Rendezvous with Jaipur - Season 2 😊!!

                  What an amazing trip!! Last weekend I happened to go on one of my short vacations to explore more of Incredible India. Trying to make this blog bit concise 😊.

                   It was a 3 day trip to Jaipur. My friend and myself were hiking buddies and part of such trips in Seattle as well, so it was better organized and planned for this one too.

Day 1 :

                   It was 26^th Jul 2019, Friday when I started my journey. I had been wanting to meet my team in Jaipur DC and wanted to know them better. My flight was at 9 AM and I reached Jaipur by 11.15 am. The timing of my travel seems not so perfect yet the best weather that I could possibly enjoy.

                   Just a couple of days prior it has been raining heavily bring relief to the sun baked city. However, when it rains it’s a downpour like anything and the streets get flooded and the water clogged everywhere. I could’nt find a ride to the guest house which I had blocked for my stay near MGF mall. However I was able to hire a cab to our office in Jaipur which is almost on the outskirts of the city in some village along the Jaipur Ajmer Highway. So with an early start of the day I managed to reach office directly from airport by 12.30 pm. All along the way I got some guided tour from the driver explaining how it works in Jaipur when it rains and how things are much cleared once it stops raining in couple of hours giving me some hope that my trip is not spoilt completely by rainJ.

                    This was my second trip and I was kinda revisiting the same routes and places, so it looked bit familiar this time. There were more buildings added to the DC. I met my friend there who accompanied me throughout this venture. The DC is a pleasant place but with nothing much in the surrounding.

I met my team and felt very good about it. I also happened to meet many old friends making me feel like I have been around all along. It was no more a new place to me. Luckily it stopped raining for rest of the afternoon. Weather was quite pleasant and I could explore the DC a bit.

                     After finishing our work we went out for a team snack time to Modern Chowpatty. One of team member gave a ride to us all. Modern Chowpatty is a nice place w.r.t. ambiance and has a different experience. Live music being played, open tables and some exclusively circular cabins for every group. It was kind of unique setup. It turned out to be  like Chowpatty in Mumbai with all snack from various vendors. This place was also offering a concoction of menu items from various eateries. We booked a cabin and tried out the various snacks. I also tried the matka Chai or Khullad Chai which is served in clay cups. The smell of the soil added to the taste of the local masala chai. I enjoyed it. We also tried some adventurous snacks like some Sizzler and Naagin chaap (only that it is just made of SoyaJ). After some photo shoot and fun time with the team I reached the guest house. There was just enough time to catch some sleep since we had planned for an early start the next day.

Day 2: 

                    The plan was to visit Pushkar and Ajmer. We had booked a bus from Jaipur to Pushkar for the same. The bus was at 7.10 AM. Since we were not aware of the distance and the whereabouts of how the bus station in Jaipur was, we planned to reach a bit early. But it turned out we reached too early ..by 6.15 am we were at the bus station. We were bit surprised when we found we had non a/c tickets since we din find better options online. Somehow we figured out where the bus was and I tried a local chai while we were waiting. Somehow the place din seem right, there were better a/c buses which were ready to start. We quickly changed the plan and took an a/c bus to Ajmer which was ready to start by 6.30 am. That was a good decision we took. It was a comfortable ride and it started raining along the way as well. We reached Ajmer in couple of hours by 9.10 am. From the bus station we took an auto to Pushkar.

                    Before I talk about the auto ride, we passed across a pitstop location Kishangad..the bus stand, the place all seems so clean organized and famous for its marble industries. It was a very calming place. After a short stop we headed towards Ajmer. It was cloudy when we reached and very cool. We took the local auto which was a totally different experience with fresh cool air brushing our faces. The driver was also good to take a route with great views.

                    First look at Ajmer, it seems a relatively modern city atleast along the route which we took. The route passed along the lake which was bustling with strong winds and water due to rain and looking very beautiful along the waterfront. The city was just coming alive with modern houses, vehicles all along. We had to ride along the ghat section to reach Pushkar. It was like crossing a hill and the views were so beautiful with the Aravalli mountain ranges looking over you. Since it was Shravan month, many folks were heading to or returning from Haridwar and other holy places to get water from Ganga river. It is their belief , but they were so honest about it that they were not realizing how far they had to travel on foot. This trend I could see in all the places I went during this trip. People also playing dhinchak songs with lyrics about praising which I found quite funny. It was like Disco Dandia with religious songsJ.

