Rajasthan, the land of Kings

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With a fascinating history, friendly people, diverse wildlife literally everywhere, and some of the world's most beautiful Forts, Rajasthan is a true traveling marvel. Everything is there; from the chaotic traffic and colourful bazaars to awe-inspiring forts and mind-blowing culture customs. Every meal is a new discovery of savours, and each city is a new panel of colours. Visiting Rajasthan in 10 days allows for a good tour of Rajasthan's key places, but I would definitely recommend that a longer trip be considered for this magical region, in order to explore further east into the desert, and west towards the Ganges. We have found local people to be really nice & helpful. Being used to Asia, the poverty, the taunting, the negotiating and the dirt was certainly not more obvious than in other places such as Thailand, and the only difference we felt was that people are more curious and more bold, and do not hesitate to come to you to talk casually.

So the trip we did took us, in ten days; from Delhi to Jaipur by Train, from Jaipur to Jodhpur by train, from Jodhpur to the Thar Desert by car, from Jodhpur to Udaipur by car, from Udaipur to Delhi by flight (saving 10-12hours train) and from Delhi to Agra by Car. The train tickets can be booked online or through an agency, and upgrading to the 1st class for 5-10USD will get you a nice cosy cabin!

 

1st Stop: Jaipur

Known as the Pink City, Jaipur is a historic city well worth staying 2 days and more if you can. The city itself has fascinating bazaars of all sorts, and a lot of things to visit. The city centre is, as most Indian cities go, very busy with turbaned men, women in Saris, dogs, cats, cows, monkeys, horses, camels, and with the implied constant honking of various motorbikes, tuktuk, cycles, cars, buses and so on. As such, staying in a Haveli was like staying on an oasis! The construction of these Havelis was done by rich merchants hundreds of years ago, and most of them are now affordable hotels which manage to remain miraculously quiet!  

From Jaipur, the impressive Amber fort with its massive elephant ramp, its lake and floating garden, the high Jaigarh Fort and large Nahargarh Fort are just a tuktuk ride away:

In Jaipur itself, the most impressive things to see are the Yantra Mandir Astrolabe, the City Palace, the Wind palace (Hawa Mahal) and of course, the busy and colourful bazaars!

2nd stop: Jodphur

To me, the most impressive fort of Rajasthan is probably the one towering over the blue city: the Merhangarh Fort. This feudal-style caste has heavy & blunt walls armed with canons on the outside, and hosts subtle and beautifully decorated rooms inside. From the Fort’s windows, it is possible to see how far and dense the Blue city extends to, as well as appreciate the beautiful layout of the sunlit blue-coloured houses. After making your way down the fort into the maze of the blue city, the small alleys, the casual street lifestyle and the busy bazaars makes you feel like you have made a leap in time!

3rd stop: The Thar Desert

Somehow in the planning, we felt that a little break from the relentless activity of all these Indian cities would be welcome, and we organised a trip to the Thar Desert, north-west of Jodhpur, to enjoy some country life, and stay in a little village, away from time. The Thar Desert is not as "sandy" as the Sahara or the Taklimakan deserts, and is actually surprisingly full of life! Most Hindus being devoted vegetarians, hundreds of species of birds and wild animals enjoy the freedom of the desert, and the place is swarming with animals. The camel ride allowed us to even see a few wild antelopes roaming freely!

4th stop: Udaipur

The trip to Udaipur takes about five hours, and crosses some really nice scenery. It provides as well the opportunity to visit the amazing Jain Pure Marble Temple of Ranakpur.

 

Udaipur is known as the Lake city, or the Venice of the Orient; a city of splendid design built by powerful Maharajas. If you plan to experience the affordable luxury of a rare true palace, Udaipur is the place! Udaipur has in fact many palaces, the most famous of all being the Taj floating palace, fully built of Marble; it hovers majestically on top of the Pichola Lake.

For those of us who cannot afford such a place, other palaces offer really good views on the lake, with strong historical footprints. It is then possible to go on a boat ride on the Pichola Lake, and visit the island of Jagmandir with its garden, amazing view, and relaxing tables from which to drink beer from!

Udaipur has a very nice set of alleys to visit with friendly people, and the city palace is definitely a must-go with its dozens of exquisitely colour-themed decorated rooms and halls.

In Rajasthan, animals are a very familiar sight. Birds, pigs, cats, dogs, goats, sheep, monkeys, cows, buffalos, camels and elephant all roam freely, quite undisturbed by the never-ending traffic! And the star of Indian Alleys traffic is undoubtedly the Majestic Royal Enfield motorbikes of Post-WWII design, true and rightful Indian Pride!

5th and last stop: Agra.

Saving the most famous for the end, we went to Agra from Delhi by car at the end of the trip to visit the Agra Fort, its bazaars and of course, the Taj Mahal. In short, the story goes like this; Shah Jahan, Moghul Emperor, so grieved by the death of his wife (who died giving birth to their 14th child...) decided to create a white-marbled mausoleum for her that was to be the now world-famous Taj Mahal. Once completed, (having spent 22 years building it with a workforce of dozens of thousands of workers and thousands of elephants), Shah Jahan decided that it was time to create a black Taj-Mahal across the river from the white one, for himself. His son Aurangzeb however disagreed with this rather pricy plan, and decided to imprison his father in the palace (in a beautiful set of rooms and terraces, in direct view of the Taj Mahal) to ensure that no more funds would be allocated to such projects! The king hence died as a prisoner of his own son, looking at the Taj from Afar. His tomb was then created next to the one of his wife, within the Taj Mahal. Agra Fort with the terraces overlooking the Taj Mahal, and with thousands of semi-precious stones marble-carved inlays;

 

And of course, we ended our trip to incredible Rajasthan by the majestic Taj Mahal!