfast for us. At the reception counter they had left parcels of 5 boxes of cut fruits, sandwiches and bread toast with jam. Thanks to them. We started at around 7:00 a.m., there were hardly any people on the streets. The highway is a straight road and really very calm. Though there were no vehicles on the road the speed limit is 70 to 80 km per hour and we had to move at a slower pace. Around 10:00 a.m. we found a hotel with no customers inside .We ordered for some poha and tea. After a short break we moved on .At around 11:30 a.m. we reached ‘Jaisalmer war museum’. At the museum we bought tickets and saw the museum which showcased different kinds of war flights, details about the war that took place. They also had a small cinema hall where a short movie about Indo-china war and Indo -pakisthan is displayed. There is a shopping area where you can buy t-shirts, jackets, caps, books, fridge – magnets and many more things. After staying there for an hour and half we continued our journey. We reached Jaisalmer around 2p.m. We went to a small condimental store near Jaisalmer Fort ate some snacks we went to visit the
‘Jaisalmer Fort’ . It was built by the Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal in 1156 AD .It is built on a hill that raises above a height of about 250 feet above the surrounding ground level. The fort is built with yellow sandstone. At sunset it looks like a golden fort, hence it is called ‘Sonar Quila’ . During sunset when sunrays falls on the fort walls it turns into honeygold colour . It looks very beautiful during sunset . The fort has four entrances. There are many houses and temples inside the fort.
Some havelis ( mansions)
are many hundred years old. It is one of the must visit in Jaisalmer. After visiting the fort next was our shopping time. There are so many shops having beautiful batik painted bedspreads. After buying bedspreads and dress materials we immediately got it packed and sent it through courier. We went to our hotel accommodation which was very beautiful. After dinner we felt really very bad that we sould be checking out in the morning and could not staying there more time.
Day 6:- Jaisalmer – Sam sand dunes
Our second day in Jaisalmer. After breakfast we planned to do some more shopping before going to the desert camp. We went near the fort did shopping and sent it to our home address through courier. It was already time for lunch, we had lunch and reached our camp around 4:00 p.m. We had booked one month in advance at ‘Sky Desert Safari camp’. After freshen up we got ready to go for Jeep Safari. It was a wonderful experience. We were 5 ladies, all above 50+ seeing us enjoying the jeep ride, there were many youngsters who came to appreciate us. We sat there seeing the setting sun and came back to the camp around 6:30 p.m. It was getting very cold, the temperature was below 10°c, though we had taken warm clothes I was not able to withstand the cold (sudden change in temperature from that of the city and at the desert. Desert temperature rises and falls very quickly). Around 7:30 p.m. they had arranged for Rajasthani folk dance and folk songs. It was really very entertaining. We did not enjoy the dinner ,it was not very good. The temperature around was very very cold , so we went to bed early by around 10pm. The next morning we had to leave to Mount Abu
Day 7:- Jaisalmer to Mt Abu
It was very cold in the morning , the water in the taps were freezing . We had to wait till 7:00a.m. after which hot water supply was released to take bath . We got ready by 8 a.m. but the breakfast was not ready. As usual poha and poori with aloo sabzi was ready by 8:30 a.m. We were sitting in the dining hall which was next to the kitchen, waiting for them to serve breakfast so that we could leave early. We had breakfast and we started from there around 9 a.m. (Good we had breakfast before leaving, we did not find any small tea stall or hotels on our way). At last by around 11:30 a.m. reached a junction where we found some shops with grocery and vegetables.
We bought two packs of curds and asked him for some disposable glasses we add some more water and made buttermilk and drank . We did not stop anywhere for lunch but around 4:30 p.m. we stopped at hotel to have tea as we also wanted to have some snacks. We asked them what they could make for us. Immediately they prepared tasty hot Upma (7 days of having poha , Upma tasted yummy). We reached ‘Brahmakumari ashram at Mount Abu’ at around dusk. We spent an hour at the ashram. By the time we reached our hotel at Mount Abu it was 8:30 p.m. We checked in the hotel , had dinner and as usual planned for the next day.
