ABOUT JAIPUR

Dec 18, 2013

JODHPUR: A Must see!

February (2012), I went to Jodhpur with 10 of my girl friends. Jodhpur is small busy city and full of great food, awesome architecture and lovely simple people. We hired a luxury Bus- 'Traveller' and started early in the morning (7:00 a.m.) from jaipur.

We had packed breakfast, water and snacks, so had made just one 'Loo' stop in between and it took us about 6 hours to reach our hotel. The roads were in decent shape but it is a long drive so if you are going on a short excursion keep the travel time on mind. If you are short on time you can fly to Jodhpur or take an overnight train.

Best way to make the most of a short stay, say 2 nights in jodhpur is to keep Day 1 Easy  and Day 2 Busy.
On Day one do a bit of sightseeing, spend the evening at hotel and sleep early so you can start day 2 early. On Day two, start early and cover all the important spots and have dinner at an unique place.

DAY1:
We checked into the hotel pre lunch. Post check-in and freshening up, We had a great lunch that we had pre booked at the hotel we stayed in. At around 3 p.m. we left for a bit of sightseeing. We started at the MANDORE GARDENS. Its part garden, part temples in ruins. It was a OK place to spend a little bit of time. There were loads of monkeys, a few local music guys playing unique musical instruments and a lot to walk and click pictures.
A temple inside Mandore Gardens
Post The Mandore Gardens we went to the CLOCK TOWER AREA. Its very similar to bapu bazaar of jaipur. Loads of jutties, tie dye fabrics, sweet shops, handicraft stores and mad rush. We just walked around the bazaar and had a cup of chai at one shop and left for the hotel by 7:00 p.m.
Spent the first night having dinner at hotel and retired early!

DAY2:
Day 2 started very early. We had requested our hotel a night before to pack our breakfasts as we had no time to eat and they were very kind to do the same. We started our day with the BISHNOI VILLAGE TOUR. Our jeep picked us from the hotel at 7:00 a.m. The tour was a unique and wonderful experience. You will get so see so many different communities like the weavers, charwahas, potters, Nomads etc etc. It was so unique going to houses and seeing how these rural people of different occupations and communities live and work. Don’t think If you are an Indian you wont enjoy this. This is a very unique experience individually and even kids would love it!!
jeep that took us to the-bishnoi village

Me at the weaver's village

A potter during our bishnoi village tour
Post the tour the jeep dropped us back to the hotel by 10:30 a.m. and then we just took a loo break and left for the city tour. We started with the gorgeous MEHRANGARH FORT. Mehrangarh is a beautiful fort with very unique architecture. This is very different from any other fort I have seen in Rajasthan and gives a splendid view of the Blue City (Jodhpur). Its also very well preserved and has an elevator. Taking a guide is strongly recommended here. We spent a few hours seeing this marvellous Fort.
Mehrangarh Fort


Post Mehrangarh we went to JASWANT THADA, a crematorium for the Royal Family and all of them have cenotaphs made. This is a pleasant and peaceful place to stop by after a very busy day and I found it very unique in terms of its architecture. After Jaswant Thada we had a quick bite some place.
Jaswant Thada


Next stop was UMAID BHAWAN PALACE MUSEUM. Half the property is a museum and the rest is converted into a hotel that's run by Taj group. We could not see the hotel part as you need to pre-reserve and apparently there is a minimum spend that one must make while there. So check and pre book. What we saw was the museum portion which is fairly small and OK. Grand Courtyards, Vintage cars, sprawling lawns that’s all that we got to see.

Umaid Bahvan Jodhpur
By the end of this we were dead tired and retired for a few hours. Went to the hotel and on way ate the awesome Mirchi vada and Jodhpur Pyaaz kachori. These are a must try when in Jodhpur!!

At night we had pre-booked a dinner at THE RAAS HAVELI. A gorgeous property with the awesome views of the Fort. See pictures and read more about The Raas on http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g297668-d1640132-Reviews-Raas_Haveli-Jodhpur_Rajasthan.html

That brought us to an end of our Jodhpur excursion!

WEEKEND GETAWAY: RANTHAMBORE

I have been to Ranthambore thrice and the recent was the last weekend of November. We were a group of 3 couples and one of us have 2 little kids. We started from Jaipur at 8 in the morning and reached Ranthambore at around 12:30 p.m.with one tea break for about 30 minutes and a Loo break for 10 minutes.
The road was fairly fine however from Kothun till Laal Sot (4KM) patch its is really bad. We managed it coz we were in a Fortuner.  If you are in a SUV then this route is fine. However, if you are taking a sedan or a smaller car then take the Dausa route.
The route doesnt have much to offer in terms of clean eating so we had packed parathas & sandwiches for the way and stopped at tiny little dhaba (roadside rural eatery) for Tea and ate our packed food with the tea.

