The
Desert Dream:- Rajasthan
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
ü Tour Period:- 1st to 8th
Oct’14
No. Of Riders:- 8
No of Bikes: 6.
Total Travelling Kms:- 2200 Km approx (Including the 450 Km travel by
train).
ü One
fine weekend of September when we were discussing the life, a
thought popped up in our minds that the
Dushehra Holidays are coming and we can take a break and pack our bags for a
good vacation ahead.
We already had the taste of the green mountains, be it
Uttarakhand or Himachal Pradesh to the barren rocky mountains of Ladakh. From
holy river Ganga to the beautiful Dal Lake in Srinagar. So now we decided to
explore the Deserts of Rajasthan.
In a week, we had to finalise the Tour itinerary, number of
riders and things to take with us.
Number of riders were finalised – 8 bikers, 6 bikes. Unlike
Ladakh, it was merely a formality to decide
the “things to Take” with us. However I will mention one thing which is
very necessary in this Desert tour- Full Body covering gears- Masks, Wind
cheaters, Buffs, Gloves. They protected us from sun burn, warm winds and filter
the dusty air. And yes, don’t forget to take the first aid kit with you.
However to decide the perfect itinerary for 8 days was a
difficult task. But Naveen Chandra ( PMG, BRPL) took this responsibility and
gave us a nearly perfect itinerary, Abhishek Vashistha ( CES, BYPL) froze the
itinerary.
As per the itinerary we had to leave from Delhi on 1st
October by train. So the train reservation was required. As the train to
Bikaner (our first destination) had no reservations available even a month
prior to our journey dates, hence we were dependent on Tatkal tickets only.
Thanks Indian railway, & thank God, we got the
reservation in the Bikaner Express. And this is how we were all
set to Ride through the Sand of Time
.
Day 1:- 1st Oct’14-Delhi
to Bikaner ( 450 Kms):-
The train was scheduled to depart at 10:00 AM in the
morning. We got our reservations but the reservation of our bikes to load it in
the train was pending. So sharp at 07:00 AM we reached the Sarai Rohilla Railway Station. The station Master, verified the
documents and by 09:30 AM we packed our bikes and loaded them into the train.
At 10:00 AM , we were at our seats and hurray... the journey began.
At 04:30 PM, we reached Bikaner, unloaded and unpacked our
bikes, and pushed them to the
nearest fuel station (remember, due to safety reasons, railway do not allow to
carry the petrol so we emptied the fuel tanks before loading the bikes into the
train).
By 07:30 we were at our hotel, which was arranged by one of
our local friend. Bikaner is famous for the sweets and snacks. So we tried the
Rajbhog and of course, famous Bikaneri bhujia. After an early dinner we went to
sleep as the long journey was about to start from the next morning.
Day 2:- 2nd Oct’14- Bikaner-Karni
mata temple-Jaisalmer ( 390 Kms):-
As per the itinerary, the day had to start with the blessings of Gods. Our first visit was to the
Karni mata temple.
Karni
Mata or Karniji, was a female Hindu sage. She is worshiped as the incarnation of the
goddess Durga by her followers. She is an official deity of the royal
family of Jodhpur and Bikaner. The most famous of her temples is the temple in the
small town of Deshnoke, situated at 30 km from Bikaner city, which was created following her mysterious
disappearance from her home. The temple is famous for its black
rats,
which are treated as sacred and given protection in the temple.
At 11:00 AM,
we came back to our hotel, packed our luggage, mounted them on the bikes and roared
towards Jaisalmer, 330 Kms away from Bikaner.
On the way to Jaisalmer we had the first glimpse of the sand
and yes we knew that for next 7 days they were our 9th best friend.
Roads were decent and in fantastic condition. At 08:00 PM we reached our hotel
in Jaisalmer.
We had our dinner at a roof top restaurant. In front of our Hotel the mighty Jaisalmer fort
was shining in yellow lights and on the left, the lights (as if stars)were shining and were telling us the area and density
of Jaisalmer city of Thar desert.