                     We reached Pushkar wading through the shops in the market places along the winding streets. We got off and had to walk to the temple for 5 mins. As we walked along, streets were all lined up with all sorts of shops, people, sadhus, eateries etc. It had just drizzled a bit, so the weather still was pleasant.

                    We din want to leave our bags in any of the shops there, so we took turns to visit the Brahma temple. It’s a temple of Brahma which is only one of its kind in whole of India and quite prominent. Since it was raining the marble steps were all slippery and we had to be bit careful. I was observing the market place scenes while waiting for my friend. Vendors inviting visitors, a group of Village folks from Rajasthan with their families, wearing heavy huge turbans like Mukhiya types with traditional attire, visitors from outside India exploring the streets on foot. One of the lady went to the extreme, that wearing the Indian attire and smoking along the streets of Pushkar I was feeling like laughing seeing such contradicting scenes.

                       After darshan both of us found our way towards the Pushkar lake. All routes had to pass through the market place and its streets. We went to the lake which was also beautiful. People were offering prayers , taking dips in the lake. It had multiple entry points. People have a belief that it is holy water and it’s a privilege to be able to touch the water.

                       By this time it was 11.30 AM and we were feeling quite hungry. We were scouting around for some famous street foods, but were bit mixed up with the route ended up exploring more streets of Pushkar though. So we just had our light breakfast in one of the places and had Kadi Kachori which was quite tasty.

                      We had booked a train from Ajmer to Jaipur for the evening. So we still had some more time to spend in Pushkar. We headed out to visit Savithri mata temple which was in a walkable distance. We reached the base of the temple only to see that there was a ropeway as well to the top but was closed for the day due to rain and some technical issue. There is also stretch of stairs that leads to the temple at the peak.

                     Me and my friend just thought we can make it and started climbing the stairs. Mind you, we were normally dressed and not fully prepared for a hike. But as we climbed higher and higher the stairs got more steeper and elevation started to play its role. Even though the weather was cloudy and pleasant we were sweating profusely. But we were dare devil girls so did not give upJ. We slowly moved towards the summit. The views were really awesome all along. I could also hear the cries of peacocks passing messages to each other as we could spot many peacocks along the way. As we climbed higher we could see the view of the entire Pushkar city and the mountain ranges beyond.

                    The peak was not visible as it was covered with clouds/ fog. There were some stretches where there were group of monkeys waiting for food. Anybody who had something in their hand, it was for them. It was bit aggressive. We were bit cautious in these stretches. Luckily there were other local folks who were trekking up along with us. They helped us to move forward. So we stuck to them and climbed up along with them. Good to have conversation with the local folk. We could get to know some interesting stuff, be it true or false. There was a point from where we were told that it was the spot where the movie Karan Arjun was shot. The place seemed to be same thoughJ. 

                    Every curve we take and climb higher the view got much better.  Finally we reached the summit just to see that there was no visibility at all. We were walking amidst the clouds. It was enchanting. The temple was closed for lunch break. We reached around 12.45 pm to the summit. We had to head back to Ajmer, so we rested for a bit and then headed back.

                    Again the same family helps us out in some of those monkey stretches. We slowly made our way back to the base camp by 1.30 pm. We could see that people were camel rides as one of the touristy activities. We were not much interested. We were so tired and hungry that we needed some fuel. We booked a cab to Ajmer. We had our lunch at Silver Leaf fine dining restaurant. It was a good place with very cool ambience and good food too (bit expensive but worth it). Finally, we were somewhat charged up.

                   We took an auto to the Ajmer Khwaja Garib Nawab Durgah. The ride was quite interesting and we were fooled a bit as well. The auto driver took the shortest of shortest route along the narrowest gallis and made us cover 30 min distance in 10 minsJ. I had never been able to imagine that autos can get into such narrow roads. We had to walk for 5 mins to reach the Durgah.

                   It is a very famous place and many people have great faith in the place. It is said that anything you wish for honestly with a pure heart will come true once you visit the place. The path to the Durgah was again through the shops lining up the whole stretch of the street. It was like a commercial hub with all sorts of shops. The Durgah looked quite nice architecturally. Again we din want to leave our bags in such places, so took our turns. Either of us did not have a clue about what is the procedure inside the masjid. We were just trying to follow what others did. Luckily there was a short spell of drizzle and it had stopped raining. So the weather was again very pleasant. It was a very interesting and surprising experience.

