Itinerary: Mumbai – Jodhpur – Jaisalmer – Udaipur – Mumbai
We were group of 4 friends who visited Rajasthan in last week of December. We took a train from Mumbai to Jodhpur. Since we got our seats in the cabin close to the toilet it smelled horribly bad. We reached Jodhpur in evening and searched for a hotel there. Somehow we got a hotel room which was located in the terrace of the building. Yes, there was only 1 room in the terrace which was the last vacant room available. So we did not had a choice but to stay there. As it was December, so weather was very cold hovering in the range of 4 degree celsius to 14 degree celsius. We went out to have our dinner and strolled around the town for some time before jumping to our beds. We had to catch a train at 06:00 early morning to Jaisalmer. We got ready by 05:00 AM and rushed outside to find a rickshaw. Luckily after struggling for 10-15 minutes we managed to get a rickshaw which dropped us to the station.
Journey from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer is quite scenic. It’s just plain deserted barren land everywhere. We did not had a hotel booking in Jaisalmer. So, we did some research on google and booked a hotel while we were in train over the phone. On reaching Jaisalmer station, we got to see Palace on Wheels train.It was painted yellow in color and it looked amazing from outside. Hotel owner, Mr. Polu came to receive us at the train station in his van. Jaisalmer is a very small quaint town, very picturesque and you feel like you are in a small crowded village often frequented by Foreign toursists. There is a fort which can be seen from any corner any of the town. There are some museums and fort you can visit for sightseeing. There are couple of german bakeries – One in the market area of the town and another inside the fort which sell delicious cakes and pies.
We stayed at hotel Titanic for 3 nights. Hotel owner spoke good Korean. So, in the afternoon we decided to eat Korean food on his rooftop restaurant. I liked the soup however, my friends hated it. Next day evening, we decided to go to Sam dunes in desert area. We decided to go with hotel owner himself who arranged a trip for us in his van.There was a japanese couple who accompanied us in the trip. On reaching desert area, we took a camel ride for around a kilometre to reach Sam dune area. This was the first time for all 4 of us to see a desert and a camel ride.We stayed in desert till sunset, took some pictures and then went to the Tent where folk dance followed by dinner was arranged for us. This must be one of the best sunset points in India. Once the sun sets, all camels left for their dwellings and tourists moved in the tent area . There was a folk show in the tent area which was amazing however food served was pathetic.
Next day we took a tour of few Havelis and fort. In the evening of 3rd day we took a bus for Udaipur. We stayed in Minerwa hotel located next to lake. Hotel had hookah and lots of books in the rooftop restaurant. From the rooftop, we could see beautiful lake and the hotel oberoi set amidst lake. They served Oriental, Indian, Israeli and Chinese food. Hotel is quite famous among Israeli tourists. The owner himsef spoke Israeli. In Udaipur we stayed for 3 days. We did some shopping and saw all the tourist attractions there. Udaipur is a must visit place if you are travelling in India with it’s beautiful palaces, lakes and lots of shopping.