My Delhi - Jodhpur Road trip 

If you are travelling to India, and travelling to Rajasthan this might be useful for you. 

I am a girl consumed by wanderlust. No, don't get me wrong, most of you might ask me what wanderlust means. The word derives its origin from a German word which means a very strong or irresistible impulse to travel. If you dream of backpacking through Bhutan, you have wanderlust. We loved the German efficiency of the word so much we borrowed it for our own English language. With a word like lust inside it, wanderlust really captures the dreamy passion that travellers share. So this is the word that best describes me, I too have an undying thirst for travel, to explore new places and experiment with the food cooked and eaten by locals of these places and once you've got wanderlust in your blood, you've got it for life; it goes with you to your grave. And this is a thirst, a hunger that can neither be quenched nor satisfied.

Attaching the pictures only of the broad 3 lane highway at most places on NH8, and some places where the highway is primarily a state highway and is single lane.

I must thank my darling husband who is an avid traveller just like me and shares my belief that life is very short so we want to see the world as best as we can. We both share a love and a passion for travel and visiting new places discovering their food and enjoying life and the good things in it. We strongly believe that travel is a great way to de-stress & chill & relax, when you are tired of the madness of this city, with its traffic problems, with its long office hours, with your nagging bosses, and spouses and colleagues, so we simply pack our bags and head out.

I had wanted to do a road trip for long, and I mean really really long, especially with me on the steering wheel. I have been driving for about 6.5 years but I can certainly defy the perceptions of all men about Lady Drivers. And I certainly mean that in a good way, I am an experienced driver, and if I might add, quite a good one as well. Besides driving daily for 3 hours to and fro from work, the only highway experience of driving I have had in the past is may be a Delhi-Chandigarh run 3-4 times or may be a Delhi-Sikhar drive once (about 4 hours from Delhi where the famous Khatushyam ji temple is located).

At first my husband did show his reservations about taking a 2000km drive and he told me it will be very tiring and he made me redo our itinerary atleast 4-5 times and made me shrink it only to 5 places - Jodhpur, Kumbhalgarh, Haldi Ghati, Udaipur & jaipur. Even though I was heart broken that I had to take out Jaisalmer and Chittorgarh from my road trip, and also that I had to shrink it to 8 days from 12, I was still excited about the idea that I was taking the lead in the road trip.

I did the hotel bookings, got my car checked and was all geared up (hoping that Google Maps will be our Good friend on this trip) to begin the 1900 - 2000 km drive. We began the road trip at 7am from Manesar from my sisters place on 24th November and I head straight straight on NH-8 doing the second thing I do best - DRIVE (the Ist thing being Cooking / Eating).

Roads from Delhi to Jodhpur are fantastic, there is a great 3 lane highway until a little ahead of Ajmer towards the way where one has to take a detour towards Jodhpur. From there the not so good state highway starts which is a little bumpy and we reached Jodhpur in about 9 hours where as the Mandor Express takes 10hr and 30 min to reach Jodhpur from Delhi. I drove nearly 450 kms from Manesar and my husband drove another 125kms. We reached Jodhpur at around 4.30pm, after only stopping once in between for about 45 mins for breakfast.

Google Maps failed us, and honestly, I think they are so flawed, that we could not locate our hotel for nearly 1 hour. But the drive is totally worth it. The roads are great even though you wouldn't find many places to eat out. But nonetheless the 10 hour drive from Delhi aint that bad. 

Jodhpur is a big Town and has some great hotels. If you have the money and can afford luxury stay at Raas or Welcome Balsamand Lake palace and if you are stinking rich stay at the Umed Bhawan. There are budget hotels available as well like hotel Mapple, Hotel Haveli and some more. 

Since I had made my bookings in advance, we checked into the hotel when we reached. Staying in Old Jodhour makes more sence since the main places of attraction are in Old Jodhpur like the Mehrangarh fort, or the ganesh temple or the famous places to eat like Mishri lal, indique and Janta sweets. 

If you want to splurge on your dining experience do dine at the Hanuwant mahal which gives a great view of the Umed Bhawan and the food is mind blowing. Definitely try the majestic Thali at Gypsy restaurant which serves 31 dishes in one meal. A trip to jodhpur is incomplete without a visit to Mishrilal Lassi and Janta sweets for their Kachaudi and ghevar. 

I have already made 2 trips to Jodhpur and I cant get enough of it. I recommend you atleast plan a 3 day trip to this beautiful city and you will be delighted

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