Rapid Development in India Reaches the Far Thar Desert
The Great Thar Desert of Rajasthan in India has enticed explorers for centuries. Its rolling dunes littered with thorny bushes straddle the border of India and Pakistan.
Photo tours in India with The Planet D
A simple tweet has turned into two back to back tours with Wire India and we couldn’t be more excited. They had been following our blog for a while and felt that we would be a perfect fit. We went through our favourite places that we visited in Rajasthan and put together an itinerary. With some suggestions from Wire India and their must see destination and our favourite spots for photography, we feel that this tour will give people the best experience they can have in this diverse, exciting and visually stunning part of India.
Rajasthan Camel Safari in the Thar Desert
It was something that we have always wanted to do. Take a camel safari through the desert and sleep under the stars. Rajasthan is the place to do it in India and we wasted no time booking a trip once we hit Jaisalmer. It didn’t turn out to be the mystical experience that we were expecting. The Thar Desert is more of a desert of shrubs and not exactly the most pristine landscape, but it did have it’s moments on the sand dunes where we felt like we had stepped back in time.After editing our video below, it has softened our memories of our time with our guide Bilal. He was a bit of a scam artist and gave us a hard time which you can read more about at our Camel Safari Adventure post, but on film he comes across as very sweet and genuine.
Homeward Bound in Rajasthan: Snapshot Sunday
As the sunsets over the Thar Desert in Rajasthan, India a lonely local boy, who trudged through the sand from a small village in the distance, heads home after an afternoon of trying to sell tourists a beer in the desert.
Around the World one Sunset at a time!
I think one of the favorite things people enjoy looking at is a beautiful sunset. Somehow as that sun sets on the horizon it seems to make you forget the days stress and gives you that sense of Ahhhh!
Snapshot Sunday: Hot Air Balloon over Udaipur
Think about it! The sun is rising over the most romantic city in India, What better way to see Udaipur than from the basket of a hot air balloon. As we sat enjoying our morning coffee we were surprised to hear an unfamiliar sound that was like a fighter jet taking off
Our favorites from India: A Photo Story
India had some beautiful sights to see. Here are some of our favorite shots from out time in this interesting country.
Kite Festival Jaipur, India
We have been lucky enough in India to witness many festivals during our two months in the country. Our arrival in Jaipur was no exception. The Kite Festival is an annual event that the whole of Rajasthan get’s pretty excited about and nowhere is it bigger than in the city of Jaipur. It is a festive event. Dancers and musicians play for the crowd, camel carts offer rides along with elephants.
India is Filthy
A couple of weeks ago I posted about the fact that India is much cleaner than we expected. Well, the minute I posted that article, I have been eating my words. In retrospect I think that we may have made the wrong choice starting in the south. I think that if we traveled in the opposite direction we would have witnessed India becoming cleaner as we go. Instead we are seeing a dirtier and dirtier India with each stop.
Karni Mata Temple aka The Rat Temple of Rajasthan
Bikaner may be known for its camel safaris and impressive fort in the state of Rajasthan, but it is its unique temple in Deshnok that attracted us to the area. The Karni Mata Temple just may be one of India’s strangest attractions. The Karni Mata Temple just may be one of India’s strangest attractions.
It houses thousands of rats, yes rats and pilgrims make regular trips to Deshnok to worship these long tailed rodents. Did I tell you that you have to enter the temple barefoot?
Another Camel Safari in Rajasthan, Two Times a Charm
When a person has a bad experience doing something normally they will say to themselves…”Never Again.” When Dave and I have a bad experience, we say to ourselves…”We need to find way to give this another shot.” When we learned that we could go on a camel safari in Bikaner, a town 300 km north of Jaisalmer we just had to give it another try. The Camel man is an eccentric man that drives around in a Range Rover wearing a wide brimmed hat and impeccable suits. Vijay is his name and he has been running camel safari’s since 1983.
The Camelman in Bikaner – We’re Free at Last
We fired Shanker, our driver today. It had been a chain of events leading up to the parting of ways, but the final straw came when we got to Bikaner. I cannot even tell you how free we felt after he pulled out of the driveway. We had our freedom back. We could stay in Bikener for as long or as little as we like and we didn’t even mind about the money anymore. All we thought about was how much money we would now be saving. We settled in and Vijay, The Camelman told us that we did a good thing. Our driver was a scheming bad man.
Camel Safari Adventure, Not so Mystical in Rajasthan
We awoke bright and early to catch our tour to the desert. We were excited to be on our way. A camel safari was a big item on our list of adventures that we wanted to do in India. The day was bright and sunny and we drove out 30 km towards the Pakistan Border. We were happy to see that we had 4 camels and two guides. That is until our jeep left.
Safari Booking in Jaisalmer, Taking Back Control?
It was raining in Jodpur, so we gathered up our driver that slept in and sped off down the road. We are stuck with our driver so we decided to lay down some ground rules. While we made our plans in the back seat, we discussed the fact that we were going to book our camel safari through who we wanted. When we got to the guest house that Shanker (our driver) had planned for us, we were not going to let them sell us on their safari. We were going to say thanks, but no thanks we have our own. By the time we went to bed, we were feeling pretty happy with ourselves, little did we know what lay ahead.
Car Hire in Rajasthan, What Were We Thinking?
Dave and I really can be idiot travelers sometimes. We like to think that we are savvy and know what is going on, but sometimes we can just fall for things way too easily. Here’s the scoop… We like independent travel. We like our own schedule and we don’t like to rush through anything. If we like a place, we may stay for five or six days. If we don’t we will move on. So why did we let a guy talk us into hiring him as a driver for 15 days!!??
Indian Arts Festival in Udaipur Rajasthan-Video
An amazing video that captures the essence of the Shilpgram Festival in Udaipur, India.
Shilpgram Arts Festival in Rajasthan
There is nothing more exciting than coming into a town to find out that you have arrived in time for a yearly festival. How lucky we felt when we heard that in Shilpgram, a mere two kilometres away from Udaipur, there was an arts festival taking place as we speak. Dancers, performers, artists and trades people from all over India have come to Shipgram for a 10 day festival to show off their talents.
Building a Dream in Udaipur
Hussain has a story, almost 20 years in the making. Hussein is the manager of our guest house here in Udaipur. He has been leasing this property for 9 years and running the guest house while learning all about the hotel business. Years ago, his father bought this piece of land for 40,000 rupees to build a house. He never did build the house, but Hussain has been chipping away at a giant rock by hand etching out his dream hotel. It is finally almost ready to open.
Udaipur: The most Romantic City in India
Udaipur, which is situated on Lake Pichola in Rajasthan, India is filled with buildings fit for a Maharana. They rise from the water with architecture dating back to the 1500’s. Domed rooftops and arched windows make for a storybook setting. Days can be spent lounging on a bed with big cushions over looking the ghats (steps leading to the water) and daily life. Tourists dine on balconies and roof top patios as they overlook the cityscape of pastel yellows and creams.
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