Driving through Rajasthan part 1

Last March we went to Rajasthan on the Bullet for a four weeks road trip. Together on our Enfield for the last time, at least for now. There was an urge for some relaxation after ten months living and travelling through Nepal and India. We kind of wanted to escape the chaos of these countries before going to back to the Netherlands, and Rajasthan seemed the perfect spot.

Rajasthan is India’s prime tourist state. The Land of Kings as the tourist business likes to advertise. Driving westwards in search of the desert we passed the pink city (Jaipur), bleu city (Jodhpur) and the old hippie establishment Pushkar. The colorful inner cities and narrow lanes are full of life. The forts and palaces stand on beautiful, mostly high places and are big and well decorated. Busloads of tourist we saw being dropped at these sights and being picked up to drive them to their hotels. There were a lot of western tourists, but also many South Asians, mostly Indians probably.

Rajasthan is just India. I wonder if the people living in Rajasthan feel like they are kings? The feeling while driving through Rajasthan is the same as in other parts of India we had travelled. It’s as beautiful, crowded or dilapidated as anywhere else. People are trying the make a living. Gypsy caravans slowly move forward over the long hot dusty inland roads. Women in colorful saris walk the desert fetching water miles out of their villages. The piles of rubbish on the street are as big in Rajasthan and as loved by cattle as anywhere else. I even have the feeling the goats, cows and pigs liked them even more here. Like anywhere in India you hear the enthusiasm of kids playing cricket on a sandy field or in a narrow steep lane. Privacy in Rajasthan is a rare concept, but no different to for instance West-Bengal.

Rajasthan we found to be just India, but also an amusement park for tourist. They pick their attractions and hop from one to another. Driving our own vehicle and with a healthy sense of wanderlust we got the feeling to have seen more of Rajasthan. That was good, even our good old Enfield that broke down on several occasions couldn’t ruin the fun. On the other hand the more relax road trip we had in mind didn’t really work out, but hey we like a bit of adventure!

Of course we made a lot of pictures during the road trip through Rajasthan. We have divided them in two parts. This is part one. Enjoy!