                  The Durgah was closed for lunch break and was about to open at 4 PM. We had to cover our heads with scarf or Dupatta and enter. I was all dressed with bindi etc, so it was very obvious that I was a stranger hereJ. As I entered the place after the security check, it was like another small shopping area inside the durgah before we could see the Khwajaji. I’m usually interested to see new culture and architecture of the various places, so was looking around to find which way should I go next. 

                   I saw there was a hall and rows of people were counting date seeds as a ritual praying something in the masjid. Suddenly one of the guy escorted me to another person seated on the opposite side and with a bunch of peacock feathers they blessed me with something. I din even seek for it. Then he asked me to contribute whatever I liked. I offered 100 Rs and he found it offensiveJ. I had to give 550 Rs. He gave me some receipt. They started making a conversation about where am I from etc. Once I said Bangalore, they started sharing about their connections in BangaloreJ. I was just listening. Then the younger guy then escorted me to the Durgah, like VIP entrance, he made way for me amidst the crowd. Basically we had to go around the tomb and pray to the Khwajaji and exit. I was not sure why they were treating me so wellJ (maybe the 550 Rs or what?). 

                    There were more hindu folks visiting the Durgah, atleast when I visited. One of the girl was wearing sleeveless kurta and just covered her head. This guy escorting me asked her to cover properly, not rudely but making her conscious. He took me around the Durgah. It was again like so commercial, people standing all around the durgah blessing people for money. He asked me to be careful about the purse and phone and was kinda protective. After praying inside for a min, we exited the tomb. I was also given a holy thread as blessing and offered another piece to tie to the window there with our wish. I did just that and my guide also explained that the Khwajaji is not from India, has two wives and he took me to their tombs as well.

                    He then showed me the huge cauldron that was commissioned by Akbar . It was a very huge cauldron used for preparing the offering to the people. I could see the fireplace below it. It was interesting. On the other side there was one more item offered by Jehangir. Basically this place has lot of history and faith by people. Then my guide escorted me upto the exit point. I was still wondering what was going onJ. All said and done, India is so vibrant and secular treating everyone the same.

                    After that we wanted to visit the Adhai din ka Jhonparah, a building built in 2.5 days by folks in return once their wish was fulfilled. It was closeby and walkable distance. But we were met with our friend again..STAIRS…we had to climb to reach the monument. It was again more of religious relevance. So we looked around and headed to the Ajmer Railway station. We had to walk through the streets of Ajmer , with all the variety of shops, narrow streets  just like our Avenue road in Bangalore.

                    We reached the station in good time, and got into our train. We booked a 3AC train Ajmer to Amritsar via Jaipur. It was 2 hrs journey. It was a good experience. We finally could stretch our legs. We were all dirty feet due to slushy streets and the walking we had been doing. We reached Jaipur by 8 PM.

                     My day was not over yet. I went to the guesthouse and went to meet my friends for Dinner. It had resumed to rain in Jaipur. My friend had to travel from a location closer to office to pick me in this bad weather. Rain was pouring like anything. I felt very sorry for him since I was not aware that they stayed so far, else I would’nt have made this plan. However, it felt very good to meet old friends and had a good dinner and good time. I still had a Day 3 planned, so I reached guesthouse by 11.45 pm.

Day 3:

Forts Forts and more fortsJ in Jaipur..

                    We planned to visit the selected forts in Jaipur. Since we were exerted so much, we started by 9 AM on day 3. The plan was to cover Nahargarh, Jaigarh and Amber fort and do shopping in Bapu bazaar near Hawa Mahal.

                     We arranged for a local auto ride to take us around for the day. We first headed towards Jaigarh-Nahargarh forts. All along the route I could see the outline of the fort walls stretching far and wide across the mountain ranges. It was stretching all along the edges as far as I could see and beyond. I was surprised about  how well the ancient kings must’ve thought about their defense strategies and take care of their kingdoms. I also got a chance to see the local streets of Jaipur, a nice statue in the town square, Rajasthan University, Jal Mahal standing still and elegant amidst the lake etc. The route was uphill, and we had to take the winding roads to reach the fort. Our first stop was Jaigarh fort. Again, weather was pleasant with no rain. So I was happy for it.  We reached Jaigarh at around 10 AM.

                  Jaigarh fort – It is a very clean and less known rather less crowded fort. I really liked it due to its simplicity and good location. It is situated in between Nahargarh fort at the top and leading down to Amber fort at the bottom. There is a well established tunnel connectivity across all these forts. Due to the rain, the colors of the fort was much more enhanced and clean. We din take a guide but explored the fort on our own. It was indeed a very good place. I also saw the Jalmahal and the lake with such scenic views form the windows of the fort walls , it was breath taking. Since it was cloudy, the colors were much brighter and added to the beauty far and beyond.

