Rajasthan Tour
Introduction
A family tour is something that we all look forward to, but rarely do we find the time and opportunity to make it concrete. Thankfully, with my sister’s initiation and my contemplative planning, our Rajasthan tour ended up being a very satisfying tour on all counts.
In the age of Information Technology, it is always helpful to keep a record of our experiences and share it with others. Hence, I am providing a detailed account of our tour.
Tour Planning
We all strive to find ways for utilizing our resources in the best possible manner. In this case, the two important resources to be considered were time and money. So, when I started planning the tour, my objectives were to:
· Cover maximum cities in the minimum time. I took advice from my colleagues regarding the cities worth being visited in Rajasthan and selected 5 cities for our 8-day tour. Based on the distances between those cities and the means of transport, I decided to start with an overnight journey to Jodhpur to avoid spending a day on traveling. Also, for security reasons, I wanted to avoid reaching a new city at night.
· Make the tour enjoyable for all. I wanted all of us to enjoy the tour rather than sit with a map and think about where to go and how to go. So, I decided to take services from local travel agents of Rajasthan who could guide us better in their state. Although a bit risky, this was probably the best decision we took because luckily we got a comfortable vehicle and an expert driver who led us to our destinations through the shortest paths. For example, we had no idea that we could reach Mt. Abu from Jodhpur in just 5 hrs, without having to cross Udaipur on the way. It was the driver who suggested this route and saved us a lot of time and money.
To make the tour hassle-free, a tour package could also have been a solution, but it seemed to be too costly and none of the packages were fitting in properly in our scheme of things.
· Make the tour economical without compromising on the comfort level of all the group members. Achieving this objective was quite a challenge because we had to consider a number of aspects including the taxi charges, driver services, luggage, hotel availability etc. With some research, I had identified that taxi charges in Rajasthan were cheaper than that of Delhi-NCR. Also, I wanted to get a taxi with a roof-top carrier so that we can get rid of the burden of luggage. Accordingly, I decided to book a taxi (with carrier) in Jodhpur rather than Gurgaon.
Also, I did not book any hotels beforehand because I was sure that hotels will be available in plenty since we were not touring in peak season. Again, this decision proved to be sensible because we got the rooms at our own convenience and we were able to bargain easily. At the end of the tour, I calculated that our hotel expenditure was at least Rs.15000 less than what I had estimated.
Tour Summary
· Dates: 8.12.2010 to 16.12.2010
· No. of members: 7 (including 4 gents and 3 ladies)
· Duration: 8 days 7 nights
· Cities explored: 6 (including Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Mt. Abu, Udaipur, Pushkar, and Jaipur)
· Places Visited
o At Jodhpur: Mehrangarh Fort, Mandore Garden, Umaid Bhavan Palace, Kaylana Lake.
o At Jaisalmer: Desert on camel safari, desert camp, Golden Fort (Sonar Kella), Patwon Ki Haveli, Gadisar Lake
o At Mt. Abu: Sunset Point, Nakki Lake, Guru Shikhar, Delwara Temple.
o At Udaipur: Pichola Lake, Karni Mata Mandir, City Palace.
o At Pushkar: Pushkar Sarovar, Brahma Temple.
o At Jaipur: Jantar Mantar, City Palace, Albert Museum, Govind Temple, Jal Mahal, Amer Fort.
· Route followed: Gurgaon -> Jodhpur -> Jaisalmer -> Jodhpur -> Mt.Abu -> Udaipur -> Pushkar -> Jaipur -> Gurgaon.
· Distance and Time
o Gurgaon to Jodhpur
o Jodhpur to Jaisalmer: 300 km/5 hr
o Jaisalmer to Jodhpur: 300 km/5 hr
o Jodhpur to Mt. Abu: 300 km/5 hr
o Mt. Abu to Udaipur: 185 km/4 hr
o Udaipur to Pushkar: 350 km/5.5 hr
o Pushkar to Jaipur: 150 km/3 hr
o Jaipur to Gurgaon: 231 km/5 hr (road was too busy)
· Mode of Transport
o Gurgaon to Jodhpur: Train (Mandor Express)
o Jodhpur to Jaisalmer: Tavera @ Rs. 8 per km
o Jaisalmer to Jodhpur: Tavera @ Rs. 8 per km
o Jodhpur to Mt. Abu: Tavera @ Rs. 8 per km
o Mt. Abu to Udaipur: Tavera @ Rs. 8 per km
o Udaipur to Pushkar: Tavera @ Rs. 8 per km
o Pushkar to Jaipur: Tavera @ Rs. 8 per km
o Jaipur to Gurgaon: Tavera @ Rs. 7.5 per km
· Total expenditure: Our total expenditure was round about Rs. 40000 and this included:
o Hotel bills for 7 members for 7 nights.
o Travelling cost including toll, parking.
o Night charges & pocket money for driver.
o Entry fee at various sites for 7 people.
