[phamilyman]

Boss,

no exif in your pics - but the flamingo pics seem too wide - you got a 70-300 as well na? Would've been nice to have some flamingo pics!

/how far is that place from del?!

[tsk1979]

I have a non stabilized 75-300, which would have been useless here. So used wide angle.
As for how far is that place, sambhar is near Dudu(before Kishangarh), and the flamingos were taken around Didwana.

[MileCruncher]

Tanveer, As usual amazing pics. Look forward to more.

Could you please provide more info about the Sambhar Lake and the route you took from Delhi especially on the map if possible. I have always taken the Jaipur - Jodhpur - Jaisalmer. Is this route via Nagaur shorter.

I also have been itching get out on the road but domestic issues and steed in the hospital have kept me chained to Hyderabad. May be soon, very soon!

[tsk1979]

Nope, the route is not shorter, unless you do direct Kishangarh-Nagaur via didwana or Kishangarh-Pushkar-Nagaur-Phalodi-Jaisalmer.
We did this route to avoid some traffic on ajmer stretch and enjoy sambhar lake.

For sambhar lake, all you need to do is take right at Dudu under the flyover. this is the road to Sambhar town.
Just before the town there is a railway crossing, and there you will see a road going left to the temple on the hill.
Basically follow the road to the temple. If you have 4x4, you can get off that road about 2kms before the temple, and follow sand track, otherwise you enter sambhar lake at the temple point, and then drive across the lake to Nawa town.
From there head to Didwana, Nagaur, Phalodi(NH15) and then onto Jaisalmer

[phamilyman]

THAT is the longer route. You can take a right from Mahlan (?) village. Its basically the first main cut on the right side, some 25km after the right turn near jaipur. From kishangarh side - look out for the same. The road takes you directly to Phulera.

If you have the garmin India map - it has sambhar lake or Phulera town as well. It takes the route via Dudu though.

[tsk1979]

Umm, that is shorter route on paper, but the correct way to enter the lake is through the temple, after a railway line which cuts through the lake.
Moreover, Jaipur Dudu is a very high speed 6 lane run. So no point taking country roads from there.

[subhashnm]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I have a non stabilized 75-300

A Sigma APO?

How I wish you had taken a tripod with you. May be then we could have seen some stunning action pics of both the Safaris together (And of course, the flamingos a lot closer)

[tsk1979]

Nope, I have the Canon 75-300, but I use it rarely, only if I really have to use it. I am actually thinking of selling it and buying the 55-250 stabilized lens!

[subhashnm]

Seen the 55-250IS in action with a colleague, and boy, is it worth every paisa you spend on it! That and a good wide angle lens - may be Canon or Sigma 10-20, and lo! you've got a very potent arsenal. (salivating...)

So, no more thinking: go ahead and make the plunge! And treat us with even more awesome pictures!

[abhinav.s]

WOW!! is the first word that comes to mind looking at the pics. Coupled with the short write ups make a fantastic travelogue!! Keep them coming!

[sudev]

Excellent start Tanveer.

Yes Didwana (garbage) lake is always full of Flamingo's at this time of year. And so is Keechan full of Cranes (near Phalodi). Also Didwana has a salt pan, near by, as do some other towns.

Going to Sambhar lake through Phulera means two very busy railway crossings and in any case you have to come on to Dudu road to hit the lake bed.

[tsk1979]

If you were to wake up in a city having now idea where you were, how do you get to know you are in a typical Rajashtan town?
Well its simple.
first, its the cows. Big, small, black white brown grey.
Then its the stench and the narrow lanes.

Our morning was such.
We had to clear the room for the incoming tourists, and pack our bags for the desert.
But before that we had to make our way through the narrow bylanes full of bovine excreta, stray dogs and overflowing drains.

The black safari got blessed by a cow with a healthy dose of manure, and some cleanup later we were ready to be off.

The plan was simple - Eat, see a couple of Haveli's and then be back at the hotel by 3 and leave for the desert.

Food was at the Ridhi sidhi restaurant, decent simple veg affair. And off we set to Salim Singhs haveli.

I will let the few pics do the talking, as I am definitely not a Haveli person. probably trance_nut can fill in the other angles!














Next was patvon ki Haveli which we had seen last year also. So while nitin explored the haveli, we just passed time outside.
To get there the mode of transport was an auto rick. Our first ride in a long long time.










After that it was time to get back to Shahi palace, and negotiate for the desert safari.
The head guy there promised us that he will give the same deal as next year, but when it came to details, it appeared that he was going back on his word.
Next came the bombshell, he refused that he had given us this deal last year.

Some cursing later, we had what we wanted, and it was time to head to the desert.

Anyways, I saw this horny bull


I think it tried to scratch its head against the white elephant, and now the left fender has two "pin prick" like dents

So the black beast got manured, and the white elephant got pricked, and we had been in jaisalmer for little over 12 hours.
Well the desert had a lot more in store for us......

TO BE CONT...............

[abhinav.s]

Too good!! The pics are amazing.

The guy with the shades in the pics is the head guy or is he just a bystander?

Also your way of recounting the encounter with the bull who pricked the white elephant and the cow that manured the black beast was hilarious stuff!!

[tsk1979]

This guy with the shades was just sitting there in front of a roadside shot. I guess he poses for tourists

[amikacin]

Hello Tanveer, had been waiting for your next thread for a while. Don't know how i missed it earlier.
Its good see you in action with white elephant and this means the problems have been rectified.

Although i have not been to Sambhar but have travelled the Didwana Nagour stretch and Jaipur Kishangarh expresswy many a times and I fully support your route since it saves time and the roads are a pleasure to drive. That whole stretch from Sikar to Nagour is horrible one.

The road via Mahla and Phulera might be a shorter one but condition is nothing home to write about.

However on the whole the road infrastructre is improving a lot in the state and i am privy to this because my usual touring includes roads like above.


The Jaisalmer photos are simply superb and we can say that ou have got an eye for the points which one tends to overlook. Keep posting pics sir, eagerly waiting.