Jaisalmer in a Day

The Golden City of Jaisalmer, the heart of the Thar Desert is an integral part of any traveller’s bucket list. If you haven’t experienced the Thar then you haven’t truly travelled is what all the travel bloggers tweet. Let us then make an attempt to quickly design a capsule trip to Jaisalmer - a city in a day.

Here you go, with our take on the tour of the city so beautiful. We will skip the day excursions to Tannot (open only for Indian nationals), War Museum near Pokharan and Kuldhara - the abandoned village. During the first trip let us just focus on the essence of Jaisalmer - the beautifully sculpted sandstone monuments and the vast expanse of the indomitable Thar desert. The museums and the monuments that we will miss visiting during the first trip will be covered in our consecutive trips as and when they happen.

Desert cities experience this peculiar phenomenon of warm days and cooler mornings and evenings. You wake up to a cool beautiful sunrise which you may choose to witness in a camp on the Sam Sand Dunes or from the roof top of one of the intricately carved boutique hotels in the city. We recommend the camp so that you may rise before the sun rises and on a camel back ride upto a point where you can witness the alluring sun emerge from the sea of sand changing the hues of the sky and the sand from peach to pink to orange to yellow to a final bright gold at which point you will need your shades to look the sun in the eye! A camel ride can really work up an appetite so once back in your camp you must dig into the scrumptious breakfast laid out for you with some hot tea or coffee to give a boost to your day’s plans.

We start our sight seeing tour a bit early, say around 07:00 am with a quick trip to the Gadisar / Gadsisar Lake. The water reservoir not only attracts tourists in large numbers but also is a halt and siesta venue for many species of birds. The man-made Lake was constructed by Maharawal Gadi Singh Ji, the first ruler of Jaisalmer and was decorated with intricately carved Temples, Chhatris, Shrines and Ghats all around. A beautiful resting place for a traveller that gave respite from the heat and thirst, the lake till date is in immaculate condition and is a hotspot for many a filmmakers and photographers.

From here we head to the world famous mansions called The Patwaon Ki Haveli. This is a cluster of five mansions which were built by five rich Jain trader brothers. The havelis have extremely minutely and intricately carved facades. The detailing is to be seen to be believed. Built in soft golden sand stone the havelis attract millions of visitors per year. There is a museum, a temple and a small craft bazaar within the enclosure of these havelis. The havelis are built too close to each other and it gets a little difficult to truly admire the carvings, keeping this in mind the Govt cleared some sections in the lane and created space to make it easier to be able to look up and take in the beauty of the magnificent Patwaon Ki Havelis. Shoppers delight are the kiosks around this area that sell skirts, pants, scarves and tee shirts in eclectic and traditional prints. But shopping has to wait because The Jain Temples in the Fort remain open till 1:00 pm only.

Our next stop is the World Famous Jaisalmer Fort also known as The Sonar Qila because of the Golden Glow of the sand stone that it is built of. The uniqueness of the fort is that it is still inhabited by the people of Jaisalmer making it an “alive fort”. The fort is built on the Trikuta Hill and the whole populace of Jaisalmer resided within the Fort walls in olden times. As the need for more space was felt over the years, a temple was first built outside the Fort where the present city centre lies. Around this temple was built a palace for the then Maharawal of Jaisalmer and the Palace was thus named The Mandir Palace which now is a luxurious heritage hotel. There also is a museum by the same name, a visit to which will have to wait for the next trip to Jaisalmer.

A winding pathway leads up to the Fort and the main entrance is flanked by temples - those of Baba Ramdev Ji (a deity from deserts of Rajasthan) and Ranchhod Ji (an avatar of Lord Krishna). The pathway is lined with a colourful display of handicrafts and bed spreads, statues and wearables, magnets and bags too. Our suggestion : don’t yet get distracted by the shopping so early, finish the tour and during your return spend as much time as you want scouring for the most suitable gift or a souvenir. 

The main highlights of the Fort are the Jain Temples and the cannon point where a cannon still sits overlooking the new city of Jaisalmer. The Jain Temples are made in marble, very intricately and elaborately engraved and are multiple storied. You have to leave all the leather items like your belt and wallet outside before you ascend the steps of the temples. Photography is allowed here as long as you do not disturb any of the devotees. The features that take your breath away in the temples are the eyes of the deities which are made of a very sparkly stone and looks almost real as if the God is looking at you with all the love and affection and blessings. Another is the vast temperature difference between the outside and the inside of the temple. The insides are much cooler than the outsides owing to the Marble and the architecture of the temples.