Day 3:- 3rd Oct’14- Jaisalmer-Tanot
mata Temple-Longewala Border-Sam Sand Dunes ( 292 Kms):-
Next morning we witnessed something for which Rajasthan is famous for, The forts. The first
one from our bucket list was Jaisalmer Fort. From the fort, we had a panoramic view of this Golden City of India (named because the yellow sand gives a yellowish
golden ting to the city and its surrounding areas). We clicked some pictures
from there and then moved ahead to visit the Tanot Mata Temple in Tanot. On the
way, we saw the India's
largest operational onshore wind farm, the Jaisalmer Wind Park. This 1
GW wind park has been developed
by Suzlon Energy in 2012.
View
of Jaisalmer City from Jaisalmer Fort
At Jaisalmer Fort
Tannot
Mata Temple is situated at Tanot in District Jaisalmer. The village is close to the Indo-Pak Border. The temple is
approx 150 kilometres from the City of Jaisalmer It is said that during the Indo-Pak War of 1965, Pakistani Army dropped several bombs targeting the temple but none of the bombs could explode
in the vicinity of the temple. The temple has a museum which has collections of
those unexploded bombs dropped by Pakistan. As per Indian Census, The
Population of Tanot Village is 492 Persons having 49 Household only.
Unexploded
bombs at the museam
Now we approached towards
the Longewala, the battle site of Indo-Pak
War of 1971. Longewala is 50
Kms from Tanot. 1997 blockbuster movie “Border” is based on this war and all
the war scenes were shot at Longewala only. We stayed there for an hour, talked
to the BSF and Indian army men, heard the war stories from them and then moved
towards our final destination of the day- SAM
SAND DUNES.
At Longewala
Pakistani Tank Captured by Indian Army
Sam has a truly magnificent stretch of sweeping dunes. In blogs of other
riders we came to know that the Sun rise and Sun set of Sam Sand dunes is an
unforgettable experience. So by 05:00 PM we reached Sam to witness the sun set.
And believe me, all the tiredness was magically gone in seconds when we took off
our shoes, sat in sand and watched that mesmerizing moment. We played in sand
like child and then hired tents in a camp nearby. In Sam the camp owners charge Rs 1000 per
person (Which includes traditional Rajasthani dinner). Our fun for the day was
not over yet as the camp owner organized the traditional Rajasthani musical
event. We sang, we danced, we lived. Finally, the day long run and fun ended at
01:00 AM and we went to sleep to prepare for the next day ride.
Day 4:- 4th Oct’14- Sam- Pokhran-Jodhpur ( 364 Kms):-
Morning started by watching the sunrise at 5AM. Then after
the early breakfast we began our ride into
deep inside Rajasthan, Jodhpur
the second largest city of Rajasthan (Jaipur is first). On the way we crossed
Pokhran. Pokhran is a
remote location in the Thar Desert region and served as the test site for India's first underground nuclear weapon detonation. We couldn’t go inside as
this is a prohibited area.
By
evening we reached Jodhpur. Hotels were costlier as compared to other place we
visited so far. We dined the traditional Rajasthani fare -Laal Maas, a deep red curry
& veggies tried the delicious Mawa
Kachori.
Day 5:- 5th Oct’14-
Jodhpur-Mehrangarh Fort-Bullet Baba temple-Udaipur ( 270 Kms):-
Our first visit was Mehrangarh Fort (the second fort in our
list), At 09:00 AM we checked out from the hotels, saddled the luggage in our
bikes (this is the daily exercise, and needs 30-35 minutes, Bungee ropes and
Nylon ropes are required or carry Saddle Bags). On the way to Fort, we had the
famous Mirchi Bada of Jodhpur for
breakfast.
Mehrangarh
Fort , is one of the largest forts in India. Inside its boundaries there are
several palaces known for their intricate carvings and expansive courtyards.
Jodhpur is also referred to as the "Blue City" due to the vivid
blue-painted houses around. It took us
about 2 hrs to complete the tour of Mehrangarh.
