India Travel Tourism

If the splendour of the royal era still enthralls you, you can plan a trip to Udaipur to experience the regal legacy like I did.

I had always wished to see myself amidst the forts and palaces and my wish got fulfilled when my friend, Sambhav planned a trip to Udaipur. Fortunately, he considered me as his companion and that too, it was a weekend programme. What else could I ask for?

We both reached there by a train, which took a little longer that day. After taking rest in a good hotel, we went to explore the city. I was too curious to visit Saheliyon ki Bari as I had already heard a lot about the place. It was full of fountains and created a spectacular sight of those times. On being visited the city, Sambhav exclaimed to see the beautiful Lake Pichola. Then we realized that it is aptly known as the City of Lakes.

After a quick lunch at the hotel, we reached City Palace. A guide accompanied us for taking us through that magnificent palace. Inside the Palace, there is a museum where you can spend hours appreciating the beautiful miniature paintings.

Several Mahals like Manak Mahal and Zeena Mahal speak volume about the Rajput style of architecture. Next, we embarked on a ride on the Fateh Sagar Lake and then moved towards the Nehru Garden. The ride was too short that we reached the garden only in 5 minutes.

We enjoyed Dal Bati and Pyaaz Kachori at the restaurants of Udaipur. The eatables that we had, were filling enough that we had a light dinner after that.

To make our tour even more interesting and memorable, we also clicked some photographs of the places we visited. Bhartiya Lok Kala Mandir, the museum in Udaipur has a rare collection of paintings, ornaments, puppets, masks and folk musical instruments.

At last, we visited Ranakpur, which was a nearby excursion from the city. Thinking to explore the Wildlife of Rajasthan next time, we bid goodbye to Udaipur.

The weekend that we spent in Udaipur was truly a refreshing break that energized me.

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Delhi, the wonderful city impressed me to the hilt with its striking attractions. There was a combination of both, modern and traditional. With a heart filled with joy and contentment I drove to Jaipur, my next destination. I started early morning at 6 and reached Jaipur at 10:30 am. Now I was all set for delving into the glories, history and culture of Rajasthan.

Rajasthan is a land of raja-maharajas and I always had a wish to experience their lifestyle so I decided to stay in a heritage hotel. Caper Travels Pvt Ltd had booked me in Alsisar Haveli hotel in Jaipur. It is a heritage hotel where once lived the raja-maharajas. Its royal ambiance and world class facilities transported me back in time to the royal era.

As it was already afternoon so we decided to go to Chokhi Dhani first. I was elated to see this unique and beautiful Village Resort which makes you feel as if you are in a traditional village. Its typical rural ambiance, peaceful environment, beautiful surroundings and delicious traditional food served in a traditional style captured my heart. I also saw traditional Rajasthani dance. It was fabulous and lively.

My guide Umaid Singh gave me some information on the city while on our way to the attractions. Jaipur is a tourist destination which pulsates with royalty and rich cultural heritage. Popularly known as the ‘Pink City’, Jaipur, the princely city, boasts of a rich cultural heritage which majestically reflects in its palaces, forts and monuments. It was established by the king Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727. One interesting feature about this city is that it was planned in accord with the Hindu architectural principles of Vaastu. Quite interesting!

I first visited the famous ‘City Palace’. The jewel of Jaipur, this palace is a huge structure which encompasses refreshing gardens, great museums, magnificent halls, huge courtyards and stunning apartments. It was great to explore this place which speaks volumes about the kings who lived here.

My next halt was the Jaigarh Fort which is famous for housing the largest canon in the world. It was built for defense purposes and is also known as the ‘Victory Fort’.

Next, enjoying an elephant ride I reached the most famous attraction of Jaipur, Amber Fort. It is huge, majestic and stunning. Built beautifully in Rajput and Mughal style of architecture, the fort has a history that dates back to 1592. I was overwhelmed by its size, cravings, mirror work, mosaic work and architectural design.

After treating my senses with the beauty and royalty of Jaipur forts and palaces, now was the time to pamper my stomach with some delicious Rajasthani food. I gorged on dal bati churma with a big glass of lassi. I loved it. Then I went on a shopping spree and bought some wonderful handicrafts from the bazaars.

