This Jodhpur trip is a part of a 14 day trip to Rajasthan.
For anyone looking at this trip in isolation, few points to note pertaining to this trip:
Trip Timing : 1st and 2nd week of December
Stay : The Ummed Jodhpur
Mode of travel : Rented Car
Travelled With: Parents aged 70 and above, hence places to visit, stay and food choices had to be made keeping their preferences and comfort in mind
Jodhpur was our penultimate destination in the 14 day road trip.
We started at about 10:30 AM from Udaipur to our next destination Jodhpur.
Our first stop was Ranakpur temple, which is a celebrated Pilgrim for Jain sect and is located about 80 Kms from Udaipur. This temple is dedicated to Tirthankara Adinatha. This place is known for its exquisite marble carvings and is widely visited by foreign tourists. Just like other Jain sacred places, there are clear guidelines wrt visiting the temple. One has to be completely clad, have no leather items, carry no cameras and menstruating women are a strict no no. As one enters the shrine, the peace and stillness grips and this is one great place for meditation and to soak in the solace. We missed the Prasad by about half an hour. The temple Food & Prasad is available till 1 and a must have.
About 2 pm we left for our next destination and on route we halted at a local dhaba. There we tried the famous Rajasthani dish – Haldi ki Sabzi, which was good. From the dhaba owners, also heard about the well revered Ashapura temple which was about 2 kms away. This temple is of Ashapura Devi, whose main shrine is near Bhuj, Gujarat. Ashapura Devi is Kuldevi of Rajputs and is believed to have 7 pairs of eyes and fulfilles all wishes. We had to wait for sometime as the temple opens at 4 PM.
After Darshan we headed to our next stop at The Bullet Baba Temple, which is famously known as Om Banna Temple. This temple is right on the highway in Pali district and we touched the temple at about 5:30 PM. This temple’s shrine is dedicated to a Rajput Thakur, who lost his life while riding his Bullet, which hit a tree. Magically, even if Bullet was taken to other locations, it would be found in the same place where it hit the tree. When locals came to know about it, they built a temple dedicated to Om Banna and started worshipping the bike. Since then, it is also known as Bullet Baba Temple. It is believed that whoever gets the blessings of Om Banna in this temple never encounter deadly accidents in their lives and Bullet Baba will take away their miseries. You will not just lots of bikers but also many tourists flocking this places. What one gets surprised is seeing how powerful belief and devotion is. The Aarti, which happens about 6 is a full house and is a sight to behold.
Then we headed straight to Jodhpur. We hit Jodhpur at about 7 and reached Nai Sarak to shop to our hearts content. All our Rajasthani friends had recommended to shop from Jodhpur (specially clothing material).
While at dinner, we tried another local dish called Chakki – which we found to be okay. Then we retired to our hotel.
As we had only 1 day at Jodhpur and wanted to make the most of it, we left early at about 10 AM for sightseeing.
We started the day with a visit to Umaid Bhavan. This is the famous heritage hotel where Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas got married. The fort has been converted into a majestic stay and only royal museum is open for public viewing. The museum houses brilliant paintings, cutlery, armoury, bar equipments, intricate clocks and some vintage cars.
Next we headed to the imposing Mehrangarh Fort- about which we had heard rave reviews . We reached the fort at about 12 Pm and took the escalators direct to the top as the fort is on an ascent and wanted to avoid any strain for parents (don’t forget to take senior citizen discount, in general tickets are expensive). As we hoped, this is one of the largest and best carved forts of Rajasthan. The walls & rooms show a vast array of designs and carvings and was made by Rao Jodha. From fabric to paintings to garments to carpets to armoury to utensils, this place has it all.
We got done at about 2:30 Pm and went directly to Jaswant Thada, which is about 5 mins away from the fort. This is an average place to visit, has grave of king and his kins. The area is beautifully done and located near a water body – which is rare sight in Rajasthan.
We then reached the city and ate local chat and imarti to our hearts content. As our shopping list was incomplete, we headed back to Nai Sarak to buy some Sarees and then retired to our hotel.
We bid goodbye to our hotel at about 10:00 AM next day and proceeded to Mandore Gardens, about which we had read.
The name Mandore comes from Mandodari and this place is Ravan’s sasural. The place is not well maintained, has gardens, temples and shrines and can be avoided if there is paucity of time.
With this our Jodhpur visit came to an end and sadly, we were not able to see the city in shades of blue. Our hotel stay at the Ummed as was also good, property being very beautiful and staff courteous. We also tried a local delicacy – Rabodi Ki Sabzi which was okay but we thoroughly enjoyed our stay, even though far from main city.
Next up is the last destination - Jaisalmer, see you there.