                   We then moved on to Nahargarh fort. This is by far the best fort I have visited. It is well organized, beautiful and maintained well. It had sunrise and sunset points which would just light up the fort and the stretch of walls that winds around the fort. I could see many local folks just riding their bikes to reach these view points. Since weather was good I enjoyed it. As we enter we saw the step stairwell which was all constructed long long ago and still fully functional even now. The awesome views of the mountain ranges, forts, walls along the entire stretch with several watch points, view of the entire city of Jaipur it was breathtaking.

                   They had a wax museum of celebrities, royal household members, and a most amazing Sheesh Mahal. I took the ticket to visit these. The wax museum was quite good. I could see the 6 people bike that was shown in Golmaal hindi movie. This was the first place where I saw a real life like figurine of Mahatma Gandhiji. I had already visited other Madame Tussauds wax museum in London, Amsterdam, LA…none of them were close enough. This place was  amazing in that matter. First time I saw Subhash Chandra bose, Bhagat singh who is one of my favorite, Kalpana Chawla. As I moved on to the Royal household members, they had all the cultural representation of Jaipur as well.

                   The walls were decorated with the block art designs, all paintings with gold paint, silver ware used by royalty, precious stones and the fame that Jaipur has for cutting precious stones. They are know for their expertise in cutting and polishing the precious stones. I liked that part. They also had the figurines of their kings and the current lineage. The current prince seems to be studying in England.

They have maintained it very well and have people to explain as well. The best was of Maharana Pratap singh. He was 7 ft and some inched wide chest. He used to carry a heavy heavy staff, sword and khanjar. That was unimaginable. But it is the closest to reality.We had to wait for the entry into Sheesh mahal, during which there was a puppet show being performed. It was good and funny with all folk lore songs and tradition being showcased so well.

                     Sheesh Mahal was my favourite. It was made fully of glass with various types and traditional techniques without any modern ways. Also, it was first of its kind with even the flooring to be made completely of glass. There was silver filigree, the colors designs all depicting the Royal Durbar. The explanation and the artistic design of the Sheesh mahal is amazing. Photography is not allowed which is a good thing, coz it is really to be experienced than caught in a camera. Some of the walls even had glass bloba where we could see the reflection of the entire rea behind including the ceiling and the flooring. The paintings with real gold and stones was so much real life like that I admired it a lot. Mughal – E – Azam can be experienced by just being inside for few minutes.

                      After that we explored the other areas of the fort. The buildings have lot of windows and you can look out to the city from anywhere. The city view with blue terraces spread out is nice to see.

Weather was slowly starting to get bit sunny. We were bit hungry, so took a quick bite in one of the local restaurants and headed back to Amber fort. Along the way, there Is a view point where a scene from Rang De Basanti was shot. I came to know only after we headed back from there. That’s a cool point. I could find many peacocks along the way.

                      Amber fort is at the bottom of this stretch. As we were heading back, we could see that the entrance to Nahargarh fort was blocked. It seems to be a spot with frequent suicide attempts and prone to accidents. We were lucky to have first made our visit there.

                      This was my second visit to Amber fort. Last time we went up by car with some friends and then had to walk a small stretch. But this time once again we had to walk almost 2-3 kms to reach the entrance to the fort. So our saga with Stairs continued. Being Sunday, I could see that public was thronging to this place with families friends for photos etc. It was too busy and hot. We were sweating profusely and were not too interested in pictures. We again explored the fort. Again it has a Sheesh mahal kinds but with mirror work on the walls. It is very artistic. After going around, we were so tired that we headed back to have lunch at LMB (Laxmi Mishtaan Bhandaar).

                       I had been to this place earlier. This is a very old joint and quite famous for its sweets and food. Food was tasty. I tried the Raj Kachori and Lassi Malai maar keJ. After lunch, we went out for some shopping. We had just started our shopping when it started raining. The weather… streets started being bit messy, so we just spent some time and headed back to guesthouse. 

Day 4: 

I headed back to home ground Bangalore on Monday morning.

Overall, it was a fantastic trip…taking me back in time be it historical, eventful, adventurous, be among nature. I even tried different modes of transport auto, bus, car, train. There is always something new to explore. For many more such ventures in future…Cheers!!

                             

                             

                                                      -       Nirmala