Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Jaipur Travel – Tidbits

We have never been to Jaipur before.  Therefore, we visited Jaipur last week.  Don’t worry.  I am not going to shove 50 photos in your face.  I know you all have been either to Jaipur before or have seen those photos umpteen number of times.
 
I want to share a few tidbits.
 
Some of you may remember I wrote on June 23, 2012 about our train journey from Amritsar to New Delhi.  I titled it “Best Train Ride (in India)”.  We wanted to experience the same again.  Therefore, we booked Chennai-Jaipur-Chennai by AC First Class.  VERY BIG MISTAKE.
 
The AC First class can accommodate 10 passengers.  4 berths in Cabin A, 4 in Cabin B, and 2 in Cabin C (Coupe).  There were a total of 7 passengers only.  We were in Cabin A (2 people), Cabin B had 3 people, and Cabin C had 2 people.  There are 2 lavatories for these 10 people only.  But only 7 passengers.  2 Hours into the journey, both bathrooms became so dirty and the whole compartment was full of bad smell that we felt like vomiting.  We asked the attendant to clean them and he took his own time.  I think people go out of the way to dirty the bathrooms.  How much wreck a few people can havoc in 2 bathrooms in the train in just 2 hours!
 
We were so disappointed with the train journey, we cancelled the return train tickets and flew back to Chennai.  Lesson learnt: Don’t go by trains in India unless it is a Shatabdi Express and the travel time is less than 6 hours.
 
This is interesting.  We were going in a taxi in Jaipur.  It was a long beautiful road. Both sides were lined with lots of trees.  The center divider had lots of plants and flowers.  The ride was very smooth and no bumps.  We were impressed.  We asked the driver (in our broken Hindi) the name of the street.  He said it is jalan road.  We did not get what he said.  We asked again.  He said it is called jalan.  We asked him to spell.  He did not know how to spell and also got a little bit irritated.  Therefore, we did not pursue further.  We were looking out and at an intersection we got the name of the street.  It is J.L.N. Marg.  Ahhh. Now we know.  We still think it stands for Jawaharlal Nehru.  Just curious.  Jawaharlal is one word and not two words (Jawahar Lal). Therefore, it should be J.N. Marg and not J.L.N. Marg – assuming it is named after Jawaharlal Nehru. What do you think?
 
We enjoyed so many places in Jaipur.  One of the unforgettable experience is the Rajasthani food at Chokhi Dhani.  One of the best dining experience.  Chokhi Dhani is an ethnic village resort in Jaipur. (I am about to publish this post.  Someone just told me there is a Chokhi Dhani in Chennai also.  Will try that one also soon.)
 
One small suggestion for those who are planning to go to Chokhi Dhani in Jaipur.  Please engage the taxi/auto for round trip.  We did not know what time we will be back.  We thought we will hire a taxi from Chokhi Dhani for our return journey to the hotel.  ANOTHER  MISTAKE.  We were ready to go back at 10:30 pm.  Hundreds of taxis and autos.  But all of them were waiting for passengers already booked the round trip.  We walked a long distance and came to the main road where there were some lights.  We just stood there for 20 minutes thinking some empty taxi/auto will stop and pick us.  Finally one auto stopped.  There were already a middle-aged couple in that auto.  The driver asked where we are going?  We told the name of the hotel.  He said he would drop us there and named his price.  We agreed.  I asked the male passenger if it is ok with them.  He said fine.   My wife sat in the back with that couple.  I sat in the front with the auto driver.  In fact, I actually enjoyed the ride.  My wife was the one worried to death throughout the ride that I may fall off the auto.
 
One more thing we noticed in Rajasthan (or in the whole northern part of India) that young people give lot of respect and care to elders.  We rarely see that in Chennai.

27 comments:

  1. Sitting in front of an auto is great!

    JLN normally stands for Jawahar Lal Nehru. My dad's name is "M. Lal. K." and at least in Punjab/Himachal/Haryana it seems fine.

    I have never travelled by first class so I won't really know. Reading about your experience, however, won't stop me when I do get the chance :-)

    It is odd that you think youngsters in the north respect the elders. I have lived almost all my life in the north, except some in Mumbai. And I see no difference. You might only have lived in Chennai, a big city, and the places you visited (including Jaipur) were not that big or cosmopolitan etc. This is a possibility.

    Who cares as long as you enjoy the travelling?

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  2. Thanks for your interesting comments. You could be right. Youngsters in smaller cities may be more respectful of elders. Yes, we do enjoy travelling.

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  3. I don't know if JLN is for Jawaharlal Nehru because JNU is there in Delhi JN travels in Kerala and elsewhere.

    Kerala is more ahead in insolence than Chennai as reverence is a rare word here at least among the labour class.

