Rajasthan: the only place like it!

The desert state of India is one of the most beautiful places in the sub-continent and offers a very special and unique experience. My wife and I were very fortunate to spend two weeks in Rajasthan last month. To experience it's true flavour and the local culture, we took a taxi and drove a whooping twenty five hundred kilometres within the state!

If you are traveling through Rajasthan, then there are two experiences that you must not miss: staying at a resort in a palace setting, ie an old palace or a thakur's haveli converted into a boutique hotel; and second, spending a night under luxurious tents from the king's era of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, beautifully carved out into resorts. 

We obviously did a lot of research, went through all of the material available on the internet and read every available book with respect to accommodation. And thankfully, we were able to find and experience some of these very exclusive properties :)

Rajasthan was a state of the kings. If you travel on the national highway today, you will see a fort almost after every fifty kilometres. After the British rule ended, a lot of the descendents of the kings and thakurs decided to convert the forts and palaces of their fore-fathers into luxurious resorts. Staying at such properties is an amazing experience, as you can re-live the olden times, walk through the same corridors as the kings, and understand the way of their lives. Sleeping in the same rooms as the kings, give you a majestic feeling of the whole place. Most generally, these palaces have a location of top of a hill or otherwise; and offer breath-taking views of everything around them!

 

 infinity pool, on top of a palace resort, surrounded by hills on 3 sides (jaipur)

suite patio with endless quaint views of surrounding farms (jodhpur)

And then the tents! Its a "wow" experience. These tents were used by the kings on their safaris, or hunting expeditions. This tradition has been very delicately preserved by some of their descendents. Some of the resorts in Rajasthan provide you with the exclusive opportunity to experience living in such tents! Plain canvas tents, with a quiet environment around them. I guess Rajasthan is the only place in India (and prolly the whole world) which offers such an exclusive experience! Its wonderful to walk on the floors made of mud, and to look through the doors and windows of canvas. And don't worry, most of these tents offer a nice fully equipped bathroom and full amenities; so you kinda have the best of both worlds :)

 

hunting tents on top of a reservoir (jodhpur)

tented spa! in the middle of a forest (ranthambore)

Road Trip to the Old World Charm!

The one thing that we used to absolutely love in United States was our road trips! No wonder, we could be seen in Vegas every other weekend :) As it was just a couple of hours away from LA, we probably visited it more than ten times in the last two years! So now back in India – we thought of keeping our “tradition” of road trips alive. Our first pick was the Neemrana Fort Palace in Rajasthan.

Neemrana Fort Palace is about 3 hours from Delhi, and a pleasurable road trip. Well, let me correct myself – after you cross the Delhi border: it is a pleasurable trip. It felt good to drive above 100 kilometres per hour after the hussle and bussle of Delhi traffic. It was a fun drive – with lots of singing, games and snacks. The Neemrana village had a character of its own; obviously different from the much developed metropolitan cities. The brightly painted doors, small alleys, and peacocks brought us to the India that we had only seen in Bollywood movies!

The fort is nestled on top of a small hill and offers magnificent views of the village. The resort is a 14th century fort palace beautifully and exceptionally well restored! As you enter, you can feel the grandiose of old times in its huge stone walls and beautiful ornate doors.

All the rooms in the resort have different names and character, and have been designed with utmost attention to details. Because of its location, every room offers beautiful views. To say the least, one of the bathroom at the fort palace is called the “Loo with a View”, and it surely lives up to its name ;) We spend two days at the fort, and they went past quickly in exploring the huge fort. Even though it was a bit tiring to climb up and down the several levels in the fort; it was at the same exciting, as it offered many wonderful spaces to discover. You can probably play hide and seek in this fort, or better set up a treasure hunt!

There were several nooks and corners to laze around, and simply gaze at the sky or the town beneath. The swimming pool was a relaxing treat in the hot weather!  The mornings were beautiful with the birds chirping and peacocks and peahens running around. And a sumptuous buffet breakfast, kept us happy on our way back as well :)

All in all, it was a fun weekend! And we would love to go back, to relive this old romantic charm in the Neemrana village.