Diary from Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Tanot, Longewala and Jaipur travel - Part 2

Following morning we were at Gadisar lake, Jaisalmer

A pleasant morning at Gadisar lake:

Took rickshaw from Jaisalmer station for Rs10 each and as decided went to Gadisar Lake. Let the photos speak…

Album cover

HDR version of Gadisar lake
- Jaisalmer

Hungry fishes in Gadisar Lake - Jaisalmer

Close up of a hungry fish

Gadisar Lake scape

Poser pic at Gadisar lake

Parked boats at Gadisar Lake - Jaisalmer

Colored windows at Gadisar Lake

 

Enjoying solitude

Lines and shapes attracts us at Gadisar Lake - Jaisalmer

Capturing local life at Gadisar Lake -
Jaisalmer

Art shop near Gadisar Lake - Jaisalmer

Sadhu at Gadisar Lake - Jaisalmer

Out of Handicappness:

From there we went to Joshi German Bakery at Gopa Chowk, which is in the main city nearly 5 minutes by auto from Gadisar.  German bakery is quite popular among the foreigners there. But bakery items are only available from October to March.

Had a nice breakfast and asked for Bike. I was planning for any Pulsar version. But he didn’t had any. We agreed for Hero Impulse. He said Rs 1500 for three day. We negotiated for Rs.1100 and no deposit. Now, you can get number of bike rentals Jaisalmer city.

Towards the Cursed Village of Kuldhara:

  It was 10 AM now. After initial round of testing the bike in city, tied our luggage. Fueled it for Rs 600 and started towards Kuldhara. It is nearly 18 km from Jaisalmer city. After 5km we were out of the city and were greeted by splendid roads and views.

Me posing near Jaisalmer

Me posing near Jaisalmer

Stone houses near Jaisalmer

Rural house near Jaisalmer. Note satellite television and cooler

Rural house near Jaisalmer

Vishwanath Dalvi posing near Jaisalmer

 

  There is left turn after 14km from Jaisalmer city which takes you to Kuldhara. You are at the gate of village after 4km.

Kuldhara milestone

  A mid aged study man stopped us at the gate and asked for Rs.60. Rs 10/person and Rs 40 for two wheeler. From head to toe he didn’t seemed as government authorized, so I asked for receipts. He said ‘Aap ghumkar aa jao phir le lena’

Experience at Kuldhara:

  Lot of references are present on Internet about Kuldhara and Paliwal Brahmans.

What I felt is, there was an ultra advanced civilization here. Who not only managed to but were solid rich wrt economy and culture.

  When I went through some literature I came to know the richness of the place and people who lived here. Although Paliwal Brahmins lived here in 84 villages they were vaishya by profession. And according to accounts some traders here had 5 rooms one each filled with precious metals. 

  People living here build villages with lakes all round it and beautiful step wells. Beautifully carved temples depict the splendor of the village. Houses neatly arranged in parallel sequence.

Something was smelling right from beginning. I thought my clutch plate is down. But it was the silencer of Impulse which burnt my bag.

Inside temple

Golden pillar in Kuldhara temple

Parallel houses in Kuldhara

Step well in Kuldhara village

Ruins of Kuldhara

Ruins of Kuldhara

Temple in Kuldhara - Jaisalmer

Kuldhara temple architecture - Jaisalmer

Chat with keeper of the cursed village:

  Came back to the entrance and took receipts. I went inside the small room where 2 men and 1 spanish girl were seated. That girl was fan of BABAJI (the keeper) and also the other way ;) In fact Babaji went with the girl to drop her in rickshaw standing outside. Now we had chance to talk with him. 

  He narrated the whole story and gifted me a fossilized conch which the ASI people got from dry Kak river. 

  Meanwhile one young person entered the room. ‘Sirji ye Jungle ka aadmi hai’ the other man standing there said. He really looked like Jungle ka aadmi. Babaji said these two were his sons.

Portrait of ghost keeper at Kuldhara

They explained how big hotels fool their guest by taking them on ghost watching ride in Kuldhara village. We were offered tea but I thanked them as I do not like goat milk. They showed a big mushroom they got near lake and said ‘Humara do din ka khana hai ye’. In all these talk they were never unhappy with their life.

L2R. Vishwanath Dalvi, Babaji (keeper of kuldhara), Niraj Yadav

Towards Sam dunes:

  Started the bike and left Kuldhara faring a good bye to them.  Returned after riding for around 200 metres and handed Rs 50 to them. Sam dunes were another 20km from the main road.

  We were warned earlier about local frauds who ask Rs100 for camel safari and they loot you inside the desert. I am not aware of any firsthand experience but got the feel of the local people who are ruining the tourist spot.  As soon as we reached there, locals started pouncing on us. They chase you on bikes :)

  Parked bike close to the Swiss tents and marched towards dunes. Spend some time there and moved towards Ramgarh village which was 65km from there.

