Ajmer, Pushkar and Jaipur

The drive from Jodhpur to Ajmer was again by a taxi, enroute you can find lot of mining activity around. With the proposed 6 line highway coming up, the last leg of the journey to Ajmer was full of traffic. Had a quick darshan at Dargah and headed out to Pushkar. It was before Diwali and the streets of Ajmer were at its best. By the time we reached our hotel lake view Pushkar, we were pretty exhausted.

Water in the sacred lake wasn’t so clear, and locals informed us lake was degraded and thanks to good monsoon last year now lake is slowly getting back its glory. I was also told that the local administration officials have taken water conservation measures to restore the lake. Food is not at all a problem with every other building serving multi cuisine food.

Then the drive to Jaipur was less painful, since it was on 6 line expressway and we reached Cosy Homes @ Jaipur run by a gentleman Mr. Mahesh Tikku. Truly speaking, during this trip we dedicated very less time to Jaipur and just thought we will have Jaipur as a pit stop!

The booking @ Cosy homes was done by Sum and we didn’t contact him further after the booking, that left Mr Tikko wondering who is this Sumana from South India coming for just one day trip to Jaipur? Is she coming with her mother? Sister? friend ? or is she married? If married why her husband didn’t book this? Well… once we reached there, we really had a great fun talking about this, and also found that Mr Tikku is father of Sum’s ex colleague. Then we thought rather than planning all by ourselves, we should have surely called Mr Tikku and planned our trip. Nevertheless.. surely next time I visit cosy homes, Mr Tikku , I will make sure we will call you and plan our trip. Jaipur was at its best on Diwali eve, We shopped and return to Cosy home , planning for come and visit Jaipur Again!!!!

Lake view Pushkar is a medium budget hotel, which is right in the market area just next to the ghats. Offers a good view of lake around and one can enjoy the mornings and evenings sitting quietly at the terrace. Also has a roof top restaurant which offers quite a variety and tasty food. Non vegetarian food and liquor is not served at Pushakar , veggies can hop in to any hotel or restaurant. The Hotel is run by a gentleman Mr Raghu Pareekh, who also runs another good resort nearby.
http://www.lakeviewpushkar.com/index1.htm

Cosy Homes is a wonderful home stay I must say!! It was a home away from home for us. Albeit short, we had an enjoyable stay and I should admit food was fabulous. Situated in the heart of the city, in the calm residential area of Jaipur, Cosy home offers a great value. Hospitality, great room, friendly nature of Mr Tikku’s family will definitely bowl you over.
http://cosyhomejaipur.com/

Happy New Year

May all your dreams come true in 2011, Wishing you a great year ahead.

Jodhpur: The Blue City

The drive from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur is excellent. We hired a taxi to reach Manvar Desert Camp. Negotiating for a taxi , that too for a one way ride is pretty tricky, you will have to bargain hard for a good deal. Reaching Jodhpur (around 110 kms) from Manvar Desert camp was a real challenge. When we enquired for a taxi, they made an exorbitant demand. So we decided to ditch taxi and thought we will catch the first bus which comes our way! To our luck, as soon as we reached the road, we found a shared taxi going towards Jodhpur and driver was more than happy to drop us till Jodhpur.

Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhavan Palace are worth seeing. The fort being located on a hillock, is almost equivalent to a 12~ 13 storied building and there is also lift facility to reach the top. The blue city in its full glory is best seen from the top of the fort.

This fort is also under the control of a trust run by Maharaja of Jodhpur and showcases enormous Rajput culture within and has been converted in to a museum. The technology used in this perfume bottle (toy) is amazing! To fill the perfume, you have got to open the knob on head, and if you press the bird like thing on the left hand , the perfume sprays out of right hand!!! Truly amazing isn’t it!

The protective gear that was once used by the Majaraja, I wonder how much stamina one used to have then!

The entire roof that is seen is made of gold (around 80 Kg, I was told) , this is a war loot from one of the war over Ahmedabad.

Cannons still in position on the top of the fort.

The Royal State Flag and Emblem

Umaid Bhavan Palace: As the history goes, once there was a severe drought in Jodhpur, then Maharaja thought he would distribute money and food to his citizens, then citizens told, being true Rajaputs in nature they don’t want anything in free as alms, instead asked the King to provide them with some work and then pay them. It was then the king decided to build this truly majestic palace.

It’s said that this doesn’t use mortar or cement to bind the stones together, but stones are bound together by a complex interlocking mechanism. Majority of the hotel is under the control of Taj group, part of it is museum showcasing heritage.
Below one really caught my attention! A Menu of Maharaja’s party from 1936, will I ever have an opportunity to taste old wine, liquor listed there?