Next day I was slated to explore Agra and again I was excited to know something fascinating about India.

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With the rising tourist season, I planned a trip to Jaisalmer.

I’ve been to Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner and several other royal destinations in Rajasthan and witnessed grand forts, enthusiastic festivals and enchanting safaris. But Sand Dunes were completely an untouched element to me. As I arrived there, the city welcomed me with captivating beauty and joyful lifestyle of the locals. I relished traditional Rajasthani food in lunch and spent the entire day at leisure.

The very next morning, I started my picnic with a camel ride along with a guide. The guide took me to a small market area where several local people were shouting in high notes beckoning tourists to have a camel ride with them, quite similar to the rickshaw-walas in urban areas. One of them asked for Rs. 50 for a ride, which was quite affordable. But my guide, being a local person, immediately bargained and surprisingly fixed the same ride for me at just Rs. 20. That camel safari cum long drive in the deserts was amongst the most adventurous things I have ever done.

In the evening, I got into a camp with a group of tourists from Delhi only. There we all enjoyed several folk art performances and camp-fire. The next day was quite exciting as I headed for the Desert Festival. There I came across various cultural as well as fun activities such as camel races, folk dances, Mr. Desert contest and the interesting Turban tying contest. Being much excited, I too participated in the camel race and turban tying contest. As predicted, none of the two contests could bring me any prize. But I enjoyed my part. The celebration area was heavily crowded and cheerful.

I had enough of food specialties in the fair and bought a few handicrafts that were available at very economical rates. I had never thought that the barren areas of desert land could be so lively. What I observed was that people at Jaisalmer celebrate every moment of their life with great zeal.

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There are people who value their gardens more for being full of birds than of cherries. I am one among those. I love to give them fruits for their songs. Sometimes I consider them the inspiration of my poetry. I declared myself a bird lover when I saved one going to be killed by a cat. I was in 7th standard when this incident happened. Since then I am in love with these colourful and pretty creatures. Surprisingly, I got a chance to visit Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan with my colleagues.

While driving to the National Park, Munna – my driver – told me that over 300 species of birds have made this sanctuary their home. August to November is the period for resident breeding birds while October to February is for migrant birds. Munna also told me that the sanctuary was created 250 years ago and is named after a Keoladeo temple (dedicated to Lord Shiva) within its boundaries.

As I arrived my hotel, I found a guide book on Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary at the reception. I asked the manager if I could take that along with me in my room, to which he agreed happily. The guide book said that the entire reserved park was once a hunting ground for the Maharajas of Bharatpur. Stretching up to 29 sq km, this ‘Ornithologist’s Paradise‘ is the only man made wildlife sanctuary in India. Also known as Keoladeo Ghana National Park, Bharatpur was declared a national park on 10 March 1982, and accepted as a World Heritage Site in December 1985. I spent the entire day in leisure savoring the authentic cuisine of Rajasthan .

Next morning, I headed towards the park with Munna. The very first attraction we came across were nesting indigenous water birds. Facilities for a bicycle or rickshaw are also available for the tourists inside the park, but Munna asked me to cover the forest trails on foot. It was a nice way to have a closer look at the attractions of the park. Unfortunately I could not spot any of the migratory birds like Cranes, Pelicans, Shanks, Stints, Wagtails, Warblers, Wheatears, Flycatchers, Buntings, Larks and Pipits etc. that were mentioned in Bharatpur Travel Guide. In the afternoon I spotted a few Geese, Ducks, Eagles and Hawks near the small waterway.

What made my day was a closer view of wildcats, Sambar, Chital, Chinkara, Blackbuck, Nilgai and wild boar in the dense greens. I captured them all in my camera. Munna insisted me to pay short visits to Bharatpur Govenment Museum, Bharatpur Palace and Lohagarh Fort but I, being very tired, scheduled other attractions for the next day. I returned back to the hotel with a question: If God loved birds and made trees for them, why the hell we designed cages for them?

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