Sorry for being out of touch for the past week or so. We had gone to Rajasthan(the western circuit- Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer) for a week on holiday. It was a great break from the rut and we had a ball of a time. For interested folks, I have included a route chart of the trip. The actual distance, including the running in town was just 32 kms less, i.e. a difference of only 1.8 % over 1685 kms! Not bad for a trip planned from the good ole TTK map and then, Google Maps!
Day 1: 21 Dec 07, Delhi-Jaipur
The start was a bit later than I had planned at around 8 am. The consequences hit us pretty soon: it was Eid and the devout were praying at a mosque bang on the Gurgaon road. This meant a detour and a mad, chaotic scramble for any way out to the highway. At times, I wonder as to what is it that makes my countrymen such unruly boors and rogues. Obviously, this crazed behaviour is not endemic to any class- Mercedes' were vying for space with Marutis. I was able to find a way out and we were on the higway for Jaipur at 11am after a delay of 2 solid hours in the maelstrom.
The drive then on was smooth to say the least. The highway is superb right uptil Jaipur and beyond too and in an experience which was to continue for the whole week, our progress was limited only by the car and not by the highway. India is progressing... I did not want to stretch the car; a BMW or a Merc would have been comfy at 200kmph, the road is that good. The album is on http://picasaweb.google.com/mvjoshi69 It has about 130 snaps so do be patient;-)
The stay in a regimental unit's Officers Mess was very comfy. It helped that I was staying with the regiment...
Day 2: 22 Dec, Jaipur Tour
The unit had been kind enough to arrange bus tickets for us for a guided tour of Jaipur. Our guide was Mr R K Verma, an encyclopaedia on Jaipur with a distinct accent. He took us to the Pink City, Palace Museum, Amber Fort, Nahargarh Fort, Birla Mandir etc and was a true guide.
Jaipur is bustling and a bit dusty. The Pink City has quaint rules: only pink colour on houses, no elaborate shop signs. It is very well planned too- 100m long roads intersecting at right angles, each side having about 20 odd shops, same size, excellent symmetry.
The various forts - Amber, Nahargarh etc were vast, sprawling edifices to a bygone era. I started understanding the meaning of words like opulence, extravagance etc when the chambers in the fort were shown. Belgian tiles, ivory inlay work, sandalwood doors, mother-of -pearl and the most exquisite carving whether on rock or wood - the maharajas of yore created works of beauty and aesthetic appeal even in items of daily use.
Day 3: 23 Dec, Ajmer
The Dargah Sharif was, well, definitely avoidable unless one is a truly committed believer. It was claustrophobic and as is the norm in almost all places of worship, the priests were quite blatant in their "suggestions" for a higher offering to the Khwaja. Frankly, we went to put a tick mark - been there, done that kind of thing.
Pushkar was no different, priests and their lackeys all over you. At this rate, I will turn into an atheist/agnostic pretty soon! Again, a tick mark for having visited the only Brahma temple in the world.
Day 4: 24 Dec, Jodhpur
The road to Jodhpur is terrific, one can land an aircraft on some stretches! But there are dangerous, blind dips and rises so one has to be on the ball.
The Mehrangarh fort is easily the best maintained of all the forts I saw in this trip. It is tourist friendly and most importantly, conscious efforts have been put in at restoration whilst retaining the max of originality. The guides are polite and well-conversant with the history of the place. Artifacts like weapons, clothes, furniture and the fort itself have been preserved well; those that aged have been carefully restored. Why so, we got to know when we saw its antithesis in Jaisalmer. Not much in Jodhpur other than the fort and we also, we did not have time for anything more.
Day 5, 6: 25, 26 Dec, Jaisalmer
Reached Jaisalmer in the last afternoon, sun beating down quite hard. In the summer, this place must be the Devil's cauldron! In the evening, the Gadisar lake was a welcome reprieve from the heat.
Next day, we went to the fort. Unlike in Jaipur, there is no organised tour from the RTDC, one is left at the mercy of the local guides who charge exorbitant rates since the foreigners can afford them. Again, not much to see - just the fort and a couple of havelis made by rich businessmen in the 19th century.
The fort was a big, big disappointment after Jodhpur. Why? The Jaipur fort is managed by a trust whose head is the present maharaja, a man of substantial means. In contrast, the J'smer fort is managed or rather, mangled by the Govt. Also, the latter is home to 4000 people even today. These inhabitants (as per our guide, who himself stays inside the fort!) are the direct descendants of the erstwhile army of Maharawal Jaisal, the founder of the fort. They have a signed decree from Jaisal which gives them ownership of their houses, tough luck for the Govt. The present scion of the dynasty is an ex MP with little ancestral assets than a liking for alcohol and is a bit of a headache for the local police; apparently, he has frequent delusions of grandeur and goes about occupying peoples rooms in the fort till sobriety lands him in the slammer!
Return: 27 Dec(Ajmer), 28 Dec (Delhi)
The return journey was as pleasant as the onward one had been. We had lunch in the McDonalds drive-in outlet in Gurgaon(the kids were thrilled to get back to the city) and reached home early in the afternoon on the 28th.
For all those who want to travel these roads, do keep the speed in check and carry plenty of water, both for the car and for yourself, specially on the Jodhpur-Jaisalmer stretch. Check for the correct guide rates and try not to buy anything from the glitzy emporia-frightfully expensive. Don't ever, ever go off road in a non-4X4 vehicle, you will get stuck and no help on hand.