Day 8:- Sightseeing at Mt Abu, Mt Abu to Udaipur
Morning after breakfast we checked out of hotel at around 10:00 a.m. and went to sightseeing at Mount Abu. The first place to be visited was Dilwara Temple we reached at around 10:30 a.m. After going there we came to know that the temple opens to public at 12:00 p.m. We spent time doing window shopping and also bought few things . Sharp 12 noon the public were allowed to go inside the temple. We are not allowed to take mobile phones and cameras. (photography strictly prohibited ) As soon as I went inside the temple complex I was so disappointed as I was expecting beautiful sculptures. From outside you cannot see anything and you just cannot imagine how it is inside . As soon as you put foot inside the main door of the temple, my god you will be awestruck. The temple is very well maintained and each and every sculpture is par excellence. (If you visit Mount Abu please don’t miss visiting Dilwara Temple). There are 5 temples in the complex. The first temple was built by Vimal Shah in the 10th century (1031 AD ) and It was completed by the 13th century. We spent around 1hour there and later went to Nakki Lake. We did not go boating , we had lunch at Mount Abu where we found a hotel where they served dosa . We ordered for masala dosa and onion dosa by the time he made five dosas, we saw many South Indians eating at the hotel most of them from North Karnataka and Maharashtra who had come to visit Brahmakumari Ashram . Around 3:00 p.m we continued with our journey to Udaipur. The route to Udaipur from Mount Abu is very beautiful , not much of traffic. On the way we had to pass two tunnels. Though the distance of the tunnels was very short we enjoyed it. We reached Udaipur at 7 p.m., we checked in to the hotel and after a quick freshup , we all went shopping at Udaipur and bought some sarees .By the time we returned to our hotel it was 9:30 p.m. We had dinner and went to bed.
Day 9:- Udaipur sightseeing
As we got up, we thought of packing our luggages as we had to check the weight of the bags (limited weight allowed in flights). Next day we had to leave to our home town and if there was excess luggage we planned to courier it immediately. We requested our Hotel manager to provide us with a weighing scale. He obliged and asked us to bring our luggage and allowed us to use the weighing scale which they use in the kitchen for weighing vegetables and grocery. After breakfast around 9a.m. we left for sightseeing . First we went to ‘City Palace Udaipur’ . At the entrance we bought tickets
1) entrance tickets ₹30/-
2) City Palace Museum tickets ₹300/-
3) battery car from GATE 1 to Gate 2 inside Palace ₹ 50/- ( optional those who have time and want to walk can skip this ticket ). ‘City palace’ is the largest Royal Complex in Rajasthan .
Built on the banks of lake Pichola , it was built by Maharana Uday Singh in the year 1559. The palace and Museum is very well maintained, as it is a private property. It takes nearly 2 hours to see the palace. After seeing the Museum we went to the outlet inside the palace complex where they had displayed different varieties of organic saree made from Lotus stem , Banana Leaf, plantation rind, Mulberry plant and so on. We bought few sarees and asked them if they could courier to our residential address. They agreed to do so, we were at peace. After that we went to ‘Jadesh temple’ which is at a walkable distance from the ‘Bara pol’ of the City palace.
‘Jagdish Temple’ was constructed by ‘Maharaja Jagdish Singh’ in 1651. The main shrine of the temple has the idol of Lord Vishnu. After spending some time in the temple we took an auto and went to the main entrance where our vehicle was parked. From there we went to Lake Pichola, later we went to ‘Mansha Puran Karni Mata temple’ which is on a hillock. It takes around 1 hour to climb it, but as there was ropeway facility we did not want to miss it. It took just 5 minutes from one end to other end on the ropeway. The temple is good and the view from there is breathtaking. We could see the whole city , palace and Lake from there. After enjoying at the top of hillock we came back to the shopping area. We went to the hotel at around 8pm, had dinner and went to bed.
Day 10:- Last day of trip
This was the last day of our trip. After breakfast we had time for final packing. We had to check- out of our hotel at around 11:30 a.m. We sent few extra clothes through courier. We had lunch in a restaurant nearby and went to airport. We had taken evening flight to Bangalore. We reached Bangalore around 9p.m. but by the time I reached home it was 10:45pm . This was a wonderful 10 days Short trip which I had organised.
( To know the details about the place ,just click on the highlighted topics . Or go to www.oneshorttrip.com )