"Not all classrooms have four walls"

That is how we started our journey with our 14months old Champ. This is our first long road trip with our little rascal, Parent readers can sense my feeling here. ( Uffff!!!! You will never end up packing for them).This time our parents accompanied us so which was like a helping hand to handle the kid.

Here you go the map of our adventurous trip.

Noida -> Bhuj -> Rann of Kutch ->Patan -> Mt Abu ->Udaipur -> Noida

This was around 1.30 hrs of journey from Bhuj. Thats the palace where few famous Bollywood movies shooting was done. Hum Dil de chuke sanam,Lagaan etc. Palace is quite good and a nice place to get the photo shoot done. We also witnessed few of the pre wedding shootings in the palace. It was a sunny day and a big relief from cold Delhi NCR.

Entry fees : Approx Rs 50 per adult

Mobile cameras will also be charged here.

After a delicious Gujarati thali (must have), we headed our journey to Mandvi Beach. Since it was a holiday, beach was crowded with tourists. One can enjoy the scenic beauty of it on a camel ride or horse ride or on ATV bikes. Paragliding option is also there. Seeing the sunset on the shores of beach was mesmerizing with some lip smacking snacks.

Back to bhuj and took rest for the day.

We started early morning at 8.30 from Bhuj to Kalo Dungar. The view on the way was pretty good, we felt like we are in proper desert where you can see flat lands on either side of the roads for kms. It was a straight road. 
We thought of having breakfast on the way but to your bad luck we didn't get hotels as we expected. On the way, you will get many Mava (one of the tastiest sweets ) Centers or some road side shops where you will get tea( which will be served in plates), bhajiya, jalebi and Fafda. This surely didn't fill our stomach so we had yummy maggi and sugarcane juice on top of the hills. People please plan accordingly.

We reached the destination by 12pm.

    Kala dungar is  also called as Black hills or magnetic hills. Its probably the highest point from where one can view the panoramic view of Kutch.  The view looks like sea shore but it's a lake not the sea.  In certain places you can even feel the magnetic power. We even tested this while coming back.

From the top of Kala dungar, they show us the India Pak border and also there is a BSF camp. We tried to take the pic with maximum zoom. We could only get the below ones.

Don't miss to wear a pagdi to click some good profile pics, dps :P It only costs Rs 10 per head.

Now comes the beauty of the trip " Rann of Kutch" famous as White desert.

To reach this we have to take the permit from the border security. To get this you have to fill a form with the passenger details and vehicle details with the government ID proof.

There are two routes to reach Rann Utsav. One is you collect permit near Dhordo Village and turn left. Other one is head straight towards Kala Dungar road for ~15kms and then turn left. The second route is really good. The view is damn good and a perfect route to click the photos.

We actually missed to collect the permit and went straight to Kala dungar and then went to this road to click photos. Again we came back to collect the permit. In fact there are multiple ways to collect the pass which we didn't knew before.

1) Online https://www.rannpermit.com/

2) security office near village Dhordo ( this is the gateway to Rann of Kutch)

3) There is one office in Bhuj also.

4) We can even collect it just before entering the White desert.

Entry fees is as below

child up-to 5 yrs are free

₹ 50 per person (Between 6 to 12 Yrs.)

₹ 100 per person (Above 12 Yrs.)

₹ 25 for two wheeler

₹ 50 for four wheeler

Rann Utsav will be held every year from the month of Nov to Feb.

White desert is actually a dried salt lake. This year varun Deva ( Rain) came in appropriate time so the lake was wet even in the month of November it seems. If you need more history of the place please google :P

After reaching the place you have to park the vehicle and enter the white desert. You can either walk or take camel/horse carts. If you have time and energy then its good to go by walk enjoying the view and clicking the pics.

Watching sunset standing in between the white desert is speechless.

We literally cannot explain it in words. One should experience this. Its a lifetime memory.

Never forget to click an photo with the traditional attire. you will get lovely pics with the natural white background.

Here you see one of my pics.

After the sunset, we enjoyed snacks from the stalls. there were many food stalls and other stalls where you can buy good Gujarati stuffs.

There is a Tent City built in Rann of Kutch where the entry is restricted only with prior bookings. They have food, stay and entertainment inside the city. We felt that as expensive and stayed in Bhuj.

Our day ended with satisfaction since this place was one in our bucket list. We came to our home stay in Bhuj to take rest.

One can plan to stay in nearby Resorts also. Rates were high due to the utsav and most of them were booked before a month or two. If you own a vehicle then you can book a stay in Bhuj and travel.