    I expected one or two photographs.
    Nice that you observe things very well.

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  4. LOL @ Front seat ride in the auto. I have done it before - it's fun, but not very comfortable. The front seat ride in a share auto in Chennai is hopeless as they pack two people into one seat - don't try it! :)

    I guess this is a good season to go to Rajasthan. In the summer, the state might be hotter than Chennai?

    Destination Infinity

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  5. Thanks for your comments Sarala. I am glad you liked this post.

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  6. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. That auto ride was a one time deal under unavoidable circumstance. Will never do that in Chennai.

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  7. The less said about the restrooms in trains and stations the better... While everyone expects cleaner facilities, very few utilize these facilities thoughtfully. Glad you enjoyed your visit to a very popular and beautiful tourist destination SG.

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  8. Thanks for your comments Reshma. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Jaipur.

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  9. Hope Swachh bharat works on railways and you have a pleasant experience next time.

    Regarding respecting elders in the north yes I agree with you. That said, elders are also respected here especially if you go towards small towns in south like Madurai, udupi, nizamabad you will find general public addressing even tertiary workers with respect. But in this regard chennai is different.

    Generally JN is Jawaharal nehru as in JNTU.

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  10. Thanks for your comments Asha. You are correct. It looks like youngster respect elders in smaller towns.

    What is JNTU?

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  11. Visiting Jaipur is on my list. Usually our vacations to India are a month affair and they are spent visiting people's homes. Sigh!Hopefully some day, some time, I will get to visit Jaipur.

    Riding on the front seat in an auto reminds me of a rodeo.

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  12. JNTU is Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University based in Hyderabad.

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  13. Thanks for your comments OIW. And, welcome to my blog. I completely understand what you are saying. We are also in the same boat. Fortunately, this time we are staying for 6 months. Therefore, plan to visit a few places.

    OIW, please visit here as often as possible. Thanks.

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  14. Rajasthani food is royal with lots of variety. Glad that you enjoyed it. And, I have never been Jaipur- I wish you shared some photos too!

    Being a person who travels in train regularly, I sad that you had a bad experience. Or should I say, you are not used to it yet :P

    Thanks for the post :)

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  15. Rajasthan!!! made me nostalgic! the cuisine esp the 'kachories' are to die for!

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  16. I think we have carelessness in our blood when it comes to keeping our surroundings clean. A very sad state!!!

    Please share some pictures of your visit :S although google helps us with pictures, each of us have a different perspective so I am sure your pictures will have your signature, SG :)

    My journey to Hyderabad was dreadful. It was a 2nd AC compartment, lower berth and 2 rats scared the hell out of me all through the journey.... yikessssss!! :)

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  17. I generally judge any place with the food it serves.
    Jaipur is one place which has a variety of food outlets.
    Chokhi Daani is the best

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  18. Thanks for your comments Satya. You are right. I am not used to the Indian trains yet.

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  19. Thanks for your comments Ankita. Me too love kachories.

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  20. Thanks for your comments Rohini. Rats in the train? Yuck. I won't go in a train in India unless it is absolutely necessary.

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  21. Thanks for your comments Mr. Chowla. I 100% agree with you. Chokhi Dhani is the best.

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  22. Aha! You were in my city! Wish we could meet! JLN Marg is named after Jawaharlal Nehru. You have a point there. Never thought about it earlier! Chokhi Dhani is a wonderful place and is a must visit, at least once.
    Aah! The restrooms at public places... less said, the better... people just have NO civic sense. It actually reflects their personality and wonder how they manage it at their homes!

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  23. Thanks for your comments Shilpa. From your posts, I thought you either live in New Delhi or Gurgaon and travel to Jaipur frequently.

    I wish I had known you live in Jaipur. We were unlucky not to be able to meet with you this time.

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  24. You are right about long distance train travel,it is not good nor worth the time we have to spend. it is always better to travel by plane.I always felt NI drivers/ rickshaw wallas etc are very friendly and helpful, especially, when they hear you speak their language, which is Hindi in most places. Our driver also took us to very good Rajasthani emporium, where we bought so many things, which they said they would deliver to us. And as promised they sent two men with the things we had bought from them after 15 days to our house in Bangalore.
    Their quilts are very famous and we are still using them. We went in 2005. And the inter state trains had plenty of leg room, good decent food and their toilets even had toilet papers and good soap dispensers too.
    We were really surprised and pleased.
    Though I don't know how it is these days.

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  25. A distinct travel story SG. I never thought a travel post 'without photo' can be so much interesting and informative! Thank you!

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  26. Haha ... train journey disaster

    Chokhi Daani yeah agree...return trip has to be arranged..

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