We boarded the bus from Kathmandu to Delhi, India, expecting the 36 hour ride to be slow and tedious. However, we were not prepared for what was in store for us. After about 2 hours, and only 5km later we found ourselves at a standstill on the side of a mountain somewhere in a line of backed up cars and trucks which seemed to go as far as the eye could see in both directions. We figured that this traffic jam would only last a little while, maybe an hour at the most, but it soon became clear that this was only wishful thinking. But after just 12 hours, the line, along with our bus, finally started to move. Apparently an electrical wire had fallen below, and a car drove over it, killing all those inside. The police were notified but no one showed up. This caused some of the locals to start a riot, burning tires and other materials on the road. It was quite unsettling for us and it also made our already long bus ride even more unbearable.
We arrived after 48 hours in Delhi, the capital city of India. After finding some accommodation for the evening, we set out to plan our time in India. Not too long after heading out we had booked ourselves in with a driver, hotels, and train tickets for the next month. We were ready to go!
Our first official full day was spent seeing the sites of Delhi. We went to the India Gate, the National Museum, Humayun's Tomb and the Sikh Temple. We had a great time, a got to know our driver, Beer Singh, who would be with us for the next 14 days of our journey.
The next day it was time to head off and explore the state of Rajasthan. We made a few stops in Old Delhi before hitting the road. These included Jama Masjid (India's largest Mosque), the Red Fort, Raj Ghat (Ghandi's memorial) and Chandni Chowk (a famous bazaar). After these stops (we were tired out already!) we were on the road heading to our first stop, Mandawa. We arrived in Mandawa late in the evening, and settled in to our hotel. Here we ate (what has so far been our favourite meal in India) and then headed to sleep. In the morning we saw most of Mandawa in about 45 minutes (its only a small village!) Then we were back on the road. This time heading for Bikaner.
We arrived in Bikaner, in the early afternoon, and quickly dropped our bags at the Sagar Palace, a hotel that looks like an old Maharaja's Palace (cool!!). We made our way towards Junagarh, a most impressive fort, constructed between 1588-1593. We spent our afternoon exploring the fort and all of its secret and interesting aspects. After the fort we drove about 50 km outside of the city to Karni Mata Temple, also known as the rat temple. We took our shoes off (a must-do in temples) and braved our way into the rat temple. Inside there were literally thousands of rats, scattered all over the temple. In every nook and crannie rats were piled in. Jono thought that this was one of the coolest sites to date (a real Indiana Jones moment), however, Amanda was utterly mortified of all of the rats. It was her most disgusting site so far!
We were on the road once again early the next morning, heading towards the golden city of Jaisalmer, where all the buildings are made out of yellow sandstone, casting a golden sheen over the entire city (very Aladdin-esque!). We arrived late in the afternoon, and instead of stopping first in Jaisalmer city, we drove 50 km away towards the India-Pakistan border. Here we set ourselves up with a sunset camel safari in the Thar desert. We rode camels for about 3 hours, stopping on the sand dunes to watch as the sun set over the dunes. It was very romantic, and the camels were really cool to ride (although not the most comfortable as we would find out over the next few days)! When we made it back to the base camp, we were greeted with a huge buffet dinner, something any camel rider looks forward to!
The next day was spent in Jaisalmer, enjoying the sites of the golden city. We first went to the Jaisalmer fort, the largest fort in all of Ragasthan. The fort was built in 1156, and inside it houses the Maharaja's palace. It also also houses hundreds of havelis (homes for the nobility). We made our way into a few of these and they were breathtaking! We wanted to spend more time wandering around the rest of the town, but it was just too darn hot. The temperature had reached an unbearable 43 degrees, the hottest we have experienced on our entire journey!!
The next morning we were up and on the road again. This time our destination was Jodhpur, nicknamed “The Blue City”. Here, all of the old part of the city that is just outside of the Meherangarh, was painted blue. They say that there were a few reasons for this. First, the local maharajah had a fondness for blue. Also, blue is said to be cool and keep the buildings cooler, and also to repel insects (who'd have thought)! We started our day with a tour of Meherangarh (the city fort), which is still run by the current Maharajah. Later, we made our way into the heart of the blue city, to the clock tour and bazaar. Here we shopped for spices, handicrafts and other Indian goods! We ended our day with a sunset, rooftop dinner overlooking the blue city enjoying great meal to end a good day!
The next stop on the itinerary was Ranakpur, a small village in the middle of a small range of mountains. Although it was more of a pit-stop on our journey, for us, Ranakpur was a pleasant surprise. This dot on the map was home to one of the most beautiful Jain temples in the world. It was constructed in 1499, and made entirely of milk white marble. There were exactly 1444 pillars within, and no two were alike! Outside we were also greeted by an interesting troop of monkeys who seemed so used to humans that it was like we weren't even there. So we said our goodbyes to Ranakpur and hopped back in our car and the 3 of us continued our journey across the “Sun State” of Rajahsthan.