Khuri ->Jaisalmer->Jodhpur->Ajmer->Pushkar->Jaipur - I

After deciding to go with Rajasthan for this seasons trip, we were bit skeptical about the travel arrangements and place of stay etc. But a thorough research and advice from friends and seasoned travelers helped us. We decided to go all the way up to Jaisalmer (from Jaipur)in train and from there traverse back to Jaipur covering the circuit within 6 days. As soon as we got down from the train @ Jaisalmer, we were mobbed up group of taxi drivers and rickshawallahs, nevertheless we hired a shared auto to Bus stand, All through the journey Auto driver told us how people cheat tourists and but finally dropped us in front of hotel /restaurant and was pushing us to go and have a look there! Commission business rules here! You should make a plan and stick to it. After having a enjoyable stay at Badal House @ Khuri, we headed to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer the “Golden city” has good tourist attractions.

Jaisalmer State Emblem

A doll shop out side Ghadisar Lake: You will find a variety of these shops in the city but you will have to wear a good bargaining hat out here!

Ghadisar Lake was built as a source of water for the Jaisalmer city, the lake is quite large and is a good spot for birding as well. It has a complex of the temples both on the shores and in the center. Boat rides early in the morning and evenings offer a good view of the fort and other monuments around.

A view of the Ghadisar lake.

Most of city looks painted in Golden color.

Lord Rama with a beard :-) May be sculptor thought after "Vanavasa" Rama should have grown a beard.

Jaisalmer Fort(Sonar Killa). Being strategically located in the Arab trade route, Jaisalmer fort occupies an important place in Indian history. As the guide said, during those days if anyone has reached Jaisalmer on camel it was considered to be a major achievement.

City as seen through the fort.

One can still see the stone armoury around the fort, which was used to defend the attacks on the fort.

Unlike other forts, still a significant population lives inside the thriving fort. You will be greeted with lot of guides as you enter the road which leads to the fort, but we found that the guides available inside the fort museum are more knowledgeable, authentic and affordable. The fort is still under the control of current Maharaja, the fort and the museum inside is run by a Trust under Maharaja.

A Busy street inside the fort

Eat out: Desert Bytes is a good vegetarian resturant, which offered us delicious idly, sambar

Next: Jodhpur the Blue City

A Quest with Birds, Bisons,Antelopes and Mokeys..

Last week, we had a great opportunity to participate, learn and make a beginning and I wish we will take forward a good beginning that we have made.

The School and the pupils

This is how we ended up drawing birds! I started to draw a Sunbird but ended up drawing a Kiwi instead!

And a great Morning to begin with…

A Wagtail basking in the sun

I wish I had these morning walks every day

Hog deer has spotted something!!!

Looks like the Kingfisher has got a fish…

Here comes the Bison.. The Hero….

Can you tell me something more about the bird we spotted?

Guess what? He is trying to simplify …

Looks like he has simplified it for Mantis…

Canons shooting birds….

As the Guru says.. it is a complex and interconnected world out there, we should respect each others place in nature.

Badal House @ Khuri

It was a windy, sandy afternoon as we got down from the train in Jaisalmer, the western most tip of Indian railways! As we ventured our way out of the railway station, needless to say auto, taxi drivers started offering accommodations, ride to Sam, ride to Khuri etc. The information collected from various sources was real handy here, finally we took a shared auto to board a bus to Khuri. At Bus stand we couldy only figure out the bus is leaving pretty late and after a good negotiation booked a taxi to drop us at Khuri. As we entered Khuri, we noticed a decent number of resorts and home stays, and after getting directions from an elderly fellow at Village naka, we reached "Badal House" .

"कर्म तेरे अच्छे तो किस्मत तेरी दासी" (If your deeds are good enough then the destiny will follow you) reads a saying written on his house. Ever smiling, simple and down to earth Badal Singh welcomes us to his clean and neat dwelling. As we start unwinding on the small platform infront of the house, the clouds have already surrounded the village and gusty wind starts blowing across. As I cover my face to save it from the sand, Badal Singh says "रेगिस्तान आपका स्वागत कर रहा है" (Desert is welcoming you). Well it's quite true that, wherever we go rain god accompanies us, I was quite suprised to see the rains in the desert with the onset of winter. Badalji attributes it to "Global Warming", and we learnt next day that there was indeed quite heavy showers at Jaisalmer.
True to his nature, Badal Singh has kept his home quite simple but well mantained.You will find 3 simple huts and 3 rooms with shared bathroom facilities. As we talk over a cup of tea, Badalji tells us he is expecting some visitors from Europe that evening and that because of rains they may not be able to make it and tells us how a guest few days back booked and after making all arragements they didnt show up! Badalji so calm and peaceful, there was not a shade of anger while was telling this.
As rains started to drizzle, goats came home and Badalji & Napa (Badalji's Son) served water to goats. You can see the ancient wisdom of rain water harvesting is being practiced here. Badalji has build two storage tanks for water in the house which is used for most of household purposes. Badalji tells as there was good monsoon this time around, he has sufficient water stored for rest of the year.

