Posts Tagged ‘India’

  • 22 Dec

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    Camel safari in the Thar desert

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    One of the major attractions of Jaisalmer for backpackers is to go on a camel safari to the Thar desert. As in any other tourist place, there are many agencies offering similar services. It lays on the hands of the backpackers to choose one of them. As before, we recommend to shop around and get informed properly before to decide which safari suits you better.

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    We took the offer of an agency with good reviews and were very little satisfied in the end, although the experience of riding a camel through the desert and sleeping under the stars is completely recommendable. It was good fun and we met nice people on the safari, which made it even better. It turn out that Julia is a natural born camel rider and even made her camel to run!!!

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  • 21 Dec

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    Simla hotel in Jaisalmer

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    On the train to Jaisalmer we met an Indian guy who kept trying to convince all the backpackers in the carriage to go to his hotel, offering a free ride from the station and cheap accommodation. After many months travelling we are so aware of the amount of touts looking for a commission, so we just told him that we would go and check the rooms with no compromise. This way we got a ride to town for free and looked for another hotel. Good that we took that decision because we found a very nice hotel inside the fort. The Simla Hotel was like a palace, a 500 years old building completely constructed in yellow sandstone, in which everything was well looked after. Our room was the best room we have had so far, being the cheapest of the hotel, so imagine the others! It had also a beautiful open air roof top, where you could lay down and admire the sunsets. And the staff were very friendly and helpful and made us feel like at home. We had such a good time there!

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  • 20 Dec

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    Jaisalmer

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    From Jaipur we took a sleeper train to Jaisalmer, the closest city to the Great Thar Desert and just 70 kilometres away from the Pakistan border. Jaisalmer, the Golden City, has a sandstone fort which seems to be taken from a fairytale, placed on the top of a hill from where the views of the surrounding area are splendid.

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    Jaisalmer fort is still inhabited and encircles many narrow alleys and streets full of houses, hotels, shops and havelis (the traditional Rajasthan’s houses for wealthy merchants), as well as the beautiful old palace of the former ruler. We were delighted from the peaceful and magic atmosphere of the city. In addition to that, real camel men with their turbans and big mustaches and women dressed in old traditional costumes evoked ancient desert splendor and exotic trade routes.

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  • 19 Dec

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    Finding a room

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    Hotels don’t have fixed rates for their rooms and increase the price if they know you need a place to stay. Try not to arrive too late at night. They will use their chance to charge you double the price. Finding a room in Jaipur at 10pm seemed difficult for us as many hotels were full. In one of them -a paradise for backpackers as our guidebook assured- we were asked for 1200 rupees for a room, which on the next day was only 250 rupees worth.

  • 18 Dec

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    Transport in cities

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    Try to catch metropolitan buses to travel around in cities. You will save money (5-10 rupees for a ticket) and pollute less than if you were travelling by rickshaw (up to 100 rupees for the same journey and clouds of black smoke behind you). Furthermore, it is a good experience to interact with locals.
    A rickshaw driver asked us 200 rupees for a ride to Amber Fort, which is about 10 km north of Jaipur. We found out there was a metropolitan bus going there for just 7 Rupees. It is a good idea to always enquire the local people (not the rickshaw drivers since they will want to get your money).

  • 17 Dec

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    Jaipur surroundings

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    There is much more to see around Jaipur than in the city itself, just few kilometers away you can find several forts, palaces, cenotaphs and temples. Rickshaw-wallahs and tour operators offer one day tours to all of these attractions for a high price and entrance fees are not included in the package. Instead, we found out that we could catch a local bus for 5-10 rupees to any of the locations and the only inconvenience was to wait for the buses to come.

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  • 16 Dec

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    Jaipur

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    We got to Jaipur after six hours sitting in a bus and found a crappy hotel outside the walled city, which was the only cheap option that we could find arriving at night. Jaipur is Rajasthan’s capital and the state’s most polluted and hassle-loaded city. It’s also known as the pink city because the city walls and main buildings were painted in dusty pink to welcome Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, on his visit in 1876 and remained pink since then.

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    There are several places to visit in Jaipur: the main bazaars in the old city (encircled by the wall), the City Palace, the Hawa Mahal (a pink sandstone five-storey building constructed to enable ladies of the royal household to watch the life and processions of the city through its pierced screen windows) or the Jantar Mantar (an observatory begun by the Maharaja Jai Singh II). We didn’t like much the city’s sightseeing but enjoyed the best lassi (typical indian yogurt drink) ever in a place called The Lassiwallah, on MI Road.

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  • 15 Dec

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    Rajasthan

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    Our next move was heading towards Rajastan region, India’s most colourful state. From rolling sand dunes to serene hills, grandiose forts and palaces or exuberant fairs and festivals. The region is packed with wonderful towns and cities: the pink chaotic city of Jaipur, sky-blue Jodhpur, the pearl white lake town of Udaipur or Jaisalmer, a golden sandcastle. It is definitely a region to wonder around for a while and we are very excited about it.

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  • 14 Dec

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    Don’t waste your time on the road

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    India is a huge country and even small distances take long to be covered (100 km could take you around 3 hours on a train). If you are travelling for a short period of time, try to concentrate in one region rather than spend your holidays on a train or bus. We once met a spanish couple who were trying to visit some of the Indian highlights in just 2 weeks. They seemed to be exhausted after a 5 days full program through Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Kolkata…

  • 13 Dec

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    Fathepur Sikri

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    Fathepur Sikri is a magnificent fortified ghost city just 40 km away from Agra. It was built with the purpose to be the new capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571, during the reign of Emperor Akbar, and it was abandoned just 15 years later (after Akbar death) because the city is built in an area that suffered from water shortages, so its palaces, mosque and the rest of the buildings were unused very soon. The compound is one of the Unesco’s World Heritage sites and is worth to visit it in a day trip from Agra. There are also a couple of hotel resorts (not low budget, though), bazaars, restaurants and a small village at the foot of the walled city. Is possible to stay there, although we think is better to stay in Agra, get a local bus for a few rupees and visit the ruins in half a day. It is highly recommendable to climb up the Hiran Minar on the North side of the city and enjoy the great views of the palaces and surroundings. It is possible to wander around the ruins and outside the main buildings for free, whereas if you plan to enter to the palaces be prepared to pay again 10 times more than indian citizens.

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