KUTCH, GUJARAT….the very name resonates in one’s mind as a
majestic, royal state…with a rich & deep history…a vastly varied
topography…culture & heritage at each step. When we think of Gujarat…we
think of a Lion. It is then no wonder that Gujarat Tourism uses a Lion as it’s
mascot…royal, regal, stately & with a majestic aura!!! Of course, even in
the map, Gujarat as a state, looks like a lion’s head, when it is roaring!!
We had wanted to do Gujarat much before Mr. Amitabh Bachchan
rapped to us the many, many, many places we can see & explore in the
state!!! However, Mr. Bachchan did affirm our resolve to take out time &
“spend some time in Gujarat” J
J J (Wonderful ad by
Gujarat Tourism by the way, one of the most “ahead of its times” campaign by
any state tourism in the country).
So, this time, when we had to finalise a destination for our
Christmas Break, we immediately zeroed in on Gujarat.
The challenge however was that we had just 5 days in hand,
to drive from Delhi to Gujarat & be back!!!
Now that is quite a drive!!! If one is driving from Delhi to
Gujarat, not only one has to cross Haryana, but also Rajasthan & reach one
end of Gujarat to be one with The Great Rann of Kutch!!
We were always enamoured by the sheer vastness &
fantastical landscape of Rann of Kutch, so it became our first choice as a
destination in Gujarat. Since we had just 5 days in total in our hand, we had
to zero down specefics of our itinerary very meticulously & follow it, so that
we can maximize on our very limited travel time. Therefore, our Kutch itinerary
read somewhat like this:
·
DAY 1 (24th Dec): Start from Gurgaon
to Udaipur – 650 kms
·
DAY 2 (25th Dec): Start from Udaipur
to Devpur Homestay, Nakhatarna – 602 kms
·
DAY 3 (26th Dec): Start from Devpur
Homestay, Nakhatarna to Rann Utsav, Tent City, Dhordo – 107 kms
·
DAY 4 (27th Dec): Rann of Kutch,
Dhordo to Palanpur (a night halt on Gujarat-Rajasthan border) – 430 kms
·
DAY 5 (28th Dec): Palanpur to Gurgaon
– 780 kms.
Now, of course, we are crazy, mad travellers too J J…so while we did
meticulously plan our really exhaustive itinerary, we are also lovers of random
detours!!! So, do not take this as the absolute set itinerary, because there
will be some surprises on the way too J
J.
Much to our relief, we were joined in our “Run to the Rann”
expedition by Hasina’s brother ,Raahgir!!! With 3 people willing to drive, we
divided per day driving schedule to 2 hours per person, so that one person is
not exhausted too much as 600 odd kms of drive per day can be quite daunting!!
With all things set, we could not wait for year end to
approach, & our holidays to start!!! J
J
In a few days it would be Christmas eve…and we would be on
the road!!! Far..far away from the maddening city life & on the highway!!!
Into the wild & untamed, but gorgeous countryside…ready to observe, explore
& be one with ourselves!! With this lovely thought, the last few days of
working in 2014 were getting over soon, and the day for our “RannVenture” came upon
us!!
Luckily 24th Dec morning was a clear day &
with a spring in our step we started off for our holiday at 6.30am!! J J J.
However, a few minutes into the Highway & we encountered
a thick enough fog!!! Thankfully traffic on roads was miniscule and we could comfortably
drive maintaining an average speed of 40km/hr, which isn’t thrilling, we know,
but in fog situation it is a safe drive. After all speeding foolishly &
then getting into an unprecedented bad situation is not exactly our idea of
stating a good holiday!!
The Great Indian Truck Art!!
Around 8.30am we stopped at a dhaba (locating which was a
task, thanks to the fog) for some breakfast!!! Nothing is more welcome than the
sight of hot smoking Aloo Parathas, prepared freshly, with chopped onions,
coriander, green chillies and whatnots, hot off the tawa, with copious butter
just sizzling away on them to glory…only to be washed down by cups after cup of
hot & sweet adrak chai (tea) of a Haryana dhaba!!! (attach pic)!!! Who
cares for biting cold after that?? Holiday is already here, isn’t it!! J
With our morning apetite whetted quite happily, we were back
again on the highway. The fog had cleared a bit, but we still got it till
Neemrana (Alwar, Rajasthan), which was quite surprising. Nonetheless, post
Neemrana, the fog gave away to bright & clear roads & we sped up our
speed to appropriate Highway mileage and put on some songs!!! Ahaa…the party
was on!!!