On way to Ranthambore
On way to Ranthambore
The Dhaba- where we stooped for Tea
The Dhaba- where we stooped for Tea
The Tea Stop
The Tea Stop
The tea Dhaba
The tea Dhaba- This is as clean as it gets here!!!
Kachori being fried at the Dhaba
Kachori being fried at the Dhaba- If you aren't carrying food then this is all you got & some sweets....
The Loo stop was here
The Loo stop was here
We had pre-booked The Ranthambore Regency Hotel and checked in at 12:30. The hotel was nice. Green lawan, a nice poolside & Pool, A wonderful restaurant serving buffets and A la carte for Room service and neat and nicely appointed rooms with big bathroom and all the toiletries, Hair dyer, Fresh towels, hot water, an Aircon & a Room heater for the chilli nights. The best part was the food. We had a full meal package and every buffet meal was special in terms of taste and service.
The Hotel
The Hotel
The Exterior- Ranthambore Regency Hotel
The Exterior- Ranthambore Regency Hotel
The Exterior- Ranthambore Regency Hotel
The Exterior- Ranthambore Regency Hotel
The Exterior- Ranthambore Regency Hotel
The Exterior- Ranthambore Regency Hotel
The Reception
The Reception

The Lobby
The Lobby
Around the hotel
Around the hotel

Around the hotel
Around the hotel
The lawns
The lawns
Our Room
Our Room
After checking and a bit of wandering across the hotel, we had the lunch. It was a mix of Indian & continental, was elaborate and tasted great! Post lunch we had to rush for the 2:00 p.m. safari.  We were picked up from the Hotel. The Rathambore Tiger Reserve remains close from June till August and booking a safari is apparently really difficult. We were lucky that one of our friends are well connected to a lot of influential people in the Tourism dept. of Rajasthan and hence we had a VIP gypsy that could go to any zone- Lucky us!!! Thanks KK!
Our VIP gypsy
Our VIP gypsy

Do you notice the other vehicle just behind our jeep?? That is the kind of vehicle that most of the tourists get to hire/ book when they visit the safari! There is the Rajasthan govt. site on which you may book in advance and the earlier you book the better. Look for prices etc there on the site and if you cannot book one through the site then ask your hotel to book one for you. Please ensure you negotiate enough!
Entering the Reserve
Entering the Reserve
The Ranthambore tiger reserve
The Ranthambore tiger reserve
We took a 3 hr safari & spotted everything possible including 3 tigers!! It couldn't be better than this! However if you do not spot tigers on day one take another safari the next morning or one next afternoon. Isuggest you plan this trip in such a manner that you have the scope of taking 3 safaris- morning- noon- evening. That way your chances of spotting a tiger increases. If you spot the tiger on the first one call the booking agency and cancel the others that is what we did.
we spotted this
we spotted this
we spotted this as well
we spotted this as well
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
inside The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
oh yeah, even those are there at the Ranthambore Reserve
oh yeah, even those are there at the Ranthambore Reserve
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
Finally
Finally
We spotted a tiger...
We spotted a tiger...
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve- a great experience!
Thts the second one coming from across the road opp the river
This the second one that came from across the road opp the river
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve- a great experience!
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve- a great experience!
what a show
what a show
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve- a great experience!
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve- a great experience!
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve- a great experience!
The Ranthambore Tiger Reserve- a great experience!
Post this we rushed to exit as the gates close around 5:30 and its illegal to stay in after that. We spent the night at the hotel and had a great buffet dinner and spent some wonderful time with friends! We slept by 11:30 p.m.

DAY 2: The next morning we woke up and explored the hotel for a bit, had our buffet breakfast & checked-out. Post this we went on an excursion to the Ranthambore Fort and the famous Ganesh Temple.

The fort is on a hill and in ruins. You have to trek up approximately 300 steps but its very easy and not tiring at all. Read more about the Fort on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranthambore_Fort
Just a few meters ahead of the fort is the legendary Ganesh temple!
Pratham Ganesha means Trinetra Ganesha of Ranthambhore. Hindus across the world worship lord Ganesha first before any auspicious ceremony or new venture. It is believed from the ancient times that Trinetra Ganesha Of Ranthambhore is the Pratham Ganesha. Lord Ganesh is God of Good Fortune , Education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth located in Ranthambhore fort, about 12 KMs from Sawai Madhopur ,Rajasthan. The origin of this temple dates back to the year 1299 when a war broke out between King Hameer and Ala-ud-din-Khilji at the Ranthambore Fort. In 1300 AD King Hammer built a temple of Lord Ganesh  and placed Riddhi Siddhi, his wife and two sons Shub Labh along with the idol of Ganesh.  His vehicle mushak (mouse) is also placed there. This is the only temple in the world where we have entire LORD GANESH FAMILY.
Read more about the Ganesh temple: http://temple.onlineprasad.com/trinetra-ganesh-temple-ranthambore-rajasthan/

On way to the Fort
On way to the Fort
This is where you start the trek
This is where you start the trek
The Fort
The Fort

The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
 

More about the Ranthambore Fort
More about the Ranthambore Fort
The head of the traitor- Gaddar ka sar
The head of the traitor- Gaddar ka sar
The legendary horseshoe marks
The legendary horseshoe marks

Trekking up the Fort
Trekking up the Fort

The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The Ranthambore Fort
The view of the Reserve from The fort
The view of the Reserve from The fort
The ancient Shiv Temple
The ancient Shiv Temple
The Route to The Pratham Ganesh Temple