Summer like it hot (Rajasthan April, 2010)

I've always wanted to go to Rajasthan. It has this exotic quotient that has always enticed me. A region of deserts, camels, palaces, colorful clothes and spicy food. When my brother suggested we go in summer,I was apprehensive. "Only a fool goes to the desert in summer!" I said. So of course, it was only natural that few months after this conversation, we were on our way to Rajasthan in April.

There we were, in the middle of Jaipur enamored with its sites, burning, but enjoying its beautiful palaces. Hawa Mahal, Jantar Mantar and Jal Mahal standing out in the summer sun.

What really makes an impression though is Amber fort. Its ramparts go on forever. Walking down some of its quieter corridors, you can almost imagine what it would've been like 400 years ago.

We then headed to Ranthambore thinking that one safari and we'll have seen all the tigers we need. It's not that we haven't notice all the "Save the tiger" ads and how few remain in the wild. We thought, we would be those lucky few who would see a tiger at first safari. This is not how it went down. After 4 hours of staring at brambles and realizing how annoying peacocks really are, we headed off to Pushkar.

First impressions of Pushkar were of pushy pandit wannabes and overly tourist-friendly shops/restaurants. It has lost its charm and itself somewhere along the way while trying to please its guests. We rented bikes there and headed slightly outside Pushkar and were so happy we did! We rode its curving roads surrounded by bare hills on either side, we explored little temples and fixed punctures every few hours. We watched a cousin, impress all the kids with his cool sunglasses. We managed to watch the sun go down and the swirling oranges and pinks with it.

From Pushkar, we headed south towards Udaipur, city of lakes and magnificent palaces. Jaipur has nothing on Udaipur. It's just gorgeous. The Lake Palace and the City Palace make such an incredible impression! Although we didn't get a look inside Lake Palace, we gazed longingly from the outside and took a nice long boat ride around it.

We returned to Bombay, pretty sites on the inside and a nice and crispy on the outside!