We break for an evening walk or rather trek to nearby sand dunes, Khuri offered us the peace and solitude, ofcourse the tourist activities @ Khuri have picked up with lot of resorts mushrooming around, but if you are prepared spend a bit more of energy there is no derth for solitude places. Being in the desert national park Khuri also offered us sight of lot of Avions as well. After watching lovely sunset we are back to Badal house, Badalji tells us he has arranged for the Camel ride the next day, we along with the other guests will depart for camel ride next day. He also tells us, "Seeing your state, and also state of weather sir, I cancelled your camel ride today and arranged it for tomorrow". I nod my head in concurrence, with around 20+ years of experience in this , Badalji must have read my mind!! As the loud music from near by resort cuts through the peace of the village, he tells he is not very happy about this, and how this has become part of his life.
Next day, we are up early, and knowing our interest in birds Badalji directed us to three small lakes on the outskirts of Khuri, these are for different purposes of animal and human needs of the village. And when we were back, Badalji showed us comments of an Ornithogist from Europe about Great Indian Bustard, and asked if we were keen to visit that place around 40~50 kms from Khuri. I had to forego that thought, since the travel arrangements couldn't be made in a jiffy, and good time to spot these are only during morning and evenings.
Afternoon sun rises, and so the heat of the desert, Although it was pleasant inside house, it was a bit harsh outside. Badalji told us why there are no A/C's , TV's at his home. "People come here in search of peace and definitely I don't want to spoil my kids with all the facilities". He cherishes his guestbooks, which he has been maintaining since early days of home stay, I must say, this humble man from the western tip of India is making the country proud by doing his bit of service in a selfless manner.

We set out for Camel Safari, as the desert prepares for the evening with an aim to be at the camp by the sunset. For us being first timers, Camel ride wans't that great, with whole of upper torso shaking all the way! But after a while, I guess body adjusted itself and started cooperating. It was great to watch the sun set across the border amidst the sand dunes. We retired to our bed with open sky as the roof, and sand dunes as our bed.

It gets colder during the night with cool wind breezing around, couldn't get good sleep though. But this was really a blessing in disguise as I woke up sometime in the midnight to see a wonderful and glowing "Moon Light soaked desert", It wasn't a full moon day and I made a decision to visit again on a full moon day and went back to sleep.

Spotted a wild deer on our way...

Bettle (id?) on its way...

Den of a desert fox. I was told that they dig up the sand in a zig zag fashion to confuse the predators and protect young ones.

Sun came up a bit late on the horizon next day( We were expecting early sunrise as we see in the east) , and sunrise was over real quick. We were up to birding again, after a great cup of Chai. Napa and Co prepared the breakfast for us and set out to find the Camels in the desert. They had left the camels free with the forelegs tied to each other pervious day. We were back to badal house on camel with a wonderful experience of our lifetime.

As we left Khuri, the words written on Badal house and ever smiling face of Badal Singh kept recurring. I must thank my buddy Arun for suggesting this place and I am sure I will definitely come back here to have a dekko at the Great Indian Bustard and the moonlit desert.

For an account on Birding around Khuri follow this link: Birding Around Khuri

ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಮಮತಾ ಮೇಡಂಗೆ

ನೀವೊಂದು ಸ್ಪೂರ್ತಿಯ ಚಿಲುಮೆಯಗಿದ್ದಿರಿ, ಈ ದಿನ ನೀವಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದರೆ ನಂಬುವುದೇ ಅಸಾಧ್ಯ, ಆದರೆ ಡಿ ವಿ ಜಿ ಯವರು ಹೇಳಿರುವಂತೆ, ಮನುಷ್ಯ ಒಂದು ಗಾಳಿಪಟ , ಸೂತ್ರ ಎಲ್ಲ ಅವನ ಕೈಯಲ್ಲಿ!

ಬಾನೊಳಿರುವುದೆ ಪಕ್ಷಿ ಪಾರ್ವ ದಾರಿಯ ನಕ್ಷೆ।
ಮೀನು ನೀರೊಳು ನುಸುಳೆ ಪಥನಿಯಮವಹುದೆ।।
ಏನೊ ಜೀವವನೆಳೆವುದೇನೊ ನೂಕುವುದದನು।
ನೀನೊಂದು ಗಾಳಿಪಟ ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ।

।।Does the sky have a map for the migrating bird?
Do rules exist for a fish that swims about in water?
Something tugs at life, and pushes it forward:
You are but a flying kite. --Mankuthimma

ಆದರೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ನೆನಪು ಸದಾ ಚಿರಸ್ಥಾಯಿಯಾಗಿ ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಮನಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವುದು
ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಮಮತಾ ಮೇಡಂಗೆ ಇಂದೊಂದು ನುಡಿನಮನ

Happy Independence Day

Started writing in Pakshi Loka co-hosted by Sum

I am back again..

