Bikaner

The desert city of Bikaner exudes an ambience of well preserved medieval splendour. Undulating and shifting sand dunes in the rugged Thar Desert open out to a magnificent heritage city of forts, palaces and colourful markets, fortified against marauders by seven km long embattlements.
The Junagarh Fort is encircled by a moat that protects the splendid complex of thirty-seven palaces, pavilions and temples. Lal Garh Palace is an architectural masterpiece in red sandstone part of which has now been converted into a luxury hotel and a museum. The Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum houses a rare collection of terra-cotta ware, weapons, miniature paintings from the Bikaner School, coins and masterpieces of Harappan civilization. The temple of Karni Devi, The Bhandeshwar and Sandeshwar Jain Temples, the Laxminathji, Nagnechiji and Shiv Bari temples are some of the holy places in Bikaner. Rampuria Haveli and the Kothari Haveli in the old city are heritage buildings sporting impressive and ornate carved jalis and balconies.
Camel Safaris and Jeep Safaris are a wonderful way to explore the desert and would definitely be an unforgettable experience. You could even plan a trip in January, when the city comes alive with action in preparation for the colourful Camel Fair or visit the Camel Research Centre and get educated about the ship of the desert.
Bikaner is linked by a good state and national highways and railways to other cities and the nearest airport is in Jodhpur.
Best time to visit: October to March
Languages spoken: Marwari, Hindi, English
Climate: Very hot summers and cold winters
Heritage sites: Junagarh Fort, Lal Garh Palace, Rampuria Haveli,Kothari Haveli
Holy places: Karni Devi Temple, Bhandeshwar and Sandeshwar Jain Temples, Laxminathji Temple, Nagnechiji Temple, Shiv Bari Temple
Activities: Camel Safari, Jeep Safari
Knowledge Centres: Ganga Golden Jubilee Museum, Camel Research Centre

Jodhpur->Jaisalmer->Bikaner in 5 days : Part-2

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Jaisalmer was our next destination and on our return journey we planned to cover Bikaner. We decided to start after getting fresh in early morning so that we do not end up wasting time in Jaisalmer. We reached Jaisalmer by around 8:30 AM, luckily found a local guide and took some guidance from him and by 10 we were in the Jaisalmer fort. Took a guide (he was just hovering around there) there and started the fort visit. We booked the tickets for the Swiss camp in the Sam sand dunes from the fort only.

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Jodhpur->Jaisalmer->Bikaner in 5 days : Part-1

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Since quite some time I have been thinking “what an amazing experience it will be drive through the Rajasthan deserts and barren lands”. I have only seen those in movies but to do it on my own is something I have always been dreaming for. Unfortunately because of our professional life, it is not always an easy job to plan such kind of trips. But then you get a chance and you have to reap the advantages then and there on. Exactly that is what I did, and made a quick plan of visiting Jodhpur, Jaisalmer during the republic day leave on 2012. Took two additional days leave and planned the whole trip. And as we found out later, it was not a bad decision at all. Here’s a small description on the entire trip that I had and I hope this will be really helpful to those who are actually planning for such trips. Although 5 days is a bit tight for visiting these places, I tried to cover the maximum things that can be visited within this schedule.

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राजस्थान यात्रा: भाग २ (बीकानेर)

राजस्थान यात्रा: भाग २ (बीकानेर)

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खैर हम पहले अपने होटल गए क्योंकि सब लोग ४-५ घंटे की सड़क यात्रा के बाद थक से गए थे और कुछ खाने पीने की ज़रूर दिखाई दे रही थे| होटल एक हवेलीनुमा मकान था, जो कि बाद में हमने देखा कि वहाँ आम बात है| किसी रिटायर्ड सरकारी अफसर का घर था जो कि उसने होटल में बदल दिया था| ये एक अच्छा व्यापार है बीकानेर में जहां यात्रियों, खासकर, विदेशी डालर यूरो वाले, की संख्या ज़्यादा है और लोकल लोगों के लिए ये पैसा कमाने का अच्छा ज़रिया है| होटल बहुत सस्ता तो नहीं था, करीब १५०० रुपये प्रति रात डबल बेड के लिए (घुसलखाने के साथ) लेकिन ठीक-ठाक था, सफाई ठीक थी और ऊपर एक रेस्तारेंट भी था जहां से नजारा काफी अच्छा था| लेकिन जिस बात ने हमारा पहुँचते ही मूड आफ किया वो ये थी कि स्टाफ विदेशी लोगों में ज़्यादा मशगूल थे और भारतीय ग्राहकों को नज़रंदाज़ कर रहे थे| इस बात को लेकर हमारी थोड़ी कहा-सुनी हुई और फिर स्टाफ का रवैया एक दम बदल गया| रात को खाना खा-पीकर हम बिस्तरों में घुस गए क्योंकि अगले दिन कई सारी जगह देखने जाना था|