By 2pm, we were somewhere between Jaipur & Ajmer &
stopped for lunch!!
Post lunch, it was a run to Udaipur. We were trying our best
to reach Udaipur by 8pm, as we were really in the mood of a nice dinner by the
Lake Pichola with wine & spicy Rajasthani food!! Raahgir in particular
wanted to try Laal Maas, a traditional Rajasthani mutton delicacy!! Our
restaurant of choice was the lovely Ambrai at Amet Haveli. Hasina called up
Ambrai while we were driving to book a table. Unfortunately Ambrai was fully
booked for 24th & 25th Dec & we could not get a
table!! It was quite a surprise as we have frequently heard of restaurants in
West being booked like this, where you have to wait for days for a table;
having that experience in India was new!!
A very dejected Hasina called up at the hotel, Mewar Haveli,
where we were putting up, to check if they could possibly suggest a place for
dining by the lake & get us a reservation. The hotel manager very sweetly
informed that Mewar Haveli is indeed on the Lake itself & hosts a rooftop
candle lit dinner overlooking the Lake & its beauty!! Not only that,
despite being a vegetarian restaurant, they agreed on ordering Laal Maas from a
nearby good restaurant & serving us. They also agreed to buy a bottle of
wine for us & assured that we can have the dinner we want!!! That was music
to our ears. Just the mere promise made us speed up much happily to a lovely
evening that would await us in Udaipur!!!
Unfortunately, a small road trip snag, set us on a rather
longer path to Udaipur, thus delaying us by 1.5 hours to our destination. Just
before Ajmer comes a road where on the left is a flyover that is pointing towards
Chittorgarh & Bhilwara and the straight road is pointing at Ajmer. We were
confused whether the straight road will lead us to Ajmer city & the road to
the left might be a bypass route, making us avoid city traffic & reaching
earlier. Therefore, we checked with a
few locals & they told us to take the Chittorgarh & Bhilwara route to
reach Udaipur!! NEVER TAKE THAT ROAD…if driving to Udaipur, unless you have a
desire to visit Chittor!!
The road in question has many diversions, goes through
single lane State Highways & is a much longer route. We did not have any
particular problem en route, it’s just that by the time we reached Udaipur it
was 9.00pm. Had we followed the earlier road, we could have easily reached
Udaipur by 7.30pm – 8pm, despite the fact that the roads from Nathdwara to Udaipur are are construction.
The area where Mewar Haveli is situated is quite happening,
with a very good crowd roaming the bylanes. It’s quirky, eccentric…with lovely
graffiti wall art, kitschy cafes & curio shops at every turn. It would have
been nice exploring all these had we reached on time, as we were frankly not
much tired. Dividing driving time equally amongst 3 people helped each person
to take a nap comfortably in the car & reduced stress as well.
But we reached at 9pm, and after settling in our cute little
room, went to Mewar Haveli’s rooftop at 9.30pm.
Everything took a turn for the most lovely & gorgeous
from that moment on!!!
Udaipur…oh Udaipur!!! What a romantic & lovely city!!
The view from the hotel rooftop was breath taking!! Mewar Haveli is one of the
many hotels that are dotted on the edge of Lake Pichola, & practically all
hotels in that circle have a rooftop dinner facility!!! Can you imagine this
vista??!!All hotels lit up around a spectacularly gorgeous lake…a different
sort of party happening on every rooftop. Music wafting from all rooftops!! It
was an elegant mish mash of Bollywood numbers, old English tracks, soft jazz
music, classical. In the middle of our line of vision we could see the
beautifully lit up & majestic Lake Palace hotel, standing regally in the
middle of the lake, like a fabled Ivory Tower, so removed from others….a thing
to be looked at, admired, fawned upon from a comfortable distance!!! It was
pure magic!!
We sipped wine after wine, taking in the ambience, music
& the wonderful crowd around us…very comfortable in the crisp & cool
weather, made warm by a desirable bonfire near us. It was such a beautiful
treat for driving non stop from morning to night. Just what we wanted!!! The
hotel staff was sweet enough to delay our food a bit & not pester us
continuously. We did not make them wait too much either, & had our food.
The food was absolutely fantastic & spicy washed down with sweet red wine.
