Paris je t'aime

Where do I even begin? I sound like Elizabeth Barret who when in love wrote... "how do I love thee.. let me count the ways" I wouldn't be exaggerating that I felt the same for France.

France is the most visited country in the world; Paris is called the most romantic city in the world. I did not have these facts in my mind when I decided to visit this place.

But once there, I knew why these facts haven't changed over the years...

Disclaimer: This blogpost is not about French architecture trail, or historical facts, or its museums or a top places list to visit in 10 - 12 day visit to France.

The consistent temptation - aided by nudges from everyone around about exploring more than one country was really hard to resist. However, how tempting it was, my friend and I stuck to our plan... and roamed the streets of Paris, exploring local markets in French villages and.. yeah.. this trip was mainly about chilling, catching the pulse of French culture.

Our itinerary was simple - Paris - Idyllic Alpine Village Annecy  - Provencal Village Vensaque - back to Paris

Paris: Landing in Paris - we were greeted by friendly immigration officers, whether one blames it on Jet Airways or Charles De Gaulle Airport itself - it wasn't very organised. Finding out our belt number was quite a task, and then figuring out where it is even bigger. Post our adventure of one hour or so on the airport.. we finally lugged our luggage to the Metro and off we were! The moment our metro starting crossing the city - we were delighted to see the quaintness outside.. and for me the broad daylight even at 9 pm was such a treat! 

My friend and I did a home stay with a French family in the heart of the Paris, right next to Luxembourg Gardens. An elderly couple who were into sculpting, graffiti and painting. Staying with them gave me an insight into the ways and the lives of a French common man. 

Once with them - we realized that Parisians have so much beauty in their everyday lives. All the houses, flats around had wooden interiors with glass roofs. Lots of  greenery in form of balcony flower plants, ivy and creepers everywhere. The houses were marked by solid wood furniture that looks grand. Glass tops allow natural light to stream in the house everywhere ... making it super cool! The crockery used everyday is ceramic plates, ceramic mugs and jars, wooden spatulas etc. Anne & Jean (couple we were staying with) mostly cooked in Le Creuset pans...so just the living room and the kitchen packed with layers of wood, ceramic stuff, painted cotton fabrics, wicker baskets made a perfect picture for life style magazine. 

Metro is the easiest, cost effective and fastest way to travel in Paris. Rather than take a metro week pass, we took the day pass priced at approx 7 euros - for days when we would hop from one corner to another. Rest of the days saw us exploring the streets on foot, hence expense on travel was even lower. It was something to see French men immaculately dressed, with a cross bag ... on a bicycle! same goes for women. I was surprised to see so many people on cycles going to office, picking and dropping school going children, shopping or just for fun. Cycles were everywhere! which made me search on how Paris became a biker friendly city and found that about 10 years ago, city authorities of Paris, led by Denis Baupin, then Deputy Mayor of Transportation, decided to reduce the space occupied by cars, replacing it with wider bus-bike lanes and bike paths. You can read more on this here. How cool! we definitely need this in Mumbai and Delhi. 

 

There is so much to see in Paris, that even for a person who is quick , would need minimum 20 days to soak in everything - Eiffel. Luxembourg, my fav. Goth architecture Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre, Musee d'Orsay, Triomphe. Palais Royal, Moulin Rouge, Lido, Opera, Theater, cuisine... one can go on and on... and who can forget its world famous shopping destination too!  

Paris is known as The City of Lights... once there, I did not find anything remarkable in their lighting. Certainly just the bright Eiffel cannot make the city earn this name! Dubai, Singapore, Las Vegas are the ones which more fit the bill. Thanks to Google, I found out that the name has nothing to do with the Eiffel Tower lights or the streetlights of the city. Intellectuals are the lights!! the name refers to the high-concentration of writers, artists and academicians that have always been drawn to the city.

Sigh - even the name is poetic! 

Apart from all the historical monsters as mentioned above, that are on everyone's to do Paris list - few things that cannot be missed are - Seine River tour... Its so beautiful that its almost criminal! Now Seine by the day or Seine by the night was the big Q in front of us that we ended up touring twice! Seine by the day is my fav as it shows the architecture of the city clearly. How every building blends into another, yet has its own identity... no jarring lines, no odd structures that are an eye sore... 