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राजस्थान यात्रा: भाग १

राजस्थान यात्रा: भाग १

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पुष्कर एक छोटा सा कस्बा है जहां राजस्थान में होने की वजह से धूल ज़्यादा है, हरियाली न के बराबर है और आबादी भी ज़्यादा नहीं है| जगह के बारे में किवदंती है कि ब्रह्मा ने राधा कृष्ण की झलक पाने के लियी साठ हजार साल लंबी तपस्या की थी और ये जगह अपनी झील या तालाब के लिए जानी जाती है| यहाँ देखने के लिए कई सारे मंदिर भी हैं जिनमें कि मेरी कुछ खास दिलचस्पी नहीं थी| पुष्कर पहुँचने के बाद होटल तक पहुँचने में थोड़ी मुश्किल हुयी, क्योंकि पहले हमको किसी ने उलटा रास्ता बता दिया  और हम पुष्कर के बाहर ही चले गए लेकिन फिर किसी भी तरह से पूछपाछ के होटल तक पहुंचे| होटल तक पहुँचने में शाम हो गयी थी और अंधेरा लगभग होने लगा था| होटल अच्छा था, पीछे एक पहाड़ी थी जिसको देखते ही मुझे तो तुरंत ही इस पर चढ़ने की तमन्ना हो गयी |

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Best of Bikaner, Rajasthan

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You do not need to hire any guide. The palace tickets will include it all. Then the guide will roam you around the palace and will tell you all about the history etc. of this palace. Really this palace is unique in its own. The monuments and the historical things that has been preserved in this palace really stunning.

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Delhi -> Jodhpur ->Jaisalmer -> Bikaner Road Review

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A road trip starting from Delhi to Jodhpur, then over to Jaisalmer and a return back via Bikaner is an amazing experience. It is always advisable to start the journey at the break of dawn to avoid the rush hour. We started around 3:00 AM (did I say break of dawn?) and were in Jaipur by 7.00 AM. The Delhi-Jaipur Highway (NH-8) is under construction for expansion. Be prepared to face a lot of mud & deep craters on the roads. We still managed to go maintain a speed of 60-70 Kmph and sometimes accelerated to about 110 kmph. Good facilities for breakfast and refreshments along the highway provided by Rajasthan Tourism & other privately held outlets make the journey comfortable.

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Sheer drive to Rajasthan: Jodhpur,Udaipur & Jaisalmer in 4 days

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Still we had enough time so gave a thought for Udaipur now in evening. Everyone suggested for planning during food intake. Ultimately this was saving some time for us.
we wasted 20-25 mins in search of a good restaurant in city than decided that we will have food on the way .Just 10 mins later found a restaurant luckily. We were having our lunch cum dinner @ 6:30 PM. We hadn’t booked our hotel anywhere in the trip so tried to book hotel in Udaipur. Another 5-6hrs journey was still pending & it was a big risk to search hotel in midnight with family. When inquired in 5-6 hotels none of a single room was available. Local contacts tried but all went in vain.
Oh God….left the luck behind!! was everyone celebrating independence day in Udaipur or everyone was utilizing this weekend with another holiday of 15th Aug. By the way it was 8 ‘o clock & we were still in Jodhpur.

Avoiding risk of late night journey & no hotel availability in Udaipur we decided to stay in Jodhpur & depart for Udaipur in early morning. It was a hotel’s restaurant, got 2 rooms easily .We had enough spare time now, so utilized for our party.

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Karni Mata temple – Not for the faint hearted

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Besides the religious significance, the Karni Mata Temple is also a significant piece of art. Built in the late 19th century and finished in the early 20th century, under the patronage of Maharaja Ganga Singh of Binaker, the temple architecture reflects the Mughal style of artistry.

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