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Is that the Jal Mahal (water palace)?
There was no water in the lake when I was there
It is shallow though. 1.5 to 4.5m.
A Rajasthani Bimble
- Thread starter Mongoose
- Start date
Is that the Jal Mahal (water palace)?
There was no water in the lake when I was there
It is shallow though. 1.5 to 4.5m.
Deep enough for Roger!
lived there for three years.
Local beer & most food is fine. Don’t drink bottled water unless it’s fizzy. If it’s not fizzy, it’s probably been refilled out of the local tap, and that is not fine.
There’s a “motorway services” half way from Delhi to Agra, and everybody who ate there got the shits. We wandered around and then waited for our driver who was waiting for us to buy something so he got his kick-back. Gave him 100Rs and everyone was happy.
Road priorities when I was there. Buses might rank above foreign made cars now.
White Brahmin cattle
other cattle
government or army vehicles
foreign made cars
buses
trucks
Indian made cars
large motorbikes >350cc
small motorbikes
pedal bikes
pedestrians
SIDs (standard Indian dog)
anything else
good luck, enjoy!
lived there for three years.
Local beer & most food is fine. Don’t drink bottled water unless it’s fizzy. If it’s not fizzy, it’s probably been refilled out of the local tap, and that is not fine.
There’s a “motorway services” half way from Delhi to Agra, and everybody who ate there got the shits. We wandered around and then waited for our driver who was waiting for us to buy something so he got his kick-back. Gave him 100Rs and everyone was happy.
Road priorities when I was there. Buses might rank above foreign made cars now.
White Brahmin cattle
other cattle
government or army vehicles
foreign made cars
buses
trucks
Indian made cars
large motorbikes >350cc
small motorbikes
pedal bikes
pedestrians
SIDs (standard Indian dog)
anything else
good luck, enjoy!
Really enjoying this , thanks for taking the time to post
Great report & photos. I’ve been to Kathmandu but always fancied a longer trip to take in a bit more of the wider culture of India. As someone mentioned earlier the people as so friendly & humble. Have a great trip…
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Days 4/5/6:
Frankly, I'm exhausted. I never thought the trip would take so much out of me, but age is catching up and the heat, awful roads and noise are huge contributory factors. Add in the fact that I'm an introvert by nature and so much social contact, albeit with lovely people, wears me out and its no wonder.
We travelled into rhe mountains to stay at a heritage hotel, an old haveli or Palace that was beautiful, if run down. Like lots of old buildings in India, it was crumbling at the edges, but comfortable enough. All of the hotels so far have been excellent and the food pretty much spot on. I never, ever thought I'd say this, but I'm tired of curry now!
The ride up to the village was long and hot, 34 degrees and no breeze when stationary. We pulled over to look at an ancient village irrigation system, but suddenly a school bus appeared from nowhere, skidded to a halt and everyone debussed. This was the highlight of the trip so far for me- an impromptu English lesson and some great conversation with kids and teachers. I'd taken a load of Union Jack pin badges with me and handed some out to the kids who spoke good English. This caused something of a frenzy amongst the teachers who all suddenly wanted one too.
The rest of the day was spent crashing and banging through unfinished roads with a lot of loose gravel. I've no idea how my bike has any head bearings left by now, but the bikes seem able to take huge punishment in their stride. The mechanic travelling with us made some temporary repairs to 2 bikes.....with a lump hammer!
For some reason, our guide chose to ignore the open 2 wheeler lane at a toll station and went through a central lane that had an open barrier. I went to follow, only for the barrier to drop as I got within 5 metres doing 20 ish. I thought I was going to go over it, but it was plastic and smashed to pieces on my mirrors and chest. We hot footed it out of there, but it was a lucky escape.
The road to Udaipur was a long one, mainly because my stomach had finally succumbed to.......not exactly Delhi Belly, more of a Rajasthani Rumble. Thank god for Immodium. Do bears sh1t in the woods? I hope not, I might have disturbed them.....several times.
2 days R and R have passes really quickly and given us all a much needed rest. 150 miles to look forward to tomorrow. I'm not relishing the prospect to be honest!
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Frankly, I'm exhausted. I never thought the trip would take so much out of me, but age is catching up and the heat, awful roads and noise are huge contributory factors. Add in the fact that I'm an introvert by nature and so much social contact, albeit with lovely people, wears me out and its no wonder.
We travelled into rhe mountains to stay at a heritage hotel, an old haveli or Palace that was beautiful, if run down. Like lots of old buildings in India, it was crumbling at the edges, but comfortable enough. All of the hotels so far have been excellent and the food pretty much spot on. I never, ever thought I'd say this, but I'm tired of curry now!
