The Road Trip II ( Jaisalmer)er

 

After the fun filled pre Diwali night with friends , lots of adda, drinks , music and laughter, next day would be the drive to Jaisalmer. Our friends boarded the train to Jaisalmer and we set out by our car. Not surprisingly I had a tiff with husband just after we started driving because I wanted to drive, so some tantrums and silence later I was beneath the wheels with music, lovely roads and windmills grazing the roads.That was one of the beautiful drives of my life with virgin roads, rugged landscapes and nothing but horizon ahead. Maybe being Diwali day traffic was sparse and being tough terrain as it is population seemed sparse as well!

The road was deserted and there was hardly any open restaurant. We found few choices in Pokhran with most of them being closed. But had fresh Gatta curry, rotis, kadhi chawal in a smallish local joint types. Even my daughter a bit exasperated with 'eat local cuisine' preach actually loved the food and for once agreed when in a new place we must try local cuisine overlooking the pizza burger fair once in a while.

The surprise of the drive was just waiting post lunch when I was planning to doze off with husband behind the wheels and daughter in front with him. The road straight head unfurled the most beautiful sunset which compelled husband to pull the car sideways and we just leapt out of the car. Later daughter remarked ' What a strange couple you are! One moment you were fighting tooth and nail and the next you were leaping out of the car... sunset sunset!!'

Yes it was one of those moments, my ' Kahin dur jab din dhal jaye' moment when we put behind our tiffs and just marvelled...hues of the sky , the road and the horizon!

'In umr se lambi se sadko manzil pe pohochte deha nahi 

Bas daudti phirti rahti Hain humne to theharte dekha nahi!!'

Gulzar couplet for every occasion!

We checked in to Hotel Chowki Dhani and settled for vegetarian fare at night which was kind of disappointing for the adults and the kids alike. Though the news of availability of eggs in the morning came as a huge relief!

Day 1: Jaisalmer : Sonar Kella, Patto ke Haveli, Bada Bagh, Gadisar Lake

Like all bongs Satyajit Ray's Sonar Kella weaved a spell over Jaisalmer...the desert and the golden fort. Even daughter who had read the English translation kept asking ' Maa where do you think was Mukul's treasures in this crowded place!' Next morning after breakfast was the day trip of the charming old world Jaisalmer. Beginning was of course with Sonar Kella...the Golden Fort with its alleys, with its residents manoeuvring deftly their two wheelers around the tourists and stray animals, the lanes with antic shops...one would just love the vibes!

Absolutely ' Padharo Maro des' vibes, did some street shopping as I love, dupattas, jhumkas , sling bags, some souvenirs.

Next stop was Patto ke Haveli , my visit to Jaisalmer wasn't first and the Jaisalmer I remembered from mid nineties...laid back, charming, royal with palaces, havelis and desert straight out of the movies and serials I had watched !

Day's last stop was the beautiful Bada Bagh and after that we headed for light and sound show at the Gadisar Lake. Many old movie songs were shot at Bada Bagh like 'Jihale Miskin ' that haunting nomadic track and we witnessed solar eclipse in the open horizon... which left us spell bound.

Day 2: Drive to Longewalla, Tanot Mata temple 

Next day was the drive to Longewalla which was not on my bucket list but followed the group. Road was ethereal amidst sparse vegetation and almost no villages or sign of life near by. 

Longewalla evoked the emotions specially from the movie ' Border'...the songs echoed through out the drive and though anti war at heart , the place struck chords at those soft corners where it hurt! The drive to Tanot Mata temple where the supposed Pakistani bombs did not blast was also ecstatic.

Day 3: Mandir Palace, Kuldhara Village, Jeep Safari, Sam Sand Dunes

Next day was visit to Mandir palace and a fabulous non veg lunch of Laal Maas and other stuff  and the kids jumped in with chicken chicken....well can't blame them..took after their parents after all 🙈.

Next was the supposedly haunted Kuldhara village, nothing much noticeable , a Bhangarh like feel if anything eerie is there...is lost among the crowd!

We checked in to the desert camp in the late afternoon where I quickly changed for a long dress for some instagramic reel and was set for desert safari. Husband was not happy at the little stretch of sand and the crowd, his friend was raving about the vast Dubai desert and I was shooting my Raziya Sultana reel with glee and the kids giggled madly at the jeep safari where we adults had our hearts and stomach popping out of us!