Started early morning from Bhuj to visit Patan on the way. This is a interior place in Gujarat. Its an step well which was recovered during 1960's. Narrower roads of Patan took us to this wonderful step well. This is really a very well built step well. Should really appreciate the sculptures here. Seeing for the first time we didn't realize this is a step well. It looks like a temple with many good sculptures.

Since we had time , we planned to visit Mt Abu on the way to Udaipur. We reached Mt Abu by evening 4, we only visited lake Nakki and Om Shanti Bhawan, Brahmakumari Head quarters. Felt this is the only hill station in Rajasthan. We were not so pleased by this mountain view since we were born and bought up in western ghats.

In the night we reached Udaipur to take rest from our long journey.

We didn't expect cold weather in Udaipur but its was chilling in the mornings and night. After a yummy Poha and chai we started exploring the city.

Our Suggestion to the travelers here is, please park your cars and rent a bike to roam in the city. Of course the city is very beautiful but due to more tourists and small roads its difficult to travel in car. This is our personal experience. Most of the places are nearby so you can even walk.

So our first place to visit in city of lakes is "Bagore ki Haveli" This is an old haveli which has been restored from the archaeological department. Here they have kept dolls and shown the traditions of the Royal wedding. One can see the old aged rooms, cots, cradle etc.

Next to this only there is a bank of lake. Here you can click some photos with the lake background and with some pigeons ;) Also this is the place where Ranvir Singh jumped into the water in the film Ramleela.

We parked our car here and walked to Jagdish mandir. Temple is built with marbles which shows the Royalty.

Since the places were nearby and also it was difficult to get parking ,we left our car in Bagore Ki haveli parking. We now walked towards City Palace.

Prepare yourself before entering city palace. palace is quite big and you will need ample amount of time. we visited during the Christmas holidays, it was crowded. We couldn't even see the 50% of the palace since our toddler started his tantrums. Narrow passages inside palace makes it difficult to move faster. And there are no direct exits.

If you really want to see the entire palace please keep some snacks and water bottles with you to refuel yourself.

Now the entrance here is expensive.

300 Rs per person. 100 rs Concession for Senior citizens

After a tiring day, we had Rajasthani authentic Dal Bhati Churma and decided to visit Shilpagram Utsav to end our day. This will take place once in a year for a week in Shilpagram. This time it was from December 21st to 30th.

Here again enter the utsav with fees. You will get many option to buy Rajasthani stuffs, home decors and many more. we bought some nice Royal Cushion covers.
Bargaining skills will work here :P

On the way back to our stay we saw Fateh Sagar Lake. we didn't stop here since we were exhausted . This seemed to be a good place to take a walk in breeze with a cup of hot tea/ coffee.

Now comes the Dinner with a panoramic view of Lake pichola with shining lights. This restaurant has romantic ambiance and a beautiful view with tasty affordable food. It was a surprise from Tom to Jerry :P

Udaipur is the city of lakes and also called as "Venice of East". Main lake here is Lake Pichola. We headed directly to boating point. Boating cost was approx 150 Rs per person for 20 mins. Our boater gave us the information about the lake palace and the place around the lake.

Lake palace is not accessible every time,Also its expensive. He said its owned and managed by Taj group. Entrance costs us around 8K per person and if you want to eat anything then its a separate cost. We only enjoyed it from outside.

As the name says Royal Rajasthan. This city also reflects the Royalty.

By the way when I googled, I got to know one of the must try in udaipur is Hari Mirchi Shots. We searched for the shops but the shop was closed so satisfied our self with a Tandori Coffee and started our journey back home.

Waiitttttttt!! This is not the end.. Here comes the pictures of our return journey. The route with Zero Visibility and chilling outside with Temperature 2 degree. Drive from Jaipur to Noida was thrilling. We followed a bus and reached. The feel was that as if we were driving on cloud. Absolutely zero visibility

Bye bye to our memorable year end long road trip with our Red Beast................

Here are few tips/ suggestions when you are on road trip especially with kids.

* carry filtered or distilled water for your trip. At least for kids.

* carry Instant foods. I took fruits, instant homemade cerelac (msg me for the tried and tested recipe ) , home made cookies, muffins for my kid.

* please have both warm and winter clothes since we cross many states we experience both sunny and cold days.

Note : Trip Cost includes fuel charge, food,tolls, entry fees,shopping and stay( 4 adults + 1 kid).

Taata 🙋🙋 see you soon in next trip 😁

 #TravelOnAClock