Our back packs at Sam sand dunes

 

Golden desert at Sam sand dunes

Dhibbe at Sam - Jaisalmer

Scape of Sam sand dunes

Golden dunes at Sam - Jaisalmser

Towards Ramgarh:

  We decided to visit border tomorrow morning. We had two options. One was return back to Jaisalmer driving 40 kilometers back.

  Second option was to move ahead towards Ramgarh, stay there and visit Tanot and Longewala tomorrow. It was a gamble as we didn’t know if we will get something to eat or stay at Ramgarh.

  Riding from Sam to Ramgarh was amazing through Damodra Ramgarh Bypass. We spotted many Peacocks and Chinkaras.

Enroute Ramgarh. Windmills in the background are among the largest in Asia

Night stay at Ramgarh:

Around 6 PM we were at Ramgarh. Luckily we located Bhavani Guest house, only guest house in Ramgarh. Across the road owner of the Guest house owned a small dhaba. Had desi dinner for Rs.80/plate.  

 I miss the chaas kadhi from there. Negotiated an attached room with cooler for Rs.350 a day. Costliest deal we ever had in this trip.

Now only thing we need was sound sleep. 

Ride to Tanot and Longewala:

We started early at 6AM. From Ramgarh you have two routes. One goes to Longewala and one goes to Tanot. We proceeded for Tanot Mandir. Roads ahead are extremely fantastic. 

You experience rolling hills enroute. Roads going up then down and repeating throughout the journey. You get nothing but military trucks and wild desert for 75km.

Poser pic (Niraj Yadav) near Ranau village

Its our Hero

Military truck near Ranau village

Ranau village

Shepherd near Ranau village

Local boy in Ranau Village

Million dollar smile

Ranau ka gadriya

Wild camerl near Ranau village

Invitation for tea by Maratha regiment guys:

   Just before Ranau village which is the last properly habituated village we were posing for photos. Two joggers heard some Marathi word from us. They showed interest and asked us as to where we were from.

Those two were on morning PT and were happy to listen we were from Maharashtra. They invited us for tea. These guys were from Maratha regiment and they handled sophisticated satellite and voice channel tracker across borders.

We loved the experience they shared.

 

Moved ahead to Tanot Mandir. AFAIK it is only temple in our country where live bombs are placed next to Devi idol. We offered the pooja thali and moved ahead to Longewala post.

Surprise we received at Longewala post:

  Longewala is 35km from Tanot. It is one of the last posts on the western front.  Movie Border is based on the 1971 war with Pakistan at Longewala. Road is good and lonely. We didn’t spot a single person on this 35km road.

  Parked our bikes there and had a talk with Bullet group from Baroda. A military police guy was standing next to them. He enquired as to where I came from?  Two hour long conversation started when I said we are from Mumbai. He was eager to share his experience of Mumbai.

  While we were talking we heard an ear deafening blast. My hand was on key and eyes on my bike ;) I thought ‘lagta hai shuru ho gaya!’ But that guy said ‘Relax! This is an army drill and you are lucky to be here!’

  He was absolutely True. It was one of the lifetime experiences to witness. Complete battlefield was designed. Infantry and artillery were part of the drill with 4 indigenously built Arjun tanks and ARV.

Niraj Yadav posing at Tanot mata mandir

  Took some pics and started the return journey taking Longewala Ramgarh route which was around 45km. Half of the route was under construction which slowed us.

Reached Ramgarh packed our stuffs and moved to Jaisalmer. 

Back to Jaisalmer:

We were in Jaisalmer before evening. Moved inside Maheshwari Seva Sadan Dharamshala near Hanuman circle for Rs.75 per person.

  Next we had Vyas Chhatri in the list. Sunset looks splendid from here. Next to Vyas Chhatri was free folk program. Chief Guest was Aruna roy so decided not be part of :)

Visit to Jaisalmer fort:

  We kept the last day for local sightseeing. Top the list was Jaisalmer fort.   It is almost a mini city up there. 

We met two interesting person there. 

One was Bokudu Natwarlal our half mind guide and other was antique owner K.K. Parekh. 

Some of the interesting K.K. Parekh owner of Light of the East shop showed was 6 crore years old fossilized conch, Jurassic park like crystal fossil with mosquito trapped inside and sandstone with double behavior.  

When you press it, it’s like hard rock but when you hold it across its edge it behaves like rubber. I called it the Lachila Patthar.

Jaisalmer Fort

Antiques at Jaisalmer fort

The real multitasker

Folk musician at Jaisalmer Fort

Our trip to Jaisalmer ended with snacks at Joshi German bakery and Saanp seedhi game.

Thank You all for spending your time on my blog. Please leave a comment about the travelogue. 

Contact me anytime for any info you need !

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