Evening was colourful at the camp with folk music, dance under the sky and the theme of the trip , ' Maare Hivde mein ' moment for me! Under the clear sky and stars we listened to the singers then played from our playlists and for sometimes it was a Lamhe, Rudali or ' Jihale Miskin' set where we were transported! Kids made a fuss over the wild insects on the door of the camps to which we did not pay any heed.

Day 4: Drive back to Jodhpur 

And next day was the drive back to Jodhpur! The trip was nearing an end....the dunes of Sam, the camps at night, havelis and palaces...we were leaving the land of fables with memories and music in hearts... So many Chitrahar songs seeing the light of the day and reel life and real life turned into one for some moments!

After the fun filled pre Diwali night with friends , lots of adda, drinks , music and laughter, next day would be the drive to Jaisalmer. Our friends boarded the train to Jaisalmer and we set out by our car. Not surprisingly I had a tiff with husband just after we started driving because I wanted to drive, so some tantrums and silence later I was beneath the wheels with music, lovely roads and windmills grazing the roads.

That was one of the beautiful drives of my life with virgin roads, rugged landscapes and nothing but horizon ahead. Maybe being Diwali day traffic was sparse and being tough terrain as it is population seemed sparse as well!

The road was deserted and there was hardly any open restaurant. We found few choices in Pokhran with most of them being closed. But had fresh Gatta curry, rotis, kadhi chawal in a smallish local joint types. Even my daughter a bit exasperated with 'eat local cuisine' preach actually loved the food and for once agreed when in a new place we must try local cuisine overlooking the pizza burger fair once in a while.

The surprise of the drive was just waiting post lunch when I was planning to doze off with husband behind the wheels and daughter in front with him. The road straight head unfurled the most beautiful sunset which compelled husband to pull the car sideways and we just leapt out of the car. Later daughter remarked ' What a strange couple you are! One moment you were fighting tooth and nail and the next you were leaping out of the car... sunset sunset!!'

Yes it was one of those moments, my ' Kahin dur jab din dhal jaye' moment when we put behind our tiffs and just marvelled...hues of the sky , the road and the horizon!

'In umr se lambi se sadko manzil pe pohochte deha nahi 

Bas daudti phirti rahti Hain humne to theharte dekha nahi!!'

Gulzar couplet for every occasion!

We checked in to Hotel Chowki Dhani and settled for vegetarian fare at night which was kind of disappointing for the adults and the kids alike. Though the news of availability of eggs in the morning came as a huge relief!

Like all bongs Satyajit Ray's Sonar Kella weaved a spell over Jaisalmer...the desert and the golden fort. Even daughter who had read the English translation kept asking ' Maa where do you think was Mukul's treasures in this crowded place!' Next morning after breakfast was the day trip of the charming old world Jaisalmer. Beginning was of course with Sonar Kella...the Golden Fort with its alleys, with its residents manoeuvring deftly their two wheelers around the tourists and stray animals, the lanes with antic shops...one would just love the vibes!

Absolutely ' Padharo Maro des' vibes, did some street shopping as I love, dupattas, jhumkas , sling bags, some souvenirs.

Next stop was Patto ke Haveli , my visit to Jaisalmer wasn't first and the Jaisalmer I remembered from mid nineties...laid back, charming, royal with palaces, havelis and desert straight out of the movies and serials I had watched !

Day's last stop was the beautiful Bada Bagh and after that we headed for light and sound show at the Gadisar Lake. Many old movie songs were shot at Bada Bagh like 'Jihale Miskin ' that haunting nomadic track and we witnessed solar eclipse in the open horizon... which left us spell bound.

Next day was the drive to Longewalla which was not on my bucket list but followed the group. Road was ethereal amidst sparse vegetation and almost no villages or sign of life near by. 

Longewalla evoked the emotions specially from the movie ' Border'...the songs echoed through out the drive and though anti war at heart , the place struck chords at those soft corners where it hurt! The drive to Tanot Mata temple where the supposed Pakistani bombs did not blast was also ecstatic.

Next day was visit to Mandir palace and a fabulous non veg lunch of Laal Maas and other stuff  and the kids jumped in with chicken chicken....well can't blame them..took after their parents after all 🙈.

Next was the supposedly haunted Kuldhara village, nothing much noticeable , a Bhangarh like feel if anything eerie is there...is lost among the crowd!

