A trip to Rajasthan #TravelOnAClock

From Mumbai, me and my friend Harshad, took Mumbai Central Jaipur Superfast express at 7.30 pm from Borivali station.

As the plan was last minute, we didn't book our tickets prior and left with Tatkal option.

Luckily we got the confirmed tickets.

We reached Jaipur at 12.30 pm the next day, and without wasting time, we took our Rickshaw to Zostel Jaipur.

Before we got fresh, we ask the Guy at Zostel for any rented bikes and he managed to get one but around 3.30 pm.

So we got fresh till that and left for Hawa Mahal.

We had our lunch at a vendor outside Hawa Mahal, selling delicious pulav and chole bhature.

We purchased the combined tickets so that we should not waste any time at other places(always prefer this ticket)

As we completed the Hawa Mahal, we got call that our bikes are ready.

It was nearly 4 pm when we left Hawa Mahal and reached zostel to pick up bikes.

We completed the formality and it was 4.15 pm.

Knowing that Nahargarh closes at 5 pm, we drove fast and cautiously around the ghats.

Luckily we managed to be on time, and see the sunset from Nahargarh Fort, which is considered as must place to visit in Jaipur.

It was 7 pm, when we left Nahargarh Fort and planned to go to Choki Dani, which was 25 km away from the current place.

Being vacation time, Choki Dani was packed with guests. We spent around 40 mins in getting the entry tickets.

We managed to see the place and had Rajasthani thali, which was very delicious. I think the people serving the food made it more delicious with their gestures and sweet words.

We left choki dani at 11 pm and returned back to Zostel around 12 am which was 20 km away in cold..

We got up around 8 am, got fresh and googled for the best place in Jaipur for breakfast, which appeared to be Rawat.

We drove to Rawat, managing the incoming traffic to old city. Rawat is famous for pyaaz kachori, mawa kachori and Sweets. We had pyaaz kachori, which served why it is called the best.

Till then we forgot, that the earlier day, we were supposed to book the tatkal ticket to Jaisalmer.

So we not other option left, we booked the bus tickets to Jaisalmer which leaves at 9 pm.

After managing all these, we started our tour back around 10.30 and left for Amer fort.

Amer fort is around 10km from old city.

We reached around 11 am at Amer fort, took guide and completed the fort by 12.30 pm. We went to Panna meena ka kund which is 5 mins walk from the fort.

Had our lunch at a small dhaba, we left for Jaigarh fort. Jaigarh fort is considered for the arms and weapons, which still has the Largest Canon at the top.

Leaving Jaigarh, we went to famous Lassiwala of Jaipur, had lassi and then to remaining places to visit.

At 9 pm after having our dinner at local restaurant, we caught our bus and left for Jaisalmer.

We reached Jaisalmer around 9 in the morning and checked in at Cazza Backpackers. Got fresh and left our luggage at the hostel.

Had our breakfast at local shop near the Jaisalmer fort and after a short visit, we came back to hostel for desert safari, which was organised by the owner.

At 2 pm, we left for desert safari, and reached the Kuldhara village. Famous for its haunting stories, and amazing history, we left Kuldhara village around 3 pm.

Around 4 we reached the place, for jeep safari which was thrilling and adventurous.

The driver dropped us at a village, from where the local picked up and took us to the desert which was 8 km away on the camels.

The camel safari too was very adventurous and the view of the desert was amazing.

We nearly reached half an hour before the sunset, dropped our bags at the campsite, we started clicking beautiful pictures of the sunset, the camels, and the amazing desert.

The dinner was cooked by the locals, which Infact was very tasty. Our group decided to cook chicken using the spices from the locals.

We had our bornfire, masti and dance in the middle of the desert, which I think is the most memorable part of the trip.

We stayed at the camp, in the middle of the desert, under billions of stars, and in the cold night, which I can still feel.

The next day, we had the daliya made by the locals as breakfast, watched the sunrise.

We were dropped to the same village, after a 8km long camel safari.

The driver picked us and dropped to the hostel.

We got fresh, had our breakfast at the local shop and left for the sightseeing.

We started with Jaisalmer fort, hired a guide who showed us the fort, explained the history of Jaisalmer. I think understanding the history of the place is must.

We left for Pataon ki haweli, understood its history and left for Gadisar lake.

On the way to Gadisar lake, we had light snacks and chai at a local shop, which was way better than it appeared.

After the view of lake, we went to local shop to buy Keir Sangani and famous sweets of Jaisalmer.

Headed towards the fort, we had the famous bhang from the Govt authorized shop and went to the hostel for some rest.

We hired a bike, noted the route and left.

The plan for that day was to cover Longewala - Tanot Mandir - Bada Bagh, which was approximately 300km ride.

We reached longewala around 12.30 pm, explored the place, visited the museum and took pics.

Had our lunch at the Army Cafe, we left for Tanot mandir, which was 40km away on the deserted route.

We reached around 3.30 pm at Tanot mandir, had our darshan and asked the BSF if we can get the chance to visit the Border Post 609.

But we didn't have the permission from the BSF commandant office at Jaisalmer, hence we didn't get the chance to visit BP609.

We returned to Bada Bagh which is around 6km from Jaisalmer, saw the place, clicked pics and left for the city.

After having dinner, some rest at the hostel, we left for the station.

Luckily we saw the Palace on Wheels at the Jaisalmer station, which was getting ready to depart.

We had booked the tickets to Jodhpur from the Ranikhet Express which departs at 12.40 am from Jaisalmer.

We reached Jodhpur early in the morning around 6.45..

We had relatives in Jodhpur, so we straight ahead went there, had our breakfast, got fresh, took the Activa and left for exploration.

We headed towards the Mehrangarh fort from the narrow streets provided by the Google Maps and reached by 12 pm.

Mehrangarh fort is one of the best forts of India, and is really beautiful to explore this fort.

We left around 2 pm and took our lunch at the famous Gypsy restaurant of Jodhpur.

After lunch, we took our Activa to the famous Umaid Bhavan, and explore the place.

Leaving Umaid bhavan, we went to the local market of Jodhpur, had sweets for family, tasted the famous lassi  and dropped the Activa at the relatives place.

We had our bus at 7pm for Mumbai, which we almost missed, as the pickup place was changed to some other place at the last moment.

We reached Mumbai around 2 pm, thus concluding our budget travel trip to Rajasthan.

With sweet memories, we said Goodbye and left for our homes..

Adding few pics from the trip..

Rest you can find at Instagram - rohit_rjain