Recently i have been on a 5 night 6 days tour of our college to rajasthan triangle and the most visited destinations, which were Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur.
It was a fantastic experience and the food there and the culture were just beyond the imagination.
Old Memories
Since my childhood I was surrounded by the culturally diverse locality, during my school days my neighbors were rajasthani and whenever I use to enter in their house I was just transported into some different world.
Though everyone's house in the locality were same but the way they have decorated their home was worth discussing.
That Rajasthani turban and handicrafts, shoes made from camel leather and sovereigns made up of camel bone was some of the iconic stuff i witnessed there.
So from that time i was too much fascinated to visit Rajasthan. So let me share my experience of these 6 days.
It was a fantastic experience and the food there and the culture were just beyond the imagination.
Old Memories
Since my childhood I was surrounded by the culturally diverse locality, during my school days my neighbors were rajasthani and whenever I use to enter in their house I was just transported into some different world.
Though everyone's house in the locality were same but the way they have decorated their home was worth discussing.
That Rajasthani turban and handicrafts, shoes made from camel leather and sovereigns made up of camel bone was some of the iconic stuff i witnessed there.
So from that time i was too much fascinated to visit Rajasthan. So let me share my experience of these 6 days.
Bikaner
Whenever I use to hear this word I always remember Bikharam Chandimal of which I use to have sweets and namkeens in my childhood. I guess Indians can relate to this brand.
The first impression i had when i entered Bikaner and i am sure that u all will also have once is that the city is quite vibrant and enthusiastic and obviously spicy food is the trademark of the place.
Then the hotel i stayed in was Mahadev Palace and then moved out for Junagarh fort which is the most famous fort in the city and was known as Chintamani Mahal before 20th century as after that the royal family left the fort. entry fees is Rs.50 for indians.
The city Bikaner was established by Rao Bikaji in 1488 he came from Jodpur to establish the city. The junagarh fort was started to built by the 6th king Raja Rai singh in 1588 and was completed by 21st Raja Ganga Singh in 1937.
When you will see the fort you will be just mesmerized with the architectural beauty it offers and the beautiful carvings is just worth remembering. Also inside the fort you will find balconies, gardens, kiosks, verandah etc.
Next I visited to the Rats temple which was the most incredible to see and was situated
about 30km away from Bikaner in Deshnoke. The Karani Mata Mandir which was just filled with rats. Though i had heard about it earlier but never seen it, so when i entered the temple it was stinking with the smell of rats but the crowd was enjoying the company of these snippers.
The most shocking fact for me was that local people was having the prashad from the same vessel from which the rats were snipping. i asked few locals about that they said that this is there tradition and nobody has yet disturbed by the disease which can be caused by rats.
Infront of the temple there was karni mata museum where you can find the stories related with the temple and the belief that whosoever dies in the village gets the birth of rat in this temple and if the rat dies it born as human in the village.
Jaisalmer
After the memorable visit to Bikaner I moved forward to my next destination and then reached Gadi Sagar Lake. The lake was just beyond my imagination and i will suggest you all to kindly visit this beauty if you are around.
I have witnessed the beauty and decided to do boating which was Rs.50 per person. The lake at the time of sunset was just the icing on the cake and was adding to its generic beauty.
On asking locals i found out that this lake is artificial reservoir which was built around 13th century and this lake was used by locals for their daily water usage.
then after the overnight stay in a hotel i was ready for new experience in Jaisalmer as it was so fascinated to roam around the city.
Next stop of mine was Patwon ki Haveli which was architecturally so artistic it left me spellbound for few minutes. The entry cost is Rs.20 for Indians and Rs. 100 for foreigner. It was 3 storey above and 2 storey below. It was built in 1805 by Guman Chand and in 1965 the haveli was bought by Kothari which was the wealthiest family of Jodhpur.
There are old antiques inside the Bunglow such as Coins, weights, books, utensils, dresses and much more its just worth visiting.
After a flashback to the lifestyle of the patwons(merchants of Rajasthan) it was time to explore the sight for which the Jaisalmer is being known for which was Jaisalmer Fort.
It is a living fort and is made up of yellow sandstone due to which it appears golden. It was built by Rawal Jaisal in 1155AD.
There is several houses, shops, Gopa n Dussera Chowk, jain temples, Lakshminath temples, Vyas Chattris, Shreenath Palace, Raj mahal and numerous other masterpieces in the premises of the Fort.
Rs. 50 for Indians, Rs. 250 for foreigners, Rs. 50 for photography and Rs.100 for videography.
Then after such a memorable visit to Jaisalmer i visited to the sand dunes for the crazy Jeep safari and Camel Safari. After that in evening there was the cultural dance show near the camp so i visited there also and saw the traditional dance and stunts.
Jodhpur
The blue city of Rajasthan and the second largest city of the state which was founded by Rao Jodha of Mandore.
The houses are painted blue just to reduce the heat of the sun and maintain the temperature inside the house.
Scene from Mehrangarh fort
My next stop in Jodhpur was Mehrangarh Fort which was built by the founder of the city and it is one of the largest fort in India. There is several palaces, antiques, museum and carved courtyards.
There are temples like Chamunda Mataji Temple and Nagnechiji temple also you can enjoy the zip lining activity which will surely provide you the enjoyable experience.
Moreover there is also Sheesh Mahal(mirror hall), Moti Mahal(glass-painted courtroom), Phool Mahal(leisure room for royals) and Zenana Deodi(women's quaters).
The entry fees to the museum is Rs. 60 for Indians and Rs. 400 for foreigners.
As the trip was coming to the end i was falling more and more in love with the Rajasthan and the culture here along with the vibrant people.
So, the last but not the least stop is the Palace where the Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra married and that is Umaid Bhawan. The moment i reach the place, i was able to feel the royalty with the well dressed gate keepers and the staff.
The first impression of the palace was such which cannot be described in words. It was just fabulous architecture and designing and hats off to the staff working hard to maintain the palace.
This palace is owned by Gaj Singh and the architecture style is Saracenic Architecture. There is a Section for the vintage cars in which the Rolls Royce, Road master and Mercedes are being preserved for display.
Nowadays the part of palace is under Taj Hotels and is available for the people to feel the sense of royalty during their stay or visit in the palace.
By such a memorable and unforgettable visit to Rajasthan my tour was about to end. Still i enjoyed a lot and learnt many new things about people, culture and society.
There are numerous other cities and sights which will be discussed in future. so till then enjoy yourselves, keep travelling and stay tuned.