We checked in to the desert camp in the late afternoon where I quickly changed for a long dress for some instagramic reel and was set for desert safari. Husband was not happy at the little stretch of sand and the crowd, his friend was raving about the vast Dubai desert and I was shooting my Raziya Sultana reel with glee and the kids giggled madly at the jeep safari where we adults had our hearts and stomach popping out of us!

Evening was colourful at the camp with folk music, dance under the sky and the theme of the trip , ' Maare Hivde mein ' moment for me! Under the clear sky and stars we listened to the singers then played from our playlists and for sometimes it was a Lamhe, Rudali or ' Jihale Miskin' set where we were transported! Kids made a fuss over the wild insects on the door of the camps to which we did not pay any heed.

And next day was the drive back to Jodhpur! The trip was nearing an end....the dunes of Sam, the camps at night, havelis and palaces...we were leaving the land of fables with memories and music in hearts... So many Chitrahar songs seeing the light of the day and reel life and real life turned into one for some moments!

The Road Trip I (Gurgaon, Jaipur, Jodhpur)

This was our plan for long. Our love for the roads and love for travel, squeezing in the leaves, tying up with our friends from different cities to meet up in Jodhpur thereafter travel to Jaisalmer.

Our friends had booked flight tickets to Jodhpur from Mumbai and Kolkata where they stay and husband was tempted once should we take flight to Jodhpur. I did put my foot down then..I mean taking a flight to Jodhpur then book a car or train for Jaisalmer... where would we get the feel! His next idea was shall we hire a vehicle from Delhi...but to depend on a driver with rash driving in all respects and over the top music to bear with! I again uttered a big no! Here I'd like to mention that lover of soft music of yore with Gulzarish lyrics, once we had travelled by car to Kaushani ...in the lush Himalayas and the driver in his late teens kept playing the super nasal vocals of Himesh Reshammiya with the latest chart buster then ' Aashiq banaya apne' which began with some ultra nasal octave beginning with O-o-o-o! Till then I had this phobea of traveling with drivers.

Day One: Official commitments, leave management..we started for Jaipur after 6.30 pm from Gurgaon after picking husband from office . Would give credit to husband ( albeit unwillingly) for booking a nice hotel on the outskirts of Jaipur which gave us a regal feeling and one of the best feasts of entire trip.

Day Two:  The fabulous food and kind of Royal Rajasthani hospitality and music lifted our moods and after a real sumptuous breakfast where we savoured kadhi kachoris  and lots of other delicacies with relish we sat out for our day's drive to Jodhpur.

The drive  through busy roads of Jaipur was not pleasing and soon I was questioning myself was road trip a really good idea! But then outside Jaipur roads widened and welcomed us just the way we wanted and after a routine tiff with husband I was behind the wheels...bit nervous but it was fun with pestering daughter to play all the mushy old school road songs I love. Roads were surprisingly traffic free and traffic disciplined no unnecessary honking or overtaking spree a breather from Delhi roads.

Barring Ajmer not many places for stop over , since we normally set out after a heavy breakfast our lunch was late at Megh Malhar, Khinawari. Food was fresh and loos clean and the break was welcome. Thereafter we reached Jodhpur in the evening, drive was smooth except for locating the hotel inside the city somehow navigating through almost kuccha road as directed by google. The hotel was located in a clean peaceful area of the city and we joined our friends for big hullabaloo in the night.

Day Three: Jodhpur

For the blue city we all geared up in blue and boy it was fun! Umaid Bhawan, Mehrangarh Fort and Jaswant Thada was on my list as I could recall my more than two decade old trip to Jodhpur with my parents.

The artefacts, grandeur, elegance and contemporary look of Umaid Bhawan had the kids in awe as well and after a delicious Kulfi in the blazing sun our next stop was Mehrengarh Fort.

                      The delectable gigantic  Kadhi Kachori at the restaurant in Mehrangarh Fot

Jaswant Thada story intrigued me when I visited in my late teens, though our driver this time shrugged it off as nothing but a tomb of the king...he might have missed the part it was built by his wife with love, grit and more love.

                                               

We did venture for the old city in those autos which run through the heart of the city. Being Choti Diwali the rush was mad and as they said roads were closed we missed Clock Tower, Ghanta Ghar and those beautiful blue doors.

There just might be a next time!