Next we walk up to the most photographed location in the fort - the cannon point. The path is all uphill getting very steep just before the cannon point. The view of the city is totally breathtaking from here. Ideal spot for a few fabulous shots. Now is the time for a leisurely walk back to where you parked your vehicle. Spend as much time as you want and take a look at the vibrant fare the shopkeepers lure you with. Silver jewellery buffs, this is the place to add a little something that looks traditional yet antique to your existing cache of silver jewellery. Brass and copper idols, statues, artefacts, camel leather bags and wallets and belts and even diaries bound in leather covers, clothes in brightest of bright colours (we love the fuchsias, oranges, pinks, reds, greens and blues in their brightest hues in Rajasthan), wooden toys and items of decoration and utility, gem stones, readymade turbans, the list is endless for you to indulge in. 

Time for a sumptuous lunch and then we head to the Kuchha homes of the natives of the Khuri Sand Dunes region. People in Rajasthan are humble and hospitable and warmly welcome tourists into their homes and their lives. We meet the potters here who will let you get a feel of the wet clay and even shape out a pot on your own. The women cover their faces in veils and will only uncover them for women guests. Lady guests can enter the homes and see the skilled women busy with their fine needlework patiently embroidering their blouses or cushion covers. The children will gather around for pictures. The people here are simple and have adapted to the harshness of summers and winters well to move their daily lives unhindered.

A small mud hut in a corner can be seen which is usually used for storing food grains and firewood. As we leave the home of the village natives and move further towards the sand dunes, we will cross some wells where we will encounter women filling water in pots which they will then balance one over the other on their heads and another one on a hip and walk all the way back to their homes in the village. The arid region faces water scarcity in the summer months and hence people here are highly conservative and careful about the water usage.

Witness the Khuri Desert - call it the younger version of the Sam Sand Dunes which are the actual Thar Desert - the unending, vast, expansive, sandy, shifting dunes, getting lost kind of the desert. The shrubbery around here is the Ker Sangri and Bor that are the dry vegetables and fruits of the region and are greatly relished.

From here you drive straight to your hotel / camp site. Enjoy the cultural show that most of the hotels arrange for their guests during dinner and sleep well after your tiring yet exciting day in the World Heritage Site of Jaisalmer.

Ahmedabad In a Day

The World Heritage City, just in a day? Possible? No, its not. But who is stopping you from taking multiple trips to this vibrant city that has heritage safely preserved in its caring palms and modernity taking it to the global platform? We will give you day-plans for all of your multiple trips. Lets start with the first one.

Arrive Ahmedabad in the evening and spend time at the Sabarmati River Front - it is more than what you can imagine. Peaceful, tranquil and the sound of water lapping up against the river bank humming a soft lullaby. Yes, it is as peaceful as can get to meditate or to catch a nap. Cool breeze and the gentle sound of water - Welcome to Gandhiji’s Ahmedabad.

Sleep well in your cozy hotel room and next morning be ready by 7 am but for a change, do not eat breakfast. You read that right, do not have breakfast. The reason is that we want you to indulge in some scrumptious Gujarati delicacies for a yummy breakfast treat but not before some much needed exercise in the form of a 2.5 kms long Heritage Walk. 

Our day begins at the Swaminarayan Temple at Kalupur. You are in the World Heritage City and if you do not explore this city on foot, wouldn’t it be an incomplete experience? Our heritage walk starts from the Swaminarayan Mandir, a detailed account of the same is given here. The hour long walk culminates at the Jama Masjid. From here we go to the hundred year old Chandravilas Restaurant - the restaurant that boasts of Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, Kishore Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and other eminent personalities among its patrons. You saved up your appetite for the most delicious breakfast that would be served here. Fafda and Jalebi combo is a must to start with and a masala tea is a must to wash down your meal with, the in betweens can be anything from Puri Bhaji, Paranthas, Dhokla, Khaman, Sandwich or the other items listed on their menu which is rattled out at supersonic speed by the many “Chhotus” who serve here.

We now have time to either explore Jhulta Minar, Teen Darwaza, Rani Sipri Mosque onto Sarkhej Roza or another set of monuments and go to Adalaj Vav and Gandhi Ashram. Then there are the museums too , Calico museum being a must-visit place on the checklist of every traveller and The Akshardham Temple. As we said, you can not cover everything in just a day hence we divided the monuments in these sets. Let us choose to go onto Adalaj and Gandhi Ashram route today. The other monuments will feature in our next articles “Ahmedabad - again” and “Ahemdabad - yet again”. 

Step wells are an unmissable and integral part of Gujarat’s culture. These were the source of water in the semi-arid zone and also served as a cultural hub for many cultural and traditional gatherings and celebrations. Women would gather here to de-stress and have a casual chat with other friends while on their way to fetch water for their daily domestic chores. As you step inside the step well you would notice that it is much cooler inside the well as compared to the temperature outside. This temperature difference is due to the way the vav was constructed. Talk of engineering marvels!! A detailed account on the Adalaj Vav is soon coming, watch this space.

