JODHPUR – TRAVEL JOURNAL

It was January 11th, 2017, 12:00 AM at Gurgaon. Lokesh Gahlaut & Pooja reached Gurugram from Noida. We put all our bags in the car and were ready for our next destination. We were 6 members, Nakul Rajhariya, Nivi Choudhary, Lokesh Gahlaut, Pooja, Naira, and Devansh. Our plan was

• Day 1 – Gurugram to Jodhpur
• Day 2 – Jodhpur
• Day 3 – Jodhpur to Jaisalmer
• Day 4 – Jaisalmer to Jhunjhunu
• Day 5 – Jhunjhunu to Gurugram

Gurugram to Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and back to Gurugram route

ABOUT JODHPUR

Jodhpur is the largest metropolitan city of Rajasthan state and 10th largest city in India. Jodhpur is also known as Sun City for bright and sunny weather all the year. It is also known as Blue City because most of the house in the old city is of blue color. This city was founded on 1459 by Rao Jodha. It is famous for popular tourist destinations and Rajasthani food and shopping. Popular tourist destinations are Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada, Umaid Bhavan Palace.

FROM GURUGRAM TO JODHPUR

We started at 12:00 AM. It was very cold weather and the temperature was 6 degree Celsius. Since it was Wednesday so traffic was smooth. We reached Jaipur at 4:00 AM. We decided to have a rest at Jaipur. We stopped at Nivi’s house in Jaipur. We had hot tea. Since we didn’t sleep even for a few minutes so I take a nap. Then again we started at 07:00 AM for Jodhpur.

Early morning at Ajmer

From Jaipur to Jodhpur, the route is via Ajmer. Road condition is very good. Once you cross the Ajmer, it is very beautiful. There are about 9-10 toll tax booths between Gurugram to Jodhpur and have to pay lots of tool tax. In between the way, there is a hilly area also. We all enjoyed the way. When we were about to reach Jodhpur, Google map routed us to the shortest route but the road was not good on that shortest route so it is always better to have a second advice from local people. We finally reached Jodhpur at 2:00 PM.

On the Way to Jodhpur

On the Way to Jodhpur

STAY AT JODHPUR

We stayed at Chandra Inn in Jodhpur which is located at located at PANCH BATTI (Five Lights) Circle. It was very near to Umaid Bhavan Palace, Nai Sadak (New Road) Market, and Mehrangarh Fort. The hotel room was good and well maintained. We were having two rooms booked for us. We had rest in the Hotel and then in the evening went shopping.

Jodhpur View from Chandra Inn Hotel at Panch Batti

SHOPPING AT JODHPUR

Nai Sadak market was close to our hotel. It is only named Nai Sadak (New Road) but it is an old market. If you are going on your own Vehicle then there are chances that you won’t get parking space there especially on evening and weekend. We parked our car in McDonald’s basement parking and then walked for 500 meters for the market. In the market, there is a famous shop, National handloom where you can get all kind of Rajasthani dress, ornaments, decorative items etc. There are a few sweet shops also where you can enjoy hot milk with Jalebi and faini. There is also a famous Tripolia market which is a very famous market for Rajasthani clothes.

Nai Sadak Market Red Light

We first had some hot milk in cold weather and then Nivi and Pooja went shopping. I and Lokesh were taking care of Naira and Devansh. Then we went to Tripoli market for shopping of Saaris and famous Rajasthani dress. Once they completed their shopping, we hired an auto and came back to Nai Sadak. We had dinner and pick our car from Mcdonalds parking. We came back to the Hotel at 10:30 PM. Since we were tired due to all night driving and shopping, so we had a good night so that we can enjoy our next day in Jodhpur.

Naira Enjoying Milk and Jalebi at Nai Sadak circle

HISTORICAL PLACES WE VISITED AT JODHPUR

Next day, our plan was to visit Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada, and Umaid Bhavan Palace. We all were ready and reached to our first destination, Mehrangarh Fort. This fort is one of the largest forts in India which was constructed in 1460 by Rao Jodha. This fort is 125 meters above the city and there are very thick walls around the fort. There are different parts to this fort. At the entrance, you have to buy tickets to enter the fort and there is a different ticket for the camera. No selfie sticks are allowed inside the Fort, I was not able to understand why. At the outside of the Fort, there were few camels available for the ride if you want.

Mehrangarh Fort

A View of the part of Mehrangarh fort from Inside the Fort.

Mehrangarh Fort

Once you enter the fort, there was a sitar maestro to welcome you. These are few in every 50 meters at the entrance to the Fort. This fort is still in good condition and there is a museum which is having paintings, old dresses etc. Once you exit this part, next part is armory located at the top of the Fort. In the last of the Fort, there is Chamunda Devi temple. From here, you can see the blue colored housed of Jodhpur. If the weather is clear, then you can see complete jodhpur clearly from here. We asked the security guard if we can come early or late evening to take sunrise or sunset photos. Since the fort open at 09:00 or 09:30 so it was not possible in the morning however in the evening, there were chances that we can see sunset till 6:00 PM.

At the top of Mehrangarh Fort

Blue City Jodhpur from Mehrangarh Fort

Naira

At the entrance of Fort

At the Top of Mehrangarh fort

From Mehrangarh Fort, we went to Jaswant Thada which is very close to Mehrangarh Fort. Jaswant Thada was created in 1899 by Maharaja Sardar Singh in memory of his father Jaswant Singh. There is also an entry fee for Jaswant Thada and you can park your vehicle in front of the Jaswant Thada. Visiting Jaswant Thada does not take more than 1 hours. It is a nice place and must visit if you are going to the Mehrangarh Fort. You will feel peaceful environment here. There is a small lake at the entrance of the Jaswant Thada. Entry for the lake is not open.

Jaswant Thada

A View of Jaswant Thada from Mehrangarh Fort

At Jaswant Thada

From Jaswant Thada, our next destination was Umaid Bhawan Palace. We were tired so first, we were looking for lunch. It was around 3:00 PM so were late for our lunch. There was a good restaurant in the fort but it was very costly. We searched for a good restaurant in Google Map. We were going to some other restaurant but on the way, we found one restaurant named The Rock. It was a really good restaurant and was created in a unique way as a forest. The food was also good there. After lunch, we went to the Umaid Bhawan Palace.

Umaid Bhavan Palace is one of the world’s largest private residence. A part of the Umaid Bhavan Palace is managed by Hotel Taj and a small part is opened for tourists which are converted into a museum. We followed the Google map and we reached the entrance gate of the palace which is used by VIPs so we asked local peoples and they guided us correct way. It was a very small part which was open for us. The best thing which I like at Palace was the vintage cars used by the Royal family.

Until the evening, we were exhausted and tired. We went back to the Hotel as it was very near to Umaid Bhavan Palace. Nivi and Pooja went to the market again to get the dress which was pending to pick from yesterday. In the night, we had dinner at Nai Sadak.

For next day, our plan was to go to the Jaisalmer. Here is my blog for Jaisalmer.