Colorful Rajasthan: On a Motorcycle

Our plan was to start early to beat the city traffic. It was a long weekend so our early has to be earlier than the family folks who have decided to load up their wagons and raid the Delhi-Jaipur highway. We decide to start at 4 am, meeting point was decided to be a 24/7 petrol pump in South Ex where we could tank up. I was accompanied by few folks from RoadRunner biking group and one of my school friend.

We were lucky enough to beat the traffic and were running ahead of the planned time or so we thought. An idea popped up in Mr Bulty's mind(Founder of RoadRunner) that since we are ahead of time we might as well cover the beautiful Sariska National Park. We all stood by his decision and took the detour towards National Park from the multilane highway. The multilane superfast highway suddenly became a two way road traversing through countless villages and trees on both side and yes potholes too. I was kind of enjoying the roads, and decide to stop for the first photobreak. We spend a lot of time on that break, a little too much I guess. It was almost lunchtime by the time we arrived at the sariska safari point only to found out that there are no safaris until next hour or so. Hungry we decided to move on and return to the point where we saw the small hotel. We decided to stop for lunch. Earlier I was sceptical about the place and food offered there. Obviously didn't want to upset my stomach first day of the trip. At the end I end up eating more than what I normally eat, the food was delicious, served with love and very well can be the best meal of the entire trip. One thing was clear to me that in Rajasthan the least I would get will be the good food.

Yes the next destination of the day was Bhangarh, the spookiest place in India. The place where ASI(Archaeological Survey Of India) has put up a board saying no person is allowed after sunset. Expectations were high. The route to bhangarh is long, It took us a lot of time to reach there. The roads are small scenic but average speed will take a toss at those roads. We arrived Bhangarh at around 3 PM i.e. middle of the day. I was shocked to see the flock of tourists, people from various places have filled up the fort, definitely not expected. I could sense some weird aura in the atmosphere but there were people everywhere. Once we entered the Gates we could feel the signs of tragedy. The remains of once a market all burnt as if some evil wizard used his spells and burnt the whole place down. Place is a definitely a must visit only if you could go over a weekday or so. So that no. of tourist will be less I am sure this place can give you some jitters.

We left bhangarh at around 3 PM confident enough that jaipur can be reached within few hours. The route from Bhangarh to Jaipur is really slow the roads are in bad shape. We reached jaipur at around 7PM and once again all my horrors came alive. Jaipur's traffic a total freak show. Even Google maps are of no use in Jaipur. Most of the roads are one way and Gmaps simply don't know it. Unfortunately for us it was the eve of Dusshera( A big hindu festival) , the streets were full of people and it took us almost 3 hours to search for an economical hotel with decent enough rooms. After the hectic it was time to open the bottles...:-)

Me and my friend planned to wake up early and leave for jodhpur. Others have planned to relax and visit Nahargarh fort. Roads after Jaipur is a real treat for the bikers. Smooth tarmac where you can rev your engine out to the max. We have just started to enjoy the wide highways unaware of the fact that a flat tyre is waiting for us just after the next intersection. Waste of almost 2 precious hours and we were back on saddle. The roads are absolute delight till Jodhpur. Only problem for us now was the scorching heat of Rajasthan. It was getting hotter and hotter by the hour. We stopped for lunch on a roadside Dhaba. We reached Jodhpur at around 7 PM, quickly searched for an hotel on the highway and decided to go to explore the Blue City of Jodhpur. We chatted with the receptionist and then some folks on the street to found about a market in the heart of city. The market got many stalls for various delicious street food ranging from Paav Bhaji to a special kulfi. Market was surrounding a big Park with fountain inside where families have came up to enjoy the evening. I could feel the difference in lifestyle of people in Delhi and jodhpur. I was loving this slow paced lifestyle of folks of Jodhpur. Unlike spending 2.5 hours in office cab travelling from Gurgaon to Delhi people actually spend time with their loved ones. This evening in the city of jodhpur is just what I needed to relax the mind body and soul.

The most awaited destination of the trip. As usual we started early to avoid traffic...naa there is not much traffic after jodhpur, It was the heat we are trying to beat. It's all a big arrow straight stretch of a road till Jaisalmer. It was just the bikes, the road and the occasional mirage which pop up on the road here and there only to make us realize about the heat and the water. Soon we could see the huge sand dunes by the road side and the groups of Army trucks rolling down the road. We know the destination was near. The much awaited Golden City. We stopped for few water breaks and ofcourse the photo break on the road side dune and rushed towards the Jaisalmer only to get the glimpse of dying sun into the sands for the first time. Till now it was either mountains or sea or some high rise building. But today it was time to see that big ball of light disappear into the sands just to rise again on the other side with some new hope.

After reaching Jaisalmer we quickly get a package as they say which include night stay and other events like traditional dance , camel safari etc. We decided to head towards the Sam where the tents are located. Road towards Sam is simply awesome. Scenic with windmills on background a perfect mixture for the photographer in you. Only thing one need to keep in mind is there are no petrol pumps after Jaisalmer so one has to carry enough for return Journey. We reached Sam quickly, first on the plate was the Camel Safari. Although, it was not exactly what was promised by the broker down at Jaisalmer. But it is a must try and for some extra bucks one could go deep in the desert away from all the tourists. Camel guy will leave you at the sunset point to relax and just see the sun go down. After sunset it was time to head toward the luxury camps and enjoy the local cuisine with Rajasthani folk dance. Later in the evening we all get invited to take the stage and show some dance moves and that is where the fun begins. From rajasthani cultural music it was now time for Honey Singh ... :D

Exhausted from the late night adventure we decided cut some slack. Start a bit late after breakfast. The roads were known this time, breaks were less we decided to just push through the straight roads. Next stop was the famous temple of OM Banna (Bullet Baba). Where one could find a RE Bull as the deity. There is a sad story associated with this temple which could be found at Wiki I guess. But for us, the so called bikers this place is achievement of a kind. We could see logos of various biking groups that have been to this place. Without wasting much of a time we headed forward as the road ahead was long. We stayed at a small town called Palli got some decent rooms and decided to call it a day. We discussed the route options with few locals and decide to skip the Bikaner and temple of rats, and just trace back the route which we took because it's fastest one

Next day, the last day of the trip. The day when only thing I can think of is that comfy bed lying among those 4 beautiful walls of my bedroom. So pretty much all I can remember in between starting an ending of day is revving the bike and that McD burger which I had for lunch at Ajmer Highway.