Hmm... finally I was able to catch up on things which I always yearned for, but for some reason or the other wasn't able to do it.
This weekend, I started reading again and did a bit of gardening too..
I have always this debate with my better half, on how many books she has managed to read from my library and How many books I have bought and not even bothered to dust them.
Finally this weekend , to put the case to rest! I started with something light.. and picked one of those "Tom Clancy's Op center" series.
But destiny had some thing else in mind ;-), next day I bumped on series on Vijayanagara Kingdom's history, and got so engrossed that, I managed to finish couple of them over the weekend :-)

Well.....would like to keep the enthu alive and kicking.

cya.

Sarpass Trek- Do's and Dont's

Sarpass being my first trek on the himalayan ranges, I must admit that I was very much underprepared for this one even though I had trekked to good extent in southern parts of India.
Penning down few Do's and Dont's :-)

-> Take sufficient battery backups for your camera. I had taken one extra battery and two batteries were sufficient for the entire trek.

-> Preserve the batteries for higher altitudes where one gets the most beautiful and amazing views

-> Keep the batteries warm, batteries drain out rapidly in extreme cold, hence when not in use and while sleeping keep the batteries in your pockets. The body temp is good enough to keep them warm and they will last longer.

-> It's good that one carries his/her own rucksacks, the quality of bags supplied by YHAI are not very good. After second day of trek, my rucksack was torn and I had to stitch it myself there. (Note: Seeing the state of the bag I was very apprehensive whether I will be able to complete the trek, but thankfully a few stitches made it good)

-> Hunter shoes are a must, regular sports shoes are strict NO NO... 300 rs Hunter shoes avaialble in Commercial street will do a terrrific job.

-> Religiously carry all items which YHAI has mentioned.

-> It's important to take care of your feet, as they say in YHAI, take care of your feet like your face. Anti fungal powder, cotton are needed.

-> During the trek, in most of the tea & lunch points you will get Omlette and maggie noodles. So during most of the days I didn't pack my lunch and managed with omlette and maggies.

-> As they say, each gram will become 1 Kg @ high altitudes, so keep your luggage to bare minimum possible. Apart from what you wear, one extra pair of clothing is good enough.

-> Unless you are a serious photographer, do not carry tripods etc up all the way.

-> Keep mints, dry fruits, ORS and candies. These will be of great help

-> Keep thermals! Good warm clothing is necessary when you have snow around. I believe that the unfortunate incident would not have happened if people wore thermals.

Our tent @ Tila lotni

Evening view of the Sarpass

Morning view: Sar pass

Posting the next set of photos here, well I did try my luck to shoot the moon lit mountains, but yet to process those images. I shall post them soon.

Sarpass Trek- 2009

Finally Mission Accomplished!!!!

I was a little apprehensive about the trek when Chandu rang me to inform me that he would not be making to this trek, and even his friend won't be able to make it this time. So throughout my journey to Kasol - the base camp site (around 40 Kms from Kullu) I was thinking about whether I will have a good company during the trek! But YHAI didn't disappoint me, It was indeed a great company, and for that matter I never felt that I came here to trek all alone during the entire trek! On the contrary now I believe that you should venture alone in to these youth hostel treks and make good freinds out there!

The trek indeed was one of the kind of experiences that you will ever have!!! The high points of the trek were

-> The bone chilling water bath in the Parvathi river and hot water bath at hotsprings
-> Tasting delicious and fresh MOMOS at a canteen in Kasol
-> The journey on the bus top till Manikarn and enjoying the view of the valley from the top of the bus
-> Waking up to see the snow capped peaks infront of you
-> Brushing your teeth at an altitude of ~14000 feet with chilling water
-> Liberty of having energy drinks at such an altitude which keeps your spirits soaring !!!!
-> Having experienced the snow at our camp site at Zirmi
-> Having weatherd a mighty snow storm for almost an hour before reaching our camp at Tila Lotni
-> Having seen the moonlit snow peaks on a beatiful night
-> Gazing stars and moon on a clear night sky with the company of snow peaks around you
-> The every tasty Maggie, Omlette and Tea at Tea and lunch points all along the trek route
-> Crossing the challenging cliff before the slide after we started from Tila Lotni
-> And the mighty snow slide after we crossed the Sarpass, this one scores amongst all !!!!
-> Finally the "Shahi Snan" at Manikaran

Well.. the list is end less... I can keep going on and on and on..... but unfortunately the only low point of the trek was unfortunate demise of fellow trekkers in the SP-1 Batch :(

Click here to view the snaps of new friends during this trek

Take a look at Sarpass view which is my fav shot!!(More to come later)