After spending some time exploring this beautifully carved wonder of a step well, we head towards the Gandhi Ashram. Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram… reverberates in the peaceful environs of the Ashram which feels more like a quaint peaceful village than a Sanctuary. Spread out across the banks of Sabarmati with Neem Trees purifying the air, this home of The Father of The Nation beckons one and all. You would see many school children beelining for the visit through the Museum. The museum showcases life and times of the Mahatma. But before you reach the museum you would notice the Ashram Shop on the left. This is a storehouse of literature about India, Her Freedom Story, Freedom Fighters, Freedom Movement, Mahatma Gandhi and many other national leaders. Handmade notebooks and diaries and miniature versions of the spinning wheel or Charkha are the best souvenirs and gifts from your visit to The Gandhi Ashram. Gandhiji’s “My experiments with truth” and his biography are the fastest selling books here and are available not just in Hindi and English but in other Indian languages too.

Moving ahead you would come across Vinoba Mira Kutir, the small cottage once inhabited by Mahatma’s greatest devotee Mira who was a foreign national but was so influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s teachings that she decided not only to become a follower but also to re-christen herself and staying on in India for the rest of her life. Seeing her devotion towards Mahatma Gandhi she was given an Indian name and that too of Mira Bai- the ultimate devotee ever! It is known that Mahatma Gandhi would keep the most hardened criminals here, close to himself and would gradually reform them and re-introduce them to the society. 

Overlooking the Sabarmati is Mahatma’s living quarters - The Hridaykunj. A small tour of the insides of this beautiful abode is a must. See the humble home and kitchen of the Greatest Man who ever lived and sit in the verandah outside to soak up the surroundings which are home to many birds and squirrels. Parrots squaking around and soft murmur of speedboats taking people on joyrides on the Sabarmati are the only sounds that would interrupt your thoughts.

You can leave The Gandhi Ashram but a visit to The Gandhi Ashram will never leave you - a memory and an impression to last a lifetime.

We are on the other side of the noon and its time to grab a bite. You could sit at one of the popular places or a fine dine depending upon how much time you wish to allocate to your meals. Post meals, we always recommend a slow leisurely walk through the city markets exploring the many lovely handicrafts and fabrics that are showcased in the vibrant bazaars. Savour your evening tea before heading to the The Law Garden or Manek Chowk for a mouth watering and most eclectic street food fare. Both these places rank high and its difficult to choose one over the other but we crossed Manek Chowk on our heritage walk so lets go to Law Garden now. Here you could also indulge in some shopping of traditional Gujarati Chaniya Cholis and imitation jewellery, the kinds that swirl and twirl all over the World during the nine days of Dandiya during the Kartik Navratri. To wind it all up do stuff a meetha paan in your mouth - it will give you a few quiet moments while you struggle to contain the juicy paan in the confines of your mouth and discover its many layers of flavours!

Start with jalebi and end with a paan - that’s your perfectly sweet day in Aapno Amdavad!

Udaipur In A Day

In our series of “City in a Day”, we bring you the world’s 3rd best city today and that too “Just In A Day”! Udaipur, like any other major tourist destination can not be covered in just a day but for the travelling generation of today revisiting a destination is the “in thing”. So, here we provide a brief guide to see Udaipur’s must-visit places during your first trip.

Udaipur is the stuff dreams are made of, and if you come here between July to March, the experience is further enhanced. The rains swish their wand and bless the city with abundance of water in the lakes, the lush green mountains, and gardens and a touch of magic. Life in Udaipur moves about peacefully at a slow pace which is a very relaxing change from the life of Metro Cities. The whole city can easily be traversed in not more than forty-five minutes from one corner to the other. The city scape is made up of snaking roads circling around lakes, gardens, lovely houses, beautiful hotels and vibrant colourful markets. A short drive from the Airport and you enter this beautiful fairytale of a city.

Lets start the day early, assuming you arrive the night before and rest in your hotel for the night. A beautiful jewel is shining up in the sky somewhere and can be seen from anywhere in Udaipur. Your eyes and curiosity are invariably automatically drawn towards it. What is it? The moon? A satellite? A watch tower on a fort wall with bright lights on top? It is a Palace - The Monsoon Palace or Sajjangarh. We will take you there tomorrow, promise!

A sumptuous breakfast at one of the many lovely hotels of the city and your car is waiting for you to take you to your first stop of the day : The Magnificent City Palace. You must hire the services of a well informed guide before you visit the Palace. Believe us, it is totally worth it. Trivia like what a particular feature in the Palace served a purpose of, or why the passages are so narrow, or why are the seats around a courtyard at different levels, will be doled out to you by an expert guide.

Begin your walk through the path that shows you the lake side, Lake Palace, Fateh Prakash Palace and Shiv Niwas Palace hotels, The Shambhu Niwas Palace where the Royal Family still resides and brings you to the front entrance to the City Palace Museum. Take out time to read about this well curated museum and the historic Palace of Mewar here. It gets more comprehensible and interesting to gather a little knowledge before you step in.

