Destinations

Rajasthan Road Trip 5 Udaipur Bundi

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Total Distance (233 kms) Time Taken – 6pm – 12:30pm Room at Shivam Tourist Lodge: 700 and 550. The phone booking procedure for hotels and guest houses in Bundi is time consuming. Be prepared to answer a long set of questions right from Number of people, where you are arriving from etc. The moment you mention you are Indian, the voice on the other side takes a new role and the questions become more direct and specific. We said we were two couples, so one of them how we are travelling together. There is a certain dislike for Indian tourists in Bundi. Food Items Tried – Pyaaz Kachori, Daal Kachori with special Heeng ki Chutni. A must try when you are in Bundi.  Krishna ji ki Chai – You get the creamiest of Chai’s here along with lots of gyaan from the owner. The walls of his shop are covered with some innovative and funny paintings / graffiti Bundi is picture perfect. It lives up to the image of Rajasthan that has been painted for years. The locals are not used to seeing many Indian tourists, so when you are there, everyone knows you. Most cafes have a stunning view of the palace and food is pretty much the same. Our top pick was the Tom and Jerry Café. We went there on both evenings in Bundi. It is run by two brothers who call themselves Tom and Jerry and roll out fairly good pizzas using a non-stick pan. Sight Seeing : 1. Local Pottery Village. You need to drive out 15 odd kms from Bundi to get to this village, and most guide books have a mention of this. This can be …

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Falling in love with Goa

“Yes, Calangute and Baga are crowded, choking you with vehicle pollution and cacophony of city life you intend to escape from. Anjuna? Come on, everybody who comes to Goa goes to Anjuna. It’s for wannabes. Let’s be a little different. The truth is its expensive. How about Arambol? Well isn’t that for penny picking travelers, drug addicts and hippies. Anyways, lets give Arambol a chance. Let’s go to Goa.” And that’s how we arrived in Goa and in Aramabol in Goa. The start wasn’t good. But by ten in the night, we had a room we sort of liked. Next morning we were ready to check out and head to Hampi, Kerala, anywhere but here. That is when things began to get better. We started the day with beautiful walk along the beach that quietened the soul. Where else in the world will you find people hitting the beach to do yoga independently in such large numbers? Well, some of them were looking away from the sun therefore aiming the surya namaskar wrongly, but what the hell, its okay, they had a pursuit of the higher in mind. A bunch of people seated in the sand singing bhajans, some practicing Tai-chi, some walking their dogs and about a hundred others simply running along the beach. None of them was Goan but they all looked like they belonged to Goa. A lot of them looked they may be walking here but are present somewhere else. Most were in deep introspection. What is it about Goa that makes you question life? Is it the new age pilgrimage of the industrialized world? And hey I realized that those people with dreadlocks, no they are not here to smoke up and drink till wee hours. People with no dreadlocks and corporate jobs are more …

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Love to hate Goa

Goa has always been tedious for me because we are: Not willing to take flights to save money and why the hell are the train stations in Goa so far from everywhere Not willing to be duped by taxi drivers and the Goa heat is ideal only for beach bumming and not for bus rides Not willing to live in cheap beach huts for howsoever much beaches are fun but after sunsets we need four walls around us Not able to go with recommended guest houses because you see our definition of budget doesn’t include dirty shit hole of a room Therefore, getting to Goa, getting to someplace when you are in Goa, and then finding a room was a challenge I didn’t feel I was upto. I remembered Goa for: the beaches full of young couples parading the tiniest clothes in their wardrobes the babies of IT boom buying beer after beer men displaying their recently waxed chest and new sunglasses the tiny lanes around Calangute and choked with SUVs of wealthy families from surrounding cities breathing smoke and stress and the shack owners not happy to serve brown skinned Indians and giving extra of what we call footage to the fair skinned cientele For those operating businesses in Goa, you are just another wave in the many million waves that hit Goa beaches. There will never be smiles to welcome you. They look at you, size you up and blurt a number quoting a price, take it or leave it. The room, the service, the food quality doesn’t matter. Forget it. You can’t reason with them. This is Goa. If you leave someone else will come and take your place. But Vikram was convinced that if we have been traveling for over a year, then we have to …