We got up very reluctantly around 11.45pm, as we had to
sleep too. We had another day of driving ahead of us…but not before we resolved
to visit Udaipur for at least 2-3 days!! It is such a well-planned &
gorgeous city…and it truly gave a sweet end to our lovely day!! J J J
25th Dec: 6.30am
Off we were, yet again, trudging out of a very sleepy &
quiet Udaipur early in the morning. We had to cover a distance of 602 kms today
to reach Nakhatarna, a village 40 kms ahead of Bhuj.
Bhuj will always be the centre point for travellers to halt
a day before they venture out to Rann of Kutch. Reason being, if as a traveller
you wish to visit India-Pakistan border, you need to stay 1 full day in Bhuj in
order to get your permit made. Most hotel & resort owners are well equipped
to guide you on the procedure to get a permit, else approach a local police
station to get one made. Do not worry at all, as we found Gujaratis to be very
sweet, polite & helpful in general.
If, however you are just visiting Rann, then your permit can
be made immediately 30 kms away from Rann. The check point to get a permit made
is very clearly visible & you will be stopped by police & directed to
get it made before you enter the Rann.
Therefore, staying at Bhuj, or adjoining areas is the most
comfortable halt option an evening before visiting Rann. We, however, chose to
stay at a beautiful homestay called Devpur Homestay, some 40 kms ahead of Bhuj.
Our reason for taking this detour was purely because of Devpur.
It is such a beautiful homestay that it naturally attracts
you to stay there. It is the home of one of the politest & sweetest couple
we have met, Kurutarthsinh Jadeja & his wife Yashodhara. We were
immediately attracted to the home the minute we saw it on Tripadvisor &
read only good reviews of the place. Needless to say, once booked, Kurutarth
was extremely helpful in also helping arrange our stay in Rann Utsav, Tent
City, Dhordo. He looped us with all the correct references & was also
extremely helpful in guiding us to interesting places nearby.
So, coming back to our Rannventure, we left a very sleepy
Udaipur behind & were out on the highway to Expressway Heaven!!! J J J
The Udaipur-Abu Road expressway leading into Gujarat border
is such a delight to drive on (although driving on this stretch at late night
is not at all advisable). It is such a treat to the senses. The roads are
spectacular, surrounded by gorgeous landscape on both sides. It was a true
delight & made us take pitstops to take photographs time & again.
The music was on, the roads were a dream & spirits were
soaring high!!! We were practically bouncing off in the car with so much
verve!! J J
Around 8.45 am we took a breakfast halt somewhere. Bye bye
Aloo Parathas with butter & welcome Poha, Pakode & Veg sandwich. We
were in Rajasthan now. After breakfast, we were back again on the highway &
entered Gujarat.
What roads of Gujarat actually are, you get to know once you
enter Gujarat. Even Rajasthan largely has good roads. But in Gujarat, roads are
also tourism!!! Do not believe us?? Let us show you.
Cruising away at a comfortable highway speed on this tarmac
like road was such a pleasant experience. We were vrooming away in such
delight!! Imagine miles & miles & miles & miles of never ending
carpet like roads & your music player blaring the best of songs…our choice
was Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’s “Khwabon Ke Parinde” & many more numbers!!!
We were not exceeding permissible speed limit by any means, and why would you
want to. Why speed up unnecessarily & miss the gorgeous Gujarat roads?? The
beauty in the changing topography, the musings of a barren field, of tall
grasslands, of sudden appearances of water bodies with lesser flamingoes and
many other species of migratory birds, the simple country life passing by are
your biggest companions in this journey. Isn’t this the reason why we choose to
travel by road. To observe India in its true splendor; to soak in the
countryside & feel a sense of equanimity wash over you; To remind you, in
your day to day, cut throat, big city corporate life…that there is World beyond
your 4*4 office cubicles, and that the problems we often tend to cry over are
nothing when we see country people toiling with much harsh conditions &
smiling back when your SLR is pointed at them!!!
Around 2.30pm we a stopped at a roadside hotel called, Hotel
Sahyog, and had the Best meal we have had in ages!!! The place was clean, with
neat but basic washrooms for women as well. The food was so delicious that we
ended up overstuffing ourselves. Especially their lassi & masala buttermilk
were to die for!!! The quality of dairy products in Gujarat is truly
unmatched…obviously since Gujarat is the state that was the frontrunner in the
Great Milk Revolution of India, and the eponymous Indian dairy brand, Amul is
from Gujarat.
