Tag Archives: Road Trip

things you must buy for your ladakh road trip

You should buy the following gear if you plan to do a Road Trip to Ladakh. 1. Helmets: Buy good quality helmets, you will be in a very tough terrain. If you have a good helmet, then get the visor that will save you from the TAN. Rest of your body will be covered, but unknowingly a lot end up tanning their faces. 2. Body Suits: We spent 25,000 INR for these suits and got worth of every penny. They will protect you from heat, sun, rain, wind, cold, and dust along with guarding you against any injuries. Can be purchased in Karol Bagh. Make sure you bargain after choosing the one that you like. 3. Gum Boots: All other shoes will fail in this trip as some of the water crossings are really high. The rubber boots are the best option for this journey, they tend to get very hot during the day but are a blessing when there is a water crossing and trust me there are plenty of them.  These can be purchased in Manali for about INR 500 in the main Market near the bus stand. 4. Ropes: You luggage will sway here and there, get good quality ropes and get extra ones. Somehow these ropes have a tendency to get lost. A pack of 12 ropes costs about INR 150 and can be purchased in Karol Bagh or Gopinath Market. 5. Plastic Sheet: Your bags, rucksacks may be water proof but they will get dirty, really dirty and a plastic sheep will keep them in great condition. We were unlucky as there was nonstop rain on the way back from Patnitop to Delhi. The plastic sheets kept all our things dry. Easily available at any hardware store 6. Gloves: Get very good quality gloves to …

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Kashmir Shikara Travelogue

When we got off the Shikara

1:00 am in the night, at Patnitop 120 kms from Srinagar Don’t remember what the date was. We had spent a month zig-zagging, criss-crossing, bumping over the roads (or roads that could be paved) in Ladakh. We were returning home via the beautiful Kashmir valley. The clouds were bleeding over us. But we stopped not breaking our ‘no riding at night’ rule. We kept going like there is a tomorrow, and we must get to this place, any place outside of Kashmir before tomorrow gets here. We stop. We stop only when reach that and knock on the door of the first hotel in sight at Patni Top at 1:00 in the night.   5 hours ago at 7:45 PM, 55 kms from Srinagar on the way to Jammu The local traffic police official asked us to leave. “What are you waiting for? If you want to get out of here, then now is the time. People are all in their homes breaking their fast. Leave before they return. Tomorrow morning the stones will return to be pelted at you. God knows what will happen. Leave! Leave! God will take care of you. Khuda Hafiz.”   5 hours ago 2:45 PM, 55 kms from Srinagar on the way to Jammu Ishwinder refuses to eat anything before she gets home and sees “mumma” again. She can’t stop crying. A kind uncle who is the owner of the hotel where we were staying waiting for the curfew to be lifted tries to pacify her. We feel like we are in a movie when he offers us to bring something from the house of Hindu shop owner in case we feel eating at Muslim’s house violates our religion. Ishwinder in a gust of emotions touches his feet and tells him he is like …

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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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