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Rajasthan Road Trip Leg 4 Kumbalgarh Ranakpur Udaipur

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Time taken – Left Kumbalgarh at 12pm, reached Ranakpur by 2:15, Left Ranakpur at 5pm and reached Udaipur by 7:15pm. Room at Udaipur – 1200 INR dirtiest room we stayed during the trip after 3hrs of searching. They should have paid us to stay in that room. Ranakpur Jain Temples – Undoubtedly the most well preserved Temples in India, and the finest Temples we have visited so far. The architecture, carvings are stunning. What also needs appreciation is the management of the temple. Audio guides at the Temples are very informative and they are the only option as there are no guides around. They have a strict policy regarding cameras. So you need to buy tickets for everything and be prepared for a proper security check. We tried to fool the staff by hiding our cell phones and he caught us like he knew where we had hidden them. Verdict – A must see on your trip to Rajasthan, easily accessible from Udaipur. You must get the audio guides and a ticket for the camera as what you see inside the main temple is breath taking. The audio guide is very informative and a tad bit interesting. Give yourself at least 2-3hrs to see this masterpiece. Sight Seeing – Udaipur Palace, Jagdish Temple and Hanuman Ghat It is a very huge palace. It took us about 4hrs at a brisk pace. Palace is beautiful and takes you on a journey in time. They have put a trip advisor rating in one of the showcases, wonder why a Raja who has 365 cooks to cook him meals so that no meal is repeated in a year would care about the Rating on TripAdvisor. Breakfast recommended at …

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Rajasthan Road Trip Leg 3 Chittor Kumbalgarh

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Distance covered 157 kms Time taken – 2pm – 6:15pm Room at (Karni Palace, Kelwara some 8-10kms from Kumbalgarh fort) – INR 1000, initially quoted at INR 1200. Basic clean rooms, a little over priced owing to the demand. Sight Seeing – Kumbalgarh Fort, Light and Sound Show in evening. Team aimed to see the light and sound show at Kumbalgarh Fort at 6:15pm. The lack of a proper map led us into the countryside and we saw some very pretty villages enroute to Kumbalgarh. We missed the first 10 minutes, rest of the show was fabulous. A simple yet artistic way to learn the history of the rulers who built the fort. The people who work as helpers duringthis show work as guides during the day and have memorized all the information by heart. Verdict – Not to be missed, contrary to the information online, the show starts at 18:15 and not 18:45. Sight Seeing – Our Guide was very informative yet boring. Went with the second best guide, as the most popular one called Salim was busy. Fort is very bland to be a part of such a rich royal lineage, some theories say it is so because the royals did not have a lot of money at the money the time, fort was being built. The vast jungles surrounding the fort add to the beauty of it. Surprising part was the Janana Mehal, where the rooms for the Raja’s wives have paintings of Fighting Elephants for decoration. We concluded that the pictures of fighting elephants were put there so that the wives would look at these paintings while they were conceiving future Princes. Expenses (all in INR) Food – Dinner , Breakfast – 750 …

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Rajasthan Road Trip

4 friends (2 couples) went on a 8 day Road Trip to Rajasthan from Delhi. ROUTE Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi EXPENSES They spent about about INR 38,000 for the entire trip. You can download detailed excel sheet here You can view parts of the Road Trip by clicking on the Links or Pictures below  Delhi – Pushkar Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh Smartest Monkeys in Town, They won’t eat nuts from the lady selling them but will eat them out of your hand with some etiquette  Chittor – Kumbalgarh Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur Udaipur – Bundi Bundi – Jaipur

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Rajasthan Road Trip Leg 2 Pushkar Ajmer Chittorgarh