After a comfortable drive on Gujarat roads (again we came on
a wrong route a little before Bhuj, that threw us off our track. A Gujju, we
asked for direction, was sweet enough to drive ahead of us on the correct
track, so we could follow him and dropped us at the entry point of Bhuj, before
waving a smiling goodluck to us!!!). We were at Bhuj exactly at sundown, which
was an hour later than our intended arrival time. Hence, we missed a visit to
this beautiful handicraft village called Bhujodi, that was recommended as a
must visit to us by Kurutarth L
L L
If you are going in the same direction, do remember stopping
by at Bhujodi, which is on your route, just before Bhuj. Bhujodi, is amongst
those illustrious handicraft villages of Kutch that are a must visit. It’s a
gorgeous village where you can see artisans on their craft in every home &
can directly buy exquisitely embroidered handicraft pieces from them. Plus the
whole experience of being in a handicraft village is a must do in your
itinerary if you are an art & culture lover. Observing their painstakingly
exquisite art that has rocked the fashion ramps in Paris & Milan with
biggest of couture creators is quite a rich experience. We unfortunately missed
out on this experience, but will plan a trip solely centred on the handicraft
villages of Kutch soon!!
From Bhuj, we drove down to Devpur homestay & reached
there by 7pm.
We received a royal garlanded welcome at Devpur by
Yashodhara…a very sweet & homely lady. Our room reminded us of our own
ancestral homes back in Lucknow, and was a true delight to stay in. Our room
was on the large courtyard of the homestay, & at night the whole courtyard
was lit up with fairy lights & a very welcome bonfire awaited us.
We were very politely supplied with tea & coffee to take
away our driving blues; and while we admired the tastefully done up home
sitting by the bonfire, other guests joined us in as well. Devpur generally
attracts guests who are like-minded & come with a purview of travelling.
The exchange of travel tales over bonfire & coffee before dinner was such a
welcome relief. We met interesting people, who love travelling the country like
us, & exchanged information on destinations across India. We had the most
interesting conversation with a lady, Malini, who runs an all girl travel group
called F5 Escapes (
www.f5escapes.com).
The conversation on the changing travel scenario of India, & how Indians
travellers are now constantly moving away from mass travel websites & going
in for experiential travelling (our favourite topic), etc. etc. went on for
happily till dinnertime. Malini shared her rich experience of working in this
field & recommended many destinations to us!!!
J J Finally at 9pm we sat down
for a very sumptuous meal. The food was absolutely brilliant & truly the
taste of home cooked Kutch food!!! There is no alcoholic drinks option in
Gujarat, as it is a dry state. We did not carry any with us either, as we
believe in following the law of the land, and frankly did not mind it much.
There is a lot to travel than just drinks
J.
A very comfortable sleep beckoned us. We could take it easy
next day to Rann, as we had to cover only 107 kms on these butter smooth
roads!! There was just a minor glitch…around 4.30am in the morning our sleep
was disturbed by some Gujarati songs playing on a loudspeaker nearby.
Apparently that is a half an hour daily thing that someone does nearby in a
temple & cannot be helped. The music did shut off at 5am sharp & we
went back to our deep sleep with great relief. Other than that, Devpur was a
dream place to stay in.
Next morning woke us upto School!!! J J J
Kurutarth’s father, a retired principle himself, established
a school in his backyard for the nearby village children. It is called “White
Eagles School”, and had the cutest little kids trotting by early morning for
prayer & studies!!! We clicked some candid moments with the kiddos!!!
We also took an opportunity to click some photographs of the
gorgeous homestay as well.
The peaceful morning wake up call was so refreshing and set
us in such a good mood.
We met Kurutarth as well, who was very helpful in guiding us
with any query we had on Rann & adjoining travel options. Yashodhara, in
particular, strongly recommended us some must visit places in Kutch, chief of
which were, Fossil Park on our way to Kutch; Nirona – a beautiful handicraft
village, Kala Dungar – a very high summit point some 30 kms away from Rann,
that can give us breath taking panoramic view of the White Rann (we had to
choose one amongst these destinations due to limited time); and for the day
after Rann a visit to either explore Bhuj & its palaces, that would be on
our way or take a detour of some 250 kms to reach Dholavira, the newest
discovered site of Ancient Harrappan civilization!!!
Well, I’m sure you know us well enough by now…to know, which
route we must have taken J
J J J
After a large & hearty Kutch breakfast, we were off to
our Rannventure!!!! White Rann…here we come!!!
Coming Up: Our Romance with the Rann!!! Keep visiting Ek
Musafir Ek Hasina J