Just as you finish this spell binding walk through the Palace and move towards the Jagdeesh Temple, a prominent feature on your right attracts every tourist’s attention, this is the place where the Elephants were bathed. These look like parking lots where the means of transport used in those days were parked (!). Assimilating all the interesting information that you just received, you now walk towards the Jagdeesh Temple - another city icon. The lanes on both sides are lined with shops that sell Rajasthani Arts and Crafts. Visit the beautifully carved Temple before commencing your heritage walk. But a snack before that! What better than the famous Kachoris and Masala Chai at the popular Chai shop just opposite the temple complex.

This should give you enough energy to enjoy your heritage walk through the City. Jagdeesh Chowk is where we begin our walk from, from the side of the temple complex. Narrow lanes but immaculately clean and lined by covered drains, so narrow that you have stand in a corner almost cowering to let an odd auto rickshaw pass by. Two wheelers and auto rickshaws or our evergreen ride, the bicycle are the only vehicles you encounter in these lanes ; four wheelers can not access these narrow streets. Interestingly you can even hire bicycles or scooters here in Udaipur and ride around on your own, but our suggestion would be to explore this idea on your second or third trip. Let your maiden trip be a guided tour so that you get maximum out of the time you spend here.

Udaipur is a hub for miniature paintings and you will see many shops selling these exquisite pieces of art across the old cities. Miniatures are painstakingly and patiently painted on handmade paper and silks. A small souvenir in the size range of six inches by four inches would cost you anything between Rs. 250/- to Rs. 1200/- depending upon the medium used and the intricacy of the work. Though many art schools have now started using acrylic colours for the vibrance these colours exude but most of the old schools still stick to the natural dyes and make their own colours and mix them with home made glues to give their art longevity.

Eclectic prints on funky tee shirts and skirts wave at you from the hangers outside many stores. The chunky stone and silver jewellery beckons from the show windows of many small and big shops. There is something for everyone here. For a detailed account on the heritage walk, watch this space. It is soon coming up.

Our expert guide leads us through these by lanes, shows us the historical and dream-like Gangaur Ghat and Bagore ki Haveli (we will come back here in the evening) and takes us to our end point of the heritage walk, on the way showing us The Clock Tower or Ghantaghar.

We are sure by the time you finish your walk your tummies would be rumbling and anticipating some delicious Rajasthani delicacies. We recommend a Rajasthani Thali but if you wish to keep it light then there is a plethora of wonderful restaurants all over the city that serve up the most delicious food. Now, that is an advantage of being in a tourist destination, you don’t really need to read reviews about restaurants as most of them will serve excellent food lest they won’t survive one season.

Post lunch, lets head towards the Monsoon Palace or Sajjangarh. This is the most magical place in all of Udaipur, or maybe not as there are so many other places that are staking a claim to the top spot. But Sajjangarh nonetheless is a must-visit monument. The drive to the Palace which is quaintly perched on top of a hill is more interesting than reaching the destination. The path crosses a national park which is home to many wild animals - The Bear, Panthers, Cheetahs, many birds and a large population of our national bird - The Peacock and some crocodiles in a pond near the entrance too. 

From the top at Sajjangarh the view of the city will just take your breath away. And if it is monsoons that you are visiting during, you will know why this Palace is called the Monsoon Palace. Interesting story behind it being an incomplete structure too but then that is an entirely different story for an entirely different time as Winnie the Pooh says!

Tea / coffee and sandwiches at the cafe at Sajjangarh if you still feel like munching onto something. Later lets proceed to Bagore Ki Haveli for the best cultural evening experience. Rajasthan is home to many tribes and castes with each one of them being rich in their traditional legacy of rituals, systems, attire, cuisine, arts, dance forms and music. Dharohar - a cultural show at the heritage structure of Bagore Ki Haveli is a beautifully curated show that gives glimpses of as many as twelve ingenious art forms of Rajasthan from Terah Tali to Kathputli to Ghoomer to Kaalbeliya, whichever dance form you have heard of can be seen here. This is such a captivating show that one does not realise when that one hour passes by.

Now the day has almost come to an end and you have had ample walking and running around so spend some peaceful time at the brightly lit up Gangaur Ghat, dipping your feet in the cool waters. Gaze at the jewel-like sparkling Lake Palace on your left and a golden pea-pod of an old bridge on your right. The Monsoon Palace will wink at you from up high. Walk back to your waiting car and head for a lovely meal while re-living the moments of the day. That’s Udaipur for you in a day - a capsule which can only sustain the hunger till your next major meal : the next long trip. You definitely can not not-experience the world’s 3rd best city in totality. Need a car to take you around and a guide to show you around? Click here.