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I have always wondered what has fascinated me about road trips, and each time I get into a little introspection, there are different answers to the same question. I have already given a detailed explanation of my journey to Rajasthan along Pushkar, Ajmer and Jaipur… but I had left the Jaisalmer part of my journey off for a little while, because there are so many several elements to it that I wasn’t sure where would I need to begin with. My journey to Jaisalmer was rather tumultuous and winding in the least to say. It began late in the night from Pushkar, on a rickety ‘luxury bus’ … I remember the night vividly as the desert winds were biting cold and I was cursing myself for the nth time for not taking my warm clothes along! Fortunately I had two Israeli backpackers along with me for company; they definitely helped me take my mind off the biting cold. Conversations and piping hot masala chai kept me going me for a while, till the brash horn of the ‘luxury bus’ driving cut through the silence of the cold desert night… strapping on my rucksack, I got on to the rickety and shaky bus. Here is the thing about bus rides, I simply love them, especially when I get the window seat… I love gazing out of the window and watch the world buzz past me…. This time on I got the window seat… but the window was shut and surprisingly I liked it that way!  Unfortunately this window had a small opening through which the cold air kept coming in… the night passed in with people filling the bus to its seams. There hardly was any space, people were lying down on the floor of the bus for the night… the journey went on and so did the night. The morning came with the rays of the sun trickling in through the small opening of the window, bright and shiny… and yet cold. We stopped at Pokhran, a village of the Jaisalmer district… the village is infamously known for being the site of the nuclear test. I would like to associate Pokhran as the land of five mirages… While I was set to head to Jaisalmer soon, I decided to spend the day at Pokhran, on checking with the driver I knew that there would be buses to Jaisalmer every hour or so. Surrounded by sand, rock and 5 salt ranges, the stark and raw landscape of Pokhran truly mesmerized me. The rugged and earthy peaks of Aravalli ranges and the sandy moulds of the Thar Desert can be a truly captivating scenery. Short shrubs and sandy terrain, there is a beauty in the desert that cannot be described in words. My half a day in Pokhran was possibly my first solo trip to an Indian village after almost 10 years… and there isn’t much that has changed in villages. There is this warmth and friendliness in the people that simply cannot be duplicated at any cost or circumstances, nor can it be found in any of the cities or towns. Sipping chai with villagers and enjoying the sun rise over the horizon. I silently watched the sun steadily rise up through the horizon and fill the quarters with golden light… for the first time in my life I had begun my breakfast with chai, hot jalebis and samosas! Till now I had only seen women carry pots of water on their head in movies, today I caught it all live… it seemed to be a day of many firsts. Time rushed past and it was soon time to take the evening bus and head to Jaisalmer… but I did not take the bus, there was this old lady I ended up talking to and her tale kept me intrigued through the evening and I spent the night at her hut… she was talking about her life and how much has changed in her small village. It was interesting to get a different perspective on something, till date, everything was restricted to my limited understanding of the village life… but her words shed new light on various different aspects. The effects the nuclear testing had on our own villagers, the change in life they have had since and how difficult it is to get by even with a day’s meal. Spending the night in a small hut, where I have been given all the wares, made me feel small and truly humble. I realised the true meaning of hospitality… the morning sun woke me up and after freshening up with little water and a breakfast of hot chai and poha I walked into the bus stop to take the next bus to Jaisalmer. I left Pokhran feeling completely at ease, another ride down and I hit the city of Jaisalmer… the early morning cold wasn’t helping me again. But I was lost in my thoughts and soon I saw the bright golden fort of Jaisalmer (one of the rare living forts of the country). Fortunately the hotel I was staying over at was just a few feet away from the Fort… I just rushed inside my room, after ensuring that hot water was available… after refreshing my stiff muscles and joints with hot water and hot chai (Rajasthan seemed to have made me an fervent tea drinker)… I decided to get a little sleep… considering I had choppy sleep over 2 nights. Awaking refreshed and energized, I walked up to the terrace of the Hotel, we had a roof top restaurant I simply sat watching the sights around me. I had coincidently chosen the perfect time to head to Jaisalmer – the annual desert festival was on! I decided to peacefully roam the regions of Jaisalmer; I was planning a desert safari that day, so I was in the mood to take things easy that and light that day. Roaming around the streets of Jaisalmer, I soon realised why it was called the Golden

