[tsk1979]

The bada baag road was well paved, and devoid of traffic. As we drove along, it was perfect. Nice weather, smooth tarmac.
What better way to enjoy than to leave the tarmac for the dunes.
Few kms on the road after bada bag, I spot dunes and some tractor type tracks.
Without thinking, we are off the road.

Whoa! Bad move! There is no recovery vehicle nearby and we are getting bogged down, I push the throttle, and soon we are doing 3000rpm in first gear 4H. The speedo says 20kmph+ but we are a lot slower. I frantically look for a hard area, and find some trees! Phew

Time to stop, revv and head back to the road..
Some scary drive this


Back on the road, we decide to drive some more.....

Go probably a km, and see something which leaves up speechless...

What the.....................!

TO BE CONT!

[Majic]

Tanveer, i am going back on my word. I was mentioning your pictures as wonderful. I think that is just a mere adjective, where is that dictionary???. I have to lookout for something more meaningful which could actually signify what i need to convey. For today its really" awesome". As usual rating is 5 for this.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Majic

Tanveer, i am going back on my word. I was mentioning your pictures as wonderful. I think that is just a mere adjective, where is that dictionary???. I have to lookout for something more meaningful which could actually signify what i need to convey. For today its really" awesome". As usual rating is 5 for this.

Thanks Majic, am glad that you are enjoying the travelogue!

[tsk1979]

As the road gently curved left, railing started, with the road getting a little elevated.
Towards the right was a flat expance, even larger than the Sambhar lake. though the surface was not white in the evening light, it looked much more flatter!

So what to do?
Take a U turn, and take an exit into the flat just as the road became elevated.

The exit route was sandy, and in 2WD mode, we got bogged down. But no worries.
With a flick, we were out in 4wd and at the flat it was time to stop, engage 2WD, and reverse.

It was time to launch
Far away I could see transmission lines, and we decided to cross that area, and get some good pics
Well the rann would have been 6-7kms long atleast, but we went only 3



The sun was going down, the soft light was really nice from a photography point of View!








the sunset gave the desert sunset a run for its money




The steed


There is a phrase, "Riding into the Sunset". Time to experience it






The cam was with my wife and I wanted to rip up the rann, without coating her in dust. So the distance, and 18-55 lens, thats why the following shots look duller.

But what a drive it was, accelerate, flick steering, loose tail, opposite lock accelerate! The surface was slipperier and harder than the sambhar lake!

Rev them engines


And Drifffft!




More Drift!




Incoming....


Sun almost down. Imagine, can you ever see the half disk of sun over the horizon in the city? Nope, the pollution makes the sun set before it sets. Its only at sea, and at places like this, you see a sunset, i.e. a proper sunset


One of my favorite shots, in the warm afterglow of the setting sun


Slowly nightfall awaited us, and we decided to head back. Track marked on Oziexplorer, we did not have to hunt our route back!
But last parting shots



After that we headed to Bada bag, and waited for nitin, who was still clicking the Rajas and their chattris

I took a couple of shots there







As nitin came, it was time to head back into the town, for fort and dinner. Today was our last day in Jaisalmer, for tomorrow, we will head to Jodhpur!

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

[Majic]

Another spirited day come to an end, beautiful looking forward to Jhodpur. Do continue.

[traveloholic]

5*'s added Tanveer. Awesome, loving everybit of it. Especially the photography. A great way to capture the whole trip. I envy you and your ride a lot. Wish I had one of those to ride on

[phamilyman]

Way to go man. Lovely pics - now we're getting your regular level.

Waise 75-300 se try kyu nahin kari pics?

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Way to go man. Lovely pics - now we're getting your regular level.

Waise 75-300 se try kyu nahin kari pics?

+1 to both the above viewpoints! The telephoto lens should definitely have been there for some of the shots.

The description of the drifting is making my adrenaline shoot up bro. Feel like taking me 2 (driven) legged beauty for some spins in the terrain, alas I'll get stuck for sure.

Me's loving the story so far.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Majic

Another spirited day come to an end, beautiful looking forward to Jhodpur. Do continue.

Originally Posted by traveloholic

5*'s added Tanveer. Awesome, loving everybit of it. Especially the photography. A great way to capture the whole trip. I envy you and your ride a lot. Wish I had one of those to ride on

Thanks guys! To do flat out on a salt flat, any set of wheels will do!

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Way to go man. Lovely pics - now we're getting your regular level.

Waise 75-300 se try kyu nahin kari pics?

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

+1 to both the above viewpoints! The telephoto lens should definitely have been there for some of the shots.

The description of the drifting is making my adrenaline shoot up bro. Feel like taking me 2 (driven) legged beauty for some spins in the terrain, alas I'll get stuck for sure.