The ride up to the village was long and hot, 34 degrees and no breeze when stationary. We pulled over to look at an ancient village irrigation system, but suddenly a school bus appeared from nowhere, skidded to a halt and everyone debussed. This was the highlight of the trip so far for me- an impromptu English lesson and some great conversation with kids and teachers. I'd taken a load of Union Jack pin badges with me and handed some out to the kids who spoke good English. This caused something of a frenzy amongst the teachers who all suddenly wanted one too.
The rest of the day was spent crashing and banging through unfinished roads with a lot of loose gravel. I've no idea how my bike has any head bearings left by now, but the bikes seem able to take huge punishment in their stride. The mechanic travelling with us made some temporary repairs to 2 bikes.....with a lump hammer!
For some reason, our guide chose to ignore the open 2 wheeler lane at a toll station and went through a central lane that had an open barrier. I went to follow, only for the barrier to drop as I got within 5 metres doing 20 ish. I thought I was going to go over it, but it was plastic and smashed to pieces on my mirrors and chest. We hot footed it out of there, but it was a lucky escape.
The road to Udaipur was a long one, mainly because my stomach had finally succumbed to.......not exactly Delhi Belly, more of a Rajasthani Rumble. Thank god for Immodium. Do bears sh1t in the woods? I hope not, I might have disturbed them.....several times.
2 days R and R have passes really quickly and given us all a much needed rest. 150 miles to look forward to tomorrow. I'm not relishing the prospect to be honest!
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Brilliant report and photos, really enjoying this.... Thanks for taking the time to share it with us!
Great report…what an epic adventure 
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Really enjoying this, thanks for posting 
Feel free to bang up more pics
Feel free to bang up more pics
Must have been an important day in the office...
What a great read. Thank you for posting. Enjoy your trip!
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Day 7:
Started well, but ended with a crash as one of the couples on the trip hit some loose shale after taking a downhill bend a little too wide. At the end of a very hot, long day in the saddle, concentration can go and it doesn't take much to create an accident. Fortunately no serious injuries to either, but the rider is sore with nasty bruising to one arm and his knee.
I'm a bit grumpy today and the crash topped it off. One of my gripes has been the tendency of the guide to take all day to get to the hotel. I get it if the roads are uninteresting, but we spend so much time riding down rutted tracks full of 40mm loose gravel for no reason other than to make it 'interesting'. Yes mate, but it also massively increases the risks and that's at least 2 bike damage deposits of 600 euros at risk now.
Sorry, rant over. It didn't help that we turned up at our hotel, which looked amazing. Set on a man made lake, we took a boat to get to it.....only to find it full of damp, smelly and quite run down with no hot water. To be fair, the standard of hotels overall has been excellent, so I can forgive one exception. The food was carb heavy, but decent enough, although to be honest, I'd have eaten a scabby dog between two Warbies loaves by 8 o'clock.
Speaking of dogs, today was a day of puppies. We almost ran over several, including 3 in am alleyway that can't have been more than 3 weeks old. Being a dog lover, I had to stop and put them somewhere safe out of the way. The Frenchies just rode straight past. It's distressing seeing so many and most nursing dogs seem to be with just 2 or 3 pups, so the attrition rate to disease, traffic, snakes and dehydration must be huge.
The bikes took a proper hammering today again. They just soak it up and any accident damage is quickly repairable and parts cheap and available in every large village and town. They're crude, but very effective and sometimes, you just need the weight when battered from all sides by scooters and Honda Heros. Second longest day at 240km. 4 much shorter days to end the trip coming up.
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Started well, but ended with a crash as one of the couples on the trip hit some loose shale after taking a downhill bend a little too wide. At the end of a very hot, long day in the saddle, concentration can go and it doesn't take much to create an accident. Fortunately no serious injuries to either, but the rider is sore with nasty bruising to one arm and his knee.
I'm a bit grumpy today and the crash topped it off. One of my gripes has been the tendency of the guide to take all day to get to the hotel. I get it if the roads are uninteresting, but we spend so much time riding down rutted tracks full of 40mm loose gravel for no reason other than to make it 'interesting'. Yes mate, but it also massively increases the risks and that's at least 2 bike damage deposits of 600 euros at risk now.
Sorry, rant over. It didn't help that we turned up at our hotel, which looked amazing. Set on a man made lake, we took a boat to get to it.....only to find it full of damp, smelly and quite run down with no hot water. To be fair, the standard of hotels overall has been excellent, so I can forgive one exception. The food was carb heavy, but decent enough, although to be honest, I'd have eaten a scabby dog between two Warbies loaves by 8 o'clock.
Speaking of dogs, today was a day of puppies. We almost ran over several, including 3 in am alleyway that can't have been more than 3 weeks old. Being a dog lover, I had to stop and put them somewhere safe out of the way. The Frenchies just rode straight past. It's distressing seeing so many and most nursing dogs seem to be with just 2 or 3 pups, so the attrition rate to disease, traffic, snakes and dehydration must be huge.