Khajuraho- The temple town of Khajuraho is famous for the erotic, sculptures and often connected to the Kama sutra. It is only when you visit the beautiful town and it’s temples, you realize that the temples of Khajuraho are much more than just “erotic sculpture temples”.   Khajuraho is a small town with 20,000 people . During peak season it gets almost 600 international tourist a day, in off season this number significantly reduces. That said , it was nice visiting Khajuraho in the off season as roads are empty, we had the temples almost to ourselves for exploring, we cycled on the boulevards without any problem and most importantly, hotel prices are really low!   We flew into Khajuraho by the midday flight from Varanasi. A short 40 minute flight later we arrived at the beautiful secluded quite town of Khajuraho. The airport is a 10 min drive from the “downtown” of Khajuraho – which is a 2 kms long circular boulevard with hotels on either sides of the boulevard and the Western Temples .Khajuraho – the name comes from the numerous Date (kharjur) tress spread around the region during the period it was built in. Now, there is not a single Date tree left in the region.    Boulevards of Khajuraho   All hotels in Khajuraho have only two floors- ground and first floor. They also do not have lifts. Please request for a room specifically on the ground floor incase you cannot climb to the first floor. The airport is a 10 minute drive away from the hotels and normally Khajuraho gets 1 flight a day during off peak season and 2 flights a day during peak season.   While driving on the boulevard, you do feel like you are in the 1990 or 1980’s . This is because the hotels (the only construction you will see as you exit the airport) were constructed during those years. However, when you enter the hotels , you feel more like you are in the 2016   Since it was a nice and cloudy day, we choose to visit the temples in the afternoon. We visited the Western Temples with our guide and learnt about the history and architecture of the temples. The temples of Khajuraho were built between 950 and 1050 by the Chandela dynasty. There were originally over 85 temples which were constructed. About 25 temples are said to exist now.   Western Temples of Khajuraho   The western temple compound consist of 6 temples; the temple of Lord Vishnu is considered the main temple. We learnt about different theories of science and physics used to built the temple. From the angles the windows were placed at and the theory of ecology in the design to the depiction of all elements of a life, the temples were an extraordinary example of great architecture.   Khajuraho Temples   Later we walked around the compound and visited the other temples before returning to our hotel for some rest. In the evening we visited the temple site again for the Sound and light show. The show was nice with the temples light up in different colours. Shikhar Travels always recommends its client to do the Sound and Light show after guided sightseeing of the temples so it is easy to keep up with the story .   The following morning , we relaxed at our hotel before departing at 3 pm for Panna National Park. We were excited and hopeful to view a Tiger. The National park is a 45 minute drive from Khajuraho. Our naturalist and driver , both came with a lot of experience and made the journey very exciting. We spotted one tiger, three crocodiles , numerous white spotted deer’s, peacock , peahens, Gray Langur, Sambar Deer and some beautiful birds.   The best part of our journey in Khajuraho was cycling- we hired cycles from our hotel and went on ride on the boulevard. The roads are always empty during off peak season and it was simply a beautiful experience, specially since we do not get to cycle at all in cities like Delhi. We visited the Eastern Temples during our ride, which were not half as exciting as the Western Temples. We skipped the Southern Temples entirely! But the experience of cycling on the boulevard was just fantastic.    Cycling in Khajuraho   Shikhar Travels recommend Khajuraho as a two day destination. So you can enjoy the beautiful Ancient Temples and witness the Tigers at Panna National Park.