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittor Distance covered 220 kms. Time taken – 3pm – 8pm Room at Padmini Palace – INR 1000 that was initially quoted as INR 2400. It wasn’t easy, and took us about 30minutes but we did it. It was fun. To be honest the right price should have been INR 700 but in India, accommodation prices are hitting the roof. Food Items tried – Imarti, Kesar doodh, Daal Baati Churma,kadhi kachori with heeng ka paani, mirchi k pakode. Sight Seeing – Ajmer Durgah, Chittorgarh Fort. Ajmer Durgah – For its religious importance, drive up the hill and view of Ajmer city Chittorgarh – Lazy Man’s fort as you can move inside the fortified area in a car from one site to another. 20,000people reside inside the campus and you will be welcome by hoards of guides at the ticket counter. Fort is Scenic and well preserved. Hire a guide as it saves you time in Navigating from one point of interest to the other. Information quotient of the guides are not very high. Places of interest inside the fort – Kalika Mata Temple, Vijay Stambh, Kirti Stambh, Rana Kumbha’s Palace and Rani Padmini’s Palace. The legend goes that Alauddin Khilji was enamoured by the beauty of Rani Padmini. When he defated her husband in the battlefield, she committed Jauhar along with other ladies of the fort to avoid abduction and dishonor at the hands of Alauddin. A temple dedicated to Meera Bai is located inside the fort. Our Verdict – Chittorgarh fort should be part of your itinerary and can be easily made a part of the Delhi – Jaipur – Agra Circuit. The Heeng ka paani after …

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Rajasthan Road Trip Leg 1 Delhi Pushkar

Delhi – Pushkar – Ajmer – Chittorgarh – Kumbalgarh – Ranakpur – Udaipur – Bundi – Jaipur – Delhi Distance covered (405 kms) Time taken : 10:30am – 6:30pm Sight Seeing – Brahma Temple, Various Ghats at Pushkar Food items tried – Kadhi Kachori, Malpuaa, Papad Pyaaz Ki Sabzi, Gatte ki Sabzi. The team started from Delhi with an aim to halt in Jaipur, but made it all the way to Pushkar. Room search for 45 min left us with a room for INR 700 with stunning views of the Brahma Kund. Team hung out at cafes catering to foreign crowds in a hidden alley and tried out a mix of Israeli and Italian dishes for Dinner. 5-6 hrs of wandering around the Kund, trying out many delicacies and visit to the only Brahma Temple in India. Our Verdict – Best Kadhi Kachori and Malpuaa in Rajasthan. Papad Pyaaz ki sabzi is a must eat, not easily found in other parts of Rajasthan. Pushkar is must visit on your trip to Rajasthan and can be coupled with Ajmer which is 15kms away. Expense Summary – Dinner – 572 Breakfast, Lunch – 880 Tolls on highway – 500 Snacks etc on the road – 300 Fuel Expenses will come at the end of all the posts.    

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Via dell’Amore – The trail of Love, Italy

Two villages perched on the cliffs facing the Liguarian sea, Manarola and Riomaggiore, were connected by an erratic intractable trail that often got disrupted by landslides. Recently it was made into a permanent walkway. Lovers from the villages are said to have met midway in the past. They hid behind the coves, wrote graffitis of ever lasting love on the cliff walls and locked their love by putting locks along the railings. This tiny trail where lovers met up is the most romantic kilometer long stretch you will ever walk on. We visited in early February when tourists were absent, most businesses, restaurants and hotels were closed but the weather and quietude added to the romance.   In the absolute peace we walked along the cliffs and the silent sea on the lonely stretch of lovers by ourself realizing later that what is now a walking path for the village elders was once the spot where they hung out with their lovely maidens. When we returned from Riomaggiore, the sun was setting and the sky turned a lovely pink making it one of the most memorable walks of our life. This is one place where words fall short and the pictures will fill in the gap for you.     Location: Cinque Terre, Italy Time of visit: Early February Hiking Difficulty level: Easy Hope you enjoyed these photographs. Please share your comments and feedback with us at the bottom.

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Black & White Love, Pushkar

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