Rajasthan

The state of Rajasthan is a blend of the traditional and the modern, with somewhere a medieval ambience still lingering on. The heritage monuments and traditional costumes rub shoulders with modern infrastructure and luxuries. Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan is known as СThe Pink CityТ and is a treasure house of palaces, fortresses, monuments, museums, temples and gardens. The lakeside city, Udaipur, set in a valley surrounded by lush hills, is famous as СThe Venice of the East.Т Jaisalmer situated in the heart of the Thar Desert, has a massive fort in yellow sandstone while Jodhpur lies at the foot of the soaring Mehrangarh fort. Jodhpur, Chittaurgarh, Bundi, Bikaner and Bharatpur all have a long and colourful history resounding with sagas of valour and heroism.
The Dargah of the Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, at Ajmer, Brahma Temple at Pushkar and the stunning Jain temples at Ranakpur and Mt. Abu are holy places in Rajasthan.
RajasthanТs nature reserves cover a broad spectrum with habitats ranging from the verdant and hilly Mt. Abu to the arid desert wastes of Thar. Some of them are Sariska Tiger Reserve, Desert National Sanctuary, Sambhar Salt Lake, Ranthambhore National Park and Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary. Rajasthan is well connected on the vast network of Indian railways and connected by well-maintained National Highways to its neighbouring states. The cities of a Jodhpur, Jaipur and Udaipur have airports. The best time to visit Rajasthan is during the winter months from October to March.

A Glimpse Of Jaipur

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Upon entering the walled city, we were immediately accosted by each and every shopkeeper of each and every shop in the myriad bazaars within. This was annoying enough for us as Indians. It must be downright intimidating for the foreigners.

The shopkeepers aggressive sales pitch were a big put off. Having said that, I could see why Jaipur is called a shoppers paradise. Though most of the wares on offer were touristy tat, there was certainly a huge variety of some rather good tat as well. I succumbed and did not leave without my fair share of purchases though I would have bought a lot more had it not been such a nuisance having to bargain fiercely in every store. Initial prices quoted anywhere were at least 3 to 4 times higher than the final settled amount. The haggling became just too much of an effort and I decided not to buy anything more. The Jaipur traders are geared to sell to the foreign tourist though I doubt that most foreigners would pay such steep prices, they probably drive a much harder bargain than we do. One cannot even walk in peace without being constantly assailed by men beseeching you to enter their shops.

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Dancing Peacock at Nahargarh Fort, Jaipur

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Nahargarh Fort is perched on a hill overlooking the city of Jaipur. Best time to go there is early in the morning. It is a pleasant half hour drive from downtown city. There is a lush forest on both sides of the winding road. Drive slow to take in the greenery and sounds of the forest. People can be seen jogging and cycling. Birds chirp and peacocks give out their shrill cries when they see you approaching.

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Motorcycle Diaries: Road to Pushkar…

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For a true Royal Enfield enthusiast, a long ride is always a pleasure, and last weekend was one such gratifying ride. I was meaning to drive to Ajmer for a good while now. Last weekend, Nitin, my younger brother and a recently-christened biking-enthusiast, encouraged the idea and we geared up for a good 750km ride

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Ranthambore – My Machaan???

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We broomed the place under the tomb with a make shift Jhadoo and sat down; it gave us fantastic view of partly dried lake with deer grazing in the marsh. Amazingly there was no Machaan, to tell you the truth we forgot that it was a must at all the locations. Hours passed and we documented the deer and small carnivorous animals. At sunset, the wind direction changed and I could smell very strong tiger urine as and when the wind blew. It began to worry me a bit due to my experience in jungles watching and spotting tigers; I knew we were in the tiger territory for sure.

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Jaipur : Chokhi Dhani and Sightseeing

Jaipur : Chokhi Dhani and Sightseeing

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Finally it was time to have food and it was so sumptuous that we forgot to click the images. There were 5 kinds of vegetables, 3 kinds of chapattis, curd, sweets, desi ghee and I donтАЩt know what else. After meal my only thinking was that if they fed so much then for some extra charge they should also provide a bed so that one can sleep then and there if felt so. But indeed it was a bad idea even I canтАЩt imagine people sleeping and burping at this beautiful place. So, I scolded myself for such a bad dreaming and we came out more than happy, filled till neck, and started the engine to find a bed as soon as possible.

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Ranthambore

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Ranthambore tiger reserve was organizing its annual animal census in the nation park and was looking for volunteers. Initially we thought that it would be just like a jeep safari in Jim Corbett National Park and would be fun to count the wild animals for a national level census.

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Jaipur : Kite Festival and Forts

Jaipur : Kite Festival and Forts

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There was a famous kite master of Jaipur; Babu Khan. He must be some kind of previous champion because he was alone getting 50% attention of media and tourists and also flying the longest chain of kites.

Then started the cultural and dance program. Without any effort one can easily notice the way people of Rajasthan dress themselves, especially the ladies. It was extremely colorful coupled with bangles and ornaments.

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