We boarded the bus from Kathmandu to Delhi, India, expecting the 36 hour ride to be slow and tedious. However, we were not prepared for what was in store for us. After about 2 hours, and only 5km later we found ourselves at a standstill on the side of a mountain somewhere in a line of backed up cars and trucks which seemed to go as far as the eye could see in both directions. We figured that this traffic jam would only last a little while, maybe an hour at the most, but it soon became clear that this was only wishful thinking. But after just 12 hours, the line, along with our bus, finally started to move. Apparently an electrical wire had fallen below, and a car drove over it, killing all those inside. The police were notified but no one showed up. This caused some of the locals to start a riot, burning tires and other materials on the road. It was quite unsettling for us and it also made our already long bus ride even more unbearable.
We arrived after 48 hours in Delhi, the capital city of India. After finding some accommodation for the evening, we set out to plan our time in India. Not too long after heading out we had booked ourselves in with a driver, hotels, and train tickets for the next month. We were ready to go!
Our first official full day was spent seeing the sites of Delhi. We went to the India Gate, the National Museum, Humayun's Tomb and the Sikh Temple. We had a great time, a got to know our driver, Beer Singh, who would be with us for the next 14 days of our journey.
The next day it was time to head off and explore the state of Rajasthan. We made a few stops in Old Delhi before hitting the road. These included Jama Masjid (India's largest Mosque), the Red Fort, Raj Ghat (Ghandi's memorial) and Chandni Chowk (a famous bazaar). After these stops (we were tired out already!) we were on the road heading to our first stop, Mandawa. We arrived in Mandawa late in the evening, and settled in to our hotel. Here we ate (what has so far been our favourite meal in India) and then headed to sleep. In the morning we saw most of Mandawa in about 45 minutes (its only a small village!) Then we were back on the road. This time heading for Bikaner.
We arrived in Bikaner, in the early afternoon, and quickly dropped our bags at the Sagar Palace, a hotel that looks like an old Maharaja's Palace (cool!!). We made our way towards Junagarh, a most impressive fort, constructed between 1588-1593. We spent our afternoon exploring the fort and all of its secret and interesting aspects. After the fort we drove about 50 km outside of the city to Karni Mata Temple, also known as the rat temple. We took our shoes off (a must-do in temples) and braved our way into the rat temple. Inside there were literally thousands of rats, scattered all over the temple. In every nook and crannie rats were piled in. Jono thought that this was one of the coolest sites to date (a real Indiana Jones moment), however, Amanda was utterly mortified of all of the rats. It was her most disgusting site so far!
We were on the road once again early the next morning, heading towards the golden city of Jaisalmer, where all the buildings are made out of yellow sandstone, casting a golden sheen over the entire city (very Aladdin-esque!). We arrived late in the afternoon, and instead of stopping first in Jaisalmer city, we drove 50 km away towards the India-Pakistan border. Here we set ourselves up with a sunset camel safari in the Thar desert. We rode camels for about 3 hours, stopping on the sand dunes to watch as the sun set over the dunes. It was very romantic, and the camels were really cool to ride (although not the most comfortable as we would find out over the next few days)! When we made it back to the base camp, we were greeted with a huge buffet dinner, something any camel rider looks forward to!
The next day was spent in Jaisalmer, enjoying the sites of the golden city. We first went to the Jaisalmer fort, the largest fort in all of Ragasthan. The fort was built in 1156, and inside it houses the Maharaja's palace. It also also houses hundreds of havelis (homes for the nobility). We made our way into a few of these and they were breathtaking! We wanted to spend more time wandering around the rest of the town, but it was just too darn hot. The temperature had reached an unbearable 43 degrees, the hottest we have experienced on our entire journey!!
The next morning we were up and on the road again. This time our destination was Jodhpur, nicknamed “The Blue City”. Here, all of the old part of the city that is just outside of the Meherangarh, was painted blue. They say that there were a few reasons for this. First, the local maharajah had a fondness for blue. Also, blue is said to be cool and keep the buildings cooler, and also to repel insects (who'd have thought)! We started our day with a tour of Meherangarh (the city fort), which is still run by the current Maharajah. Later, we made our way into the heart of the blue city, to the clock tour and bazaar. Here we shopped for spices, handicrafts and other Indian goods! We ended our day with a sunset, rooftop dinner overlooking the blue city enjoying great meal to end a good day!
The next stop on the itinerary was Ranakpur, a small village in the middle of a small range of mountains. Although it was more of a pit-stop on our journey, for us, Ranakpur was a pleasant surprise. This dot on the map was home to one of the most beautiful Jain temples in the world. It was constructed in 1499, and made entirely of milk white marble. There were exactly 1444 pillars within, and no two were alike! Outside we were also greeted by an interesting troop of monkeys who seemed so used to humans that it was like we weren't even there. So we said our goodbyes to Ranakpur and hopped back in our car and the 3 of us continued our journey across the “Sun State” of Rajahsthan.
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