Me's loving the story so far.

Actually, I have seen, either keep changing lenses or you enjoy. We were hell bent on enjoying. So 75-300 etc., etc., was all forgotten since we were having so much fun!
Infact, on all our trips, there would be better pics if I change lenses etc., but I stick to 18-55 most of the times. Maybe when I get a Ultra wide... I will also change lenses more!

[phamilyman]

UPDATE Mangta hai bhai saab.......!!

[tsk1979]

Spend the rest of the evening doing time pass, and a lousy silly "italian dinner" at a highly recommended Italian restaurant called Jaisal Italy.

Some night shots






We went to bed by midnight.
Tomorrow we drive to Jodhpur, see the fort, and then day after tomorrow we see umaid palace and head back to Delhi!

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

[Ym-enjn]

TSK1979- I feel you are the right person to start an Explorer group for like minded drive enthusiasts who would like to go on long trips in their cars. If you ever decide to do that I will be standing first in the queue for the membership.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

TSK1979- I feel you are the right person to start an Explorer group for like minded drive enthusiasts who would like to go on long trips in their cars. If you ever decide to do that I will be standing first in the queue for the membership.

Thanks Ym! You don't really need a club to start exploring. there is an explorer in every one of us. You just need to find it, pack your bags and go. Thanks to the wonderfully bad roads in our country, there are so many places hidden with cheap acco options all over the country(though not in Rajasthan!) So if you want to go do a destination, just look up the relevant threads in Route Queries section, and fire away. If you feel a destination does not exist in that section, start your own thread.
You are already a member of the explorer club you see!

[tsk1979]

The drive to Jodhpur was deliciously boring. Empty(well almost) road, through barren landscape, with lots of sand dunes. There was the temptation to take a detour, but we resisted, since we just had one evening and one morning there.
We had had heavy breakfast, so lunch was skipped in favor of tea, and by late afternoon, we had entered the town.
After a few kms, the nightmare began. To reach our hotel we had to drive to really really narrow lanes, some as wide as the safaries. And when there was no oncoming vehicle to force us to backup and perform the 1cm pass circus, there was a huge cow or bull not budging. Here is where you understand, what a bull bar is for.
By 4 we reached the Jee Ri haveli, a hotel which looked truly wonderful in the pics. Sadly our room was not so good, and the less said about the surroundings the better.

Thankfully the staff was warm and nice, and they also sent a guy with us to guide till we reached the main fort road. The narrow bylanes were really like a maze, and we felt like mice in a lab navigating for cheese.
Thankfully, there was hardly any traffic.

We reached the fort, purchased entry ticket for the museum, and rushed so that we do not miss entry closing time(5pm)

The fort courtyard

The museum courtyard


The museum was well marked with numbered exhibits so that you do not miss anything.

It housed the opulent luxuries, as well as devices of war. Many of the finest and most exquisite exhibits were from the british era. While half the country starved to death, these Rajas truly indulged!

Today a kind can choose a Rolls, a Ferrari or a customised vanity van. Back then you had palki's and elephant seats.




If team BHP had been there then, this would have gone to weird and wacky thread, and after that the mods would have received a not "Give IP address of poster, delete the post or else we will Behead you"


There was a live exhibit too


This probably would be the equivalent of a bentley or something? But the legroom sucked


General view


Weapons of war




This idol was made of silver and adorned with gold jewelery


More weapons. Look at this "cannon" I shot with canon. I wondered why would somebody make such a funny hideous looking cannon. Finally it stuck me that if it misfired, enemy would die of heart attack seeing this thing


And the pikes


While james bond has his gadgets, spies in those times did it with daggers


This exhibit is from the latter eras when they had guns, albeit funny looking ones
I guess this is 18th century version of graffiti on modern day tanks


This was the Art and acoustics room - Where Rajahs used to sit and ladies used to dance


The roof is gold plated. I guess nobody studied acoustic engineering then. Or maybe the purpose was visual, rather than auditory


View of the Jaswant Singhs memorial.


View of the new city. Note its cream, not blue


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

[Ym-enjn]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Thanks Ym! You don't really need a club to start exploring. there is an explorer in every one of us. You just need to find it, pack your bags and go. Thanks to the wonderfully bad roads in our country, there are so many places hidden with cheap acco options all over the country(though not in Rajasthan!) So if you want to go do a destination, just look up the relevant threads in Route Queries section, and fire away. If you feel a destination does not exist in that section, start your own thread.
You are already a member of the explorer club you see!

Very well said!! You see how well you understand this topic.. At least once a year people like me should get a chance to travel with you as our captain.. (Of course when ever your time and schedule permits)