Note: Food and shopping costs are not included here because these are subjective.
Tour Details
· Wednesday (8.12.2010)
We boarded the Jodhpur bound train, Mandor express at 10 PM from Gurgaon. The train was placed at the first platform so we did not have to bother much with our luggage. The train was neat and many seats were vacant. However, we were travelling in sleeper class and the cold was chilling. Generally, the cold is not much during the first week of December, but this year winter started early and hence my decision of travelling in sleeper class created problems for all.
· Thursday (9.12.2010)
We reached Jodhpur at 9 AM. Since we had too many belongings, only three of us went on an auto to look for a hotel. Our first preference was an RTDC hotel called Ghoomar, but we did not find any suitable accommodation there. So, the autowallah led us to a decent, private hotel called Raman palace where we booked two rooms.
Thereafter, the autowallah led us to a travel agent through whom we booked a Tavera for 7-8 days @ Rs.8 per km. We boarded the Tavera and checked into hotel Raman Palace. After refreshing ourselves, we took breakfast at the roof-top restaurant of the hotel and went for Jodhpur city tour at around 12:30 PM.
At Jodhpur, we visited Mehrangarh fort, Mandor garden, Umaid Bhavan Palace, and Kaylana Lake. The Tavera that we used for Jodhpur tour was not in perfect condition, so we requested the travel agent to change the vehicle.
We had dinner at the roof-top restaurant of Raman Palace hotel.
· Friday (10.12.2010)
The travel agent had provided us a new Tavera along with a new driver. After having tea, we set-off for Jaisalmer at 9:15 AM, and had breakfast on the way. On our way to Jaisalmer, the driver led us to Pokhran fort where we spent half an hour.
We reached Jaisalmer city at around 2:30 PM and had lunch at Kanishka restaurant. Later, we checked into hotel Akashdeep at 3:30 PM. Through the hotel, we booked a camel safari package that included camel ride, Rajasthani folk song & dance programme, snacks, and dinner at a desert camp. The package cost was Rs. 500 per head.
At 4:30 PM we set-off for our desert safari n our Tavera. We were escorted by a local guide, as part of the package. We needed to go to Sham, which was 45 km away from the main city. At about 2 km from the desert, we were taken for a camel ride to the desert. Riding camel for the first time was too exciting and we all were enjoying it. We reached the desert at 5:45 PM and witnessed the sunset.
Thereafter, we were escorted to one of the desert camps, where we were welcomed with snacks and tea. We also watched the Rajasthani folk song & dance programme and had dinner. We observed that there was provision for staying overnight as well but the ambience was not suitable for family.
We came back to hotel Akashdeep at 10 PM.
· Saturday (11.12.2010)
After having breakfast at the roof-top restaurant of Akashdeep hotel, we checked out and set-off for Jaisalmer city tour on our Tavera at 10:30 AM.
At Jaisalmer city, we visited the famous Golden Fort, better known to Bengalis as “Sonar Kella”. We also visited Patwon Ki Haveli, which was nearby. Thereafter, we came back to our hotel and had Bengali lunch.
We set-off for Jodhpur at 3 PM and on the way we stopped at Gadisar Lake that has been shown in many Hindi films. Near Gadisar Lake, we had ride on an attractive camel cart.
On our way to Jodhpur, we faced a tyre puncture issue that was rectified quickly. We reached Jodhpur at 8:30 PM and checked into hotel Raman Palace
· Sunday (12.12.2010)
After having breakfast at the roof-top restaurant of Raman Palace hotel, we set-off for Mt. Abu on our Tavera at 10:30 AM. Instead of stopping for lunch on the way, we had some snacks in the Tavera itself.
We reached Mt. Abu at 3:30 PM and checked into hotel Shanti. Just before dusk, we visited Sunset Point and witnessed the exotic view of sun setting between mountains. We could the horizon beyond the sun and the sight was absolutely mesmerizing.
When we got down from Sunset Point and reached the main centre, it seemed the town had been wakened up; there was so much light it seemed as if it was Diwali. Going past the enlightened town, we visited Nakki Lake and had snacks at a lake-side restaurant. It seemed as if we were in a ship.
After having dinner at a restaurant in the main centre, we came back to our hotel at 10 PM.
· Monday (13.12.2010)
We checked out of the hotel at 9:30 AM and after having breakfast at a roadside restaurant, we set-off for Mt. Abu city tour. Here, we got the benefit of having an experienced local driver with us. Our plan was to just visit the Delwara temple and then set-off for Udaipur, but our driver suggested that we should go to Guru Shikhar first and then visit Delwara temple while coming back. Guru Shikhar was around 10 kilometers above Mt. Abu and when we reached there, we could only marvel at the natural beauty. Truly, Guru Shikhar will remain in our memories for a long long time.
