1.JAIPUR (RAJASTHAN), INDIA : DELHI-DWARKA-DELHI IN 16 DAYS

(This is the first of the 08 blogs covering this trip.)

Delhi - 265kms - Jaipur - 130kms - Ajmer - 194kms - Chittor - 120kms - Udaipur - 249kms - Ahmedabad - 231kms - Rajkot - 221kms - Dwarka - 456kms - Ahmedabad - 183kms - Ambaji - 51kms - Mount Abu - 737kms - Delhi 

DAY 01: DELHI TO JAIPUR

One fine morning, hubby and I were suddenly bitten by the travel bug. “We must explore India by road before we become too old to drive around,” I said and he agreed spontaneously. We decided to undertake the adventure and started the spade-work for Delhi-Jaipur-Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Dwarka- Mount Abu – Delhi stretch which we planned to cover in about a fortnight at an absolutely relaxed and leisurely pace.

The decision was quick but it was followed by unending hours of Googling for all the details. I must admit that we were too lazy to go to the Tourism Deptt. offices at Chandralok Building at Janpath, New Delhi which definitely is an easier option for collecting information. Neither did we want to take the help of any tour operator. The idea was to go on our own, by our own car, at our own will and at our own pace singing, “Nikal pade hain khuli sadak pe apna seena tane…kahan ki manzil kahan hai jana, ooper wala jaane.”

We drove from New Delhi to Dwarka (Gujarat) and back, a distance of app 3000 kms in 16 days. Compliments to my chauffer … ooops… shauhar (hubby) who proved his driving skills and endurance beyond doubt at the ripe old age of XX (censored). I, of course, was happy to act as a navigator all through.

Entry to Amer Fort and its main courtyard

On day one of the trip, in the last week of December 2011, we started from our residence in New Delhi at 9.15 am on a foggy winter morning and travelled from New Delhi to Jaipur covering a distance of 238 kms. Traffic at Delhi-Gurgaon Road was at its peak at that time and the cars were virtually crawling. Were we worried? Of course, No! Let it take as much time as it does. We were in no hurry and were enjoying every moment of it. Accompanied by hubby’s elder brother and sis-in-law, catching up on all the family gossip resulted into non-stop chattering.

The first stop was after 85 kms at Café Coffee Day at 11am. A much needed bio-break followed by big glasses of Cappuccino coffee and home-made cheese sandwiches, which we enjoyed sitting in the warmth of our car, was quite refreshing. At 11.25am, we were again on the road.

The next break was for lunch at the Farmers’ Retreat on the outskirts of Jaipur at 2.20 pm. We chose to sit in the open with bright sun shining on the lush green grass. What a change from the cold and foggy Delhi! Noticing a huge gunman walking towards us, I was amused and asked him, “Are you coming here to shoot us down?” Poor man was highly embarrassed and quickly shook his head from left to right and said seriously, “No Ma’am, this is for your safety. There are far too many monkeys around and they may attack you.”

Lunch was delicious and we gobbled it up like we were starving since ages. As we were still outside the city and Amer Fort is on this side only, we decided to visit the Fort before heading off to the Guest house. We have seen this Fort so many times in the past but each time it throws up a new side of it. A good guide at the rate of Rs. 150 for over 4 hours was quite helpful in seeing the Fort quickly with proper focus.

Amer Fort is an impressive combination of red stone and marble

Amer Fort is 11 kms before the city of Jaipur and was built by Raja Maan Singh. Located on a mountain-top, it is one of the most important tourist attractions of Jaipur. Made of red stone and marble, it is an archaeological marvel. Diwan-e-aam, Diwan-e-Khas and Sheesh Mahal are some of the more important parts of the Fort. An interesting part of the Fort is Goddess Kali’s Temple where a goat is sacrificed daily even today and liquor is also offered which is ultimately handled (read consumed) by the Bengali Pandits there, we were told. We also saw the place where Bollywood movie Jodha Akbar was done and the cauldron in which Aishwarya Rai as Jodha cooked food.

Garden within the fort

After the visit to the Fort, the guide insisted that we must visit the Rajasthan Handicrafts Emporium which we did only to realise that they wanted to sell various items to us at exorbitant prices. We escaped that bid and came out unscathed and reached the Bank’s Guest house by 9 pm. As we had already informed the caretaker for keeping the dinner ready, we had our hot and healthy homely dinner and retired for the day.

(Jaipur to Ajmer leg of the journey will be covered in the next blog)

SIX LEARNINGS OF THE DAY

1. Keep your favourite music handy. I had ripped my music CDs and transferred all my favourite songs on MP3 format on an 8 GB pen-drive which I put in the USB port of my i20 car. It is not a great idea to carry loads of CDs especially when space is limited in the glove cabin.

2. Keep sufficient change ready in your wallet for paying up at innumerable Toll Plazas on the way. We paid Rs. 21 before Gurgaon, Rs. 27 at 34th km, Rs. 98 at Shahjahanabad Toll Plaza at 108th km and Rs. 47 at 205th km just before Jaipur. You certainly would not like to be searching all your pockets for change at every such toll plaza.

3. In winters, wear layers of clothes and keep taking them off as the temperature rises in the car. Don’t ever get stuck with a thermal underneath. It can indeed make you miserable.

4. Shoes are an important part of the outfit.... a comfortable pair which one can wear the whole day without feeling the need to take them off and walk endlessly in case the programme changes suddenly as it did in our case.

5. Keep extra camera batteries with you. The batteries in the camera have a unique tendency to conk off when you need them most.

6. Feed the necessary phone numbers and address of Guest House/hotel/place of stay in your mobile in advance. Who wants to search around a paper and read it in the dimly lit interiors of the car at night?

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