The bikes took a proper hammering today again. They just soak it up and any accident damage is quickly repairable and parts cheap and available in every large village and town. They're crude, but very effective and sometimes, you just need the weight when battered from all sides by scooters and Honda Heros. Second longest day at 240km. 4 much shorter days to end the trip coming up.
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Maybe the 600eu is good enough reason for the guide to do the poor detours ?
Great report !!
Love the photos, especially the doorway! Sorry about the travails of long days and poor roads….reading your report I am beginning to appreciate even more the benefits of the coolness of the Karakoram mountains ….and a wise guide.
Safe onward travel to you all
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Safe onward travel to you all
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Day 8: A short riding day to the town of Bindi. Its Divali, so everywhere is packed out and the 2 wheel traffic through what should really be a pedestrianised market of narrow alleyways was nuts. So nuts, that one of Les Frogs caught the handlebar of a woman on a scooter with a pillion holding on to a huge box of veg. She hit the front brake and crashed out of Wacky Races. That was followed quickly by the guide hitting the back wheel of a Hero at 15mph. Didn't end well for that guy either. Quick check to make sure there were no injuries and they were left behind.
One of the guys had a spill on loose gravel on the way in and bent a footpeg. He also ended up with a rear wheel puncture, which the mechanic had changed in under ten minutes, on a dirt track in the middle of nowhere.
Decent hotel again, but bland food. I'm staying well clear of Indian desserts as they're almost guaranteed to give you diabetes after a single portion.
Weirdly, I buy Indian coffee at home quite often. They export virtually all of it as generally, the locals don't like it. They much prefer chai.......loaded with sugar. So far, it's been a poor trip for a self confessed coffee snob, but this hotel has a bean to cup machine. I'm just hoping this morning's espresso doesn't go through me like Jeyes fluid.
Let's talk money: I brought £250 in GBP and I've still got £50 left after more than a week, having bought 2 shirts, spices, black tea and a stunning sari that will get use as a Christmas table cloth! OK, I don't drink, but with beers at around £4 in the hotel for a 500ml bottle, unless you're hitting them hard, it's a cheap trip.
Tiger safari up next. Fingers crossed!
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One of the guys had a spill on loose gravel on the way in and bent a footpeg. He also ended up with a rear wheel puncture, which the mechanic had changed in under ten minutes, on a dirt track in the middle of nowhere.
Decent hotel again, but bland food. I'm staying well clear of Indian desserts as they're almost guaranteed to give you diabetes after a single portion.
Weirdly, I buy Indian coffee at home quite often. They export virtually all of it as generally, the locals don't like it. They much prefer chai.......loaded with sugar. So far, it's been a poor trip for a self confessed coffee snob, but this hotel has a bean to cup machine. I'm just hoping this morning's espresso doesn't go through me like Jeyes fluid.
Let's talk money: I brought £250 in GBP and I've still got £50 left after more than a week, having bought 2 shirts, spices, black tea and a stunning sari that will get use as a Christmas table cloth! OK, I don't drink, but with beers at around £4 in the hotel for a 500ml bottle, unless you're hitting them hard, it's a cheap trip.
Tiger safari up next. Fingers crossed!
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Really enjoying your trip reports & the photos are fantastic. Out of interest what camera are you using? Cheers & stay safe…
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Fabulous, I must must get myself back there but on two wheels this time Great pics.
Great pics.
Did the chap in the first picture with the bandage around his head fall of or was he hit ?Day 8: A short riding day to the town of Bindi. Its Divali, so everywhere is packed out and the 2 wheel traffic through what should really be a pedestrianised market of narrow alleyways was nuts. So nuts, that one of Les Frogs caught the handlebar of a woman on a scooter with a pillion holding on to a huge box of veg. She hit the front brake and crashed out of Wacky Races. That was followed quickly by the guide hitting the back wheel of a Hero at 15mph. Didn't end well for that guy either. Quick check to make sure there were no injuries and they were left behind.
One of the guys had a spill on loose gravel on the way in and bent a footpeg. He also ended up with a rear wheel puncture, which the mechanic had changed in under ten minutes, on a dirt track in the middle of nowhere.
Decent hotel again, but bland food. I'm staying well clear of Indian desserts as they're almost guaranteed to give you diabetes after a single portion.
Weirdly, I buy Indian coffee at home quite often. They export virtually all of it as generally, the locals don't like it. They much prefer chai.......loaded with sugar. So far, it's been a poor trip for a self confessed coffee snob, but this hotel has a bean to cup machine. I'm just hoping this morning's espresso doesn't go through me like Jeyes fluid.
Let's talk money: I brought £250 in GBP and I've still got £50 left after more than a week, having bought 2 shirts, spices, black tea and a stunning sari that will get use as a Christmas table cloth! OK, I don't drink, but with beers at around £4 in the hotel for a 500ml bottle, unless you're hitting them hard, it's a cheap trip.
Tiger safari up next. Fingers crossed!
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Excellent photos and report. Many thanks
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