On our way back from Guru Shikhar, we visited the Delwara temple, which is a terrific example of craft and creativity. The temple was designed so that it cannot be seen from outside. This prevented it from being destroyed by the Mughals. On our way back, we revisited Nakki Lake for a while and it seemed better than what we had seen in the evening.
After having lunch at a Mt. Abu restaurant, we set-off for Udaipur on our Tavera at 3 PM. The road to Udaipur was a four lane highway that often interspersed low hills and passed through tunnels. It was also accompanied by greenery on both sides. Among all the sights seen in the tour, my personal favorite was the road from Mt. Abu to Udaipur; I felt like singing, “aa ha ha…manzil se behatar lagne lage hain ye raaste”. However, we faced a tyre puncture issue due to which we had to take a 15 minutes break on the highway.
We reached Udaipur at 7 PM. The city was too crowded. We checked into hotel Utsav and later had dinner at Sankalp restaurant.
· Tuesday (14.12.2010)
After having morning tea, we set-off for Udaipur city tour. An unknown person stopped us on the way and offered himself as guide. He guided us to Pichola Lake first and then he suggested us to take ropeway and visit Karni Mata Mandir on a hilltop. From Karni Mata Mandir, we could see that Udaipur was not as beautiful as I was informed. It was too congested and had a few lakes, which remain dry for most part of the year. We were lucky that Udaipur had received heavy rains in the previous month and Pichola Lake was not dry.
After we came back from Karni Mata Mandir, our guide played his game and lured us to a garment shop where we did some shopping.
Our next destination was Udaipur City Palace. The guide was of no help for us because he did not accompany us inside the City Palace.
After visiting City Palace, we came back to our hotel for lunch. We checked out of the hotel at 3 PM and set-off for Jaipur.
However, on our way to Jaipur, our driver suggested us to stay overnight at Pushkar. Touring Pushkar was not in our tour plan, but we agreed because we had enough time to explore Jaipur. Pushkar was situated at a valley and the road to Pushkar was filled with twists and turns. We reached Pushkar at 8:30 PM and checked into hotel Goyal Inn. Later, we had dinner at the roof-top restaurant.
· Wednesday (15.12.2010)
After having morning tea, we checked out of the hotel at 9:30 AM and visited Pushkar Sarovar and Brahma temple. Personally, I did not like the ambience because the “pandas” were always on the prowl.
We set-off for Jaipur at 11 AM and reached at 2 PM. At Jaipur, we first visited Jantar Mantar, which we all liked. Then we visited Jaipur City Palace. Thereafter, we checked into hotel Shrinath and released the Tavera that went back to Jodhpur. Later, we booked another Tavera for Jaipur city tour and Gurgaon.
After having some food in the hotel, we did some shopping in the evening and later had dinner in the hotel itself.
· Thursday (16.12.2010)
After having breakfast in the hotel, we checked out at 10 AM and set-off for Jaipur city tour. At Jaipur, we visited Albert Museum, Govind Temple, Jal Mahal, and Amer Fort. We spent a couple of hours at Amer Fort and then set-off for Gurgaon at 2 PM. We reached Gurgaon at 7 PM.
Accommodation
Hotels
· At Jodhpur: Hotel Raman Palace. This was an average hotel with poor room service. Also, it was a bit away from the main city. However, it provided roof-top restaurant. We stayed here for 2 days.
· At Jaisalmer: Hotel Akashdeep. This was a very nice, economical hotel with good room service. I would easily recommend this hotel for people visiting Jaisalmer.
· At Mt. Abu: Hotel Shanti. This hotel was cheap, but the rooms were not up to the mark. However, the location of this hotel was fantastic.
· At Udaipur: Hotel Utsav. This hotel was expensive and yet not of good quality. Also, it made us pay service charges on total bill without prior information. I would recommend others to avoid this hotel.
· At Pushkar: Hotel Goyal Inn. This was a posh hotel and we were lucky to get rooms at a cheap rate since most of the rooms were vacant. However, hotels in Pushkar including this one did not possess geysers and depended on solar energy. Hence, we did not get hot water in the morning.
· At Jaipur: Hotel Shrinath. This was an economical hotel near the railway station and provided good room service. I would recommend this hotel for people visiting Jaipur.
Charges
We took 2 rooms (4-bed and 2-bed) in each hotel and our total charges varied between Rs.1100 (at Mt.Abu) and Rs.2000 (at Udaipur). Wherever necessary, we bargained to get the hotel charges within our budget.
I guess we got the rooms at cheap rates because we were not touring in the peak season otherwise the average charges would have been more than Rs.1000 for a single room with 2 beds.