Blue City Jodhpur
Enroute to the Udaipur we visited the Bullet Baba Temple in Pali
highway. This temple is Devoted to the Om Banna (also called Bullet Banna) is a shrine located in
Pali District. It is located 20
kilometres (12 mi) from Pali and 50 kilometres
(31 mi) away from Jodhpur. It is believed that In 1988, Om Banna was travelling from the town
of Pali when he lost control of his bullet and struck a tree: Om Banna was
killed instantly, his bullet falled into a nearby ditch. The morning after the
accident, local police took the bullet to a nearby police station. The next day
it was reported to have disappeared from the station and was found back at the
site of the accident. Police, once again, took the motorcycle, this time
emptying its fuel tank and putting it under lock and chain to prevent its
removal. Despite their efforts, the next morning it again disappeared and was
found at the accident site
This
came to be seen as a miracle by local population, and they began to worship the
“Bullet Bike.” News of the miracle motorcycle spread to nearby villages, and
later they built a temple to worship it. It is believed that Om Banna’s spirit
helps distressed travellers. The temple beside the Enfield motorbike has a
large picture of Singh
Those
who pass by stop to bow their heads leave offerings in honour of the helpful
spirit, and devotees also offer small
bottles of alcohol at the site.
We
reached Udaipur around 08:30 PM at night.
Day 6:- 6th Oct’14- Local Sightseeing
( 100 Kms):-
This day was less biking and more walking. We spent
the morning sightseeing in the old city, visiting the city palace, the bazaars.
The afternoon was for shopping. We spent some time at Fatehsagar lake, pichola
lake and then at Monsoon Palace (earlier caled Sajjangarh Fort-built to watch
monsoon clouds). The evening was booked for the Cultural Show near Lake Pichola.
Museum at City
Palce (Udaipur)
The cultural show started at 07:00 Pm, with several folk dances, puppet
shows. This fabulous show reminded us that how enriched the Rajasthan culture
is. We saw the Ghumar, Terahthali, the Fire dance and the Kalbelia dance. In
ancient times, these dances were
performed by the different Rajathani communities (like Rajputs, Gujjars, Snake
Charmers etc.) in different occasions.. We had our dinner at Chaupati, near
Sukhariya Chauk.
Puppet Dance
Fire
Dance
Day 7:- 7th Oct’14- Udaipur-Chittor
Garh- Pushkar ( 330 Kms):-
Early morning we bid
adieu to Udaipur and approached towards Chittor, which has the fort having great history ensconced in it- The Chittor Garh
Fort, situated nearly 120 Km from Udaipur.
This fort is nearly 6km
long and surrounded on all sides by 150m-plus cliffs. It holds a
special place in the hearts of many Rajputs because of its royalness, chivalry
and tragedy. Also Chittorgarh fort has its unique place in the heart of an
Indian child with its numerous hidden stories of Rani Padmini, Rana Kumbha,
Rana Sanga, Allauddin Khilji, Akbar, etc.
But you can’t romance with
this ruined fort until you hire a guide. So we hired a guide in just Rs
400/- and he told us the chronological events of Chittorgarh history. We
visited this gigantic fort with our bikes but still it took two hours to
complete it.
Evening at 06:00 PM, we continued our journey towards Pushkar. Late night at 01:00 am we reached Pushkar, hired a hotel for rest.
Day 8:- 8th Oct’14- Pushkar- Delhi (
403 Kms):-
Pushkar is a town in the Ajmer district and is one of the oldest existing cities of India. In morning we
visited the most famous “Brahma Temple” built during the 14th century CE.
Post breakfast, we ride towards Delhi. The planned arrival
to Delhi was 09:00 PM, but the stormy day and rainy evening took our final
endurance test and we reached to our respective places in between 01:00 AM to
02:00 AM.
ü 8
friends, 8 days, 6 bikes, 2200 Kms journey, sunburn, sand dunes, ultimate fun ;
nothing more was required to make it a perfect holiday. We took some special
moments back home with us on our camera cards.
ü Another
journey ended, but soon again we will plan another tour to “ Race the rain, ride the wind and to chase the sun”
Another Victory J
By:-
1.
Shekhar Saklani