By law, no buildings can exceed six stories in Paris. As its important that "Pour que tout le monde ait du soleil" which means "so that all have sunshine", resulting in a metro that has retained old world charm, unique in the world. 

It was a noon with a hint of rain in the air when we sailed on Seine.. so was right out of a story book.  

Surrounded by the beauty, by the love lock bridges, by people dancing and singing on banks of Seine, there one can muse why Paris motto is "Fluctuat nec mergitur" meaning "It is tossed by the waves, but does not sink."

Another was Saint Ouen Market - its 150-year-old market and the world's largest and most famous flea market. I think this was the only place that was on to-do list in Paris. Eiffel tower or Louvre is something one will visit - so for all historical destinations, we really hadn't even checked the timings or days or how to get there...as that's what all tourists do and info should be easily available anywhere. For St. Ouen market, we checked on days, as it is only open on weekends and made our plan around it. It has labyrinthine alleys and stalls where one can find anything imaginable.

Ever been to Mumbai Chor Bazaar... well.. this was French Chor Bazaar. If you like exploring places where you can find first LV bag, Dior 1950 collection, miniature perfume bottles, how did old Chanel smelled like, magazines out of print or more antiques, here is where you go!

The rates are exorbitant. We couldn't buy anything except a few trinkets here and there, but the market's ambiance is adorable to explore.

Lastly, every city is made by its people. French people were warm and helpful. A lot of French guys volunteered for help when I was travelling cross cities and had heavy bags with me. My friend would always get lost when she would go on a run.. to be helped by people who didn't hesitate to use Google Maps on their mobiles; for pure vegetarian food... they would take the trouble of reading all ingredients and informing. At so many places when lost and where we could not communicate due to language barrier - we were escorted till the closest correct metro station or bus stop. (which made me think if I would ever do the same - tell the way (yes), GPS (yes) but escorting takes time .. even if 5 minutes) - which was very heart warming. 

Chance discovery for us... and not to be missed - Eiffel blinks at 12.00 am! What a sight it is.

Our home in France

& 

Our friendly neighborhood Luxembourg

That's all on Paris for now...truly a seat of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.

One feels it in the air.

Lap of Nature: Neemrana "The Ramgarh Bungalows"

Finding a nice getaway near Delhi - that you can manage by taking only one day's leave is more difficult than it sounds. I was restless to get away after the hectic quarter of JFM, and with even more work associated with new financial year staring at me was making my senses dim. Zeroed in to Neemrana - Ramgarh Bungalows for a quick getaway from the noise, hustle bustle of city & work life. And needless to say - couldn't have chosen a better place!

Getting to Ramgarh: There are many options to get here, it is quite close to Delhi considering other options such as Shimla, Manali, Dharamshala. The nearest train station is Kathgodam - which has good connectivity through trains. There is a morning Shatabadi too from Delhi to this place. My friend and I took Ranikhet express which is overnight journey, and the train was spot on time. One can even take a flight till Pantnagar and from there it takes 3 hrs to reach Neemrana. We were picked by Neemrana staff and it took us 1.5 hours to reach our weekend home.

Lap of Nature: From the moment we sat in the car for our journey to Neemrana... we were in the lap of nature. On the way, crossed Bhimtal too!

Bhimtal at start of Sunrise

Sunrays streaming through trees on way to Ramgarh

We were taken aback by seeing our cottage that was right out of the English countryside novel!

Call it fate, but by the time we were trying to book, almost all the rooms that sounded good on the website (good combo of view and rate) were sold out - leaving us with the more expensive option of taking Ashok Vatika Blue Room. Turns out, that's the best place to stay in the property. If you headed to this place, book nothing other than this, that is if you want to experience the serenity. It's worth the price.


Ramgarh is also known as the "fruit bowl of Kumaon". The garden itself had a flowering Pear tree - as can be seen in the pic with the table.
Around the cottage, there were plum trees, quite a few apricot tress and a grand lush walnut tree.

My mornings and noon were spent under that walnut tree - sleeping - staring into the sky.

From Ashok Vatika to Neemrana reception (thats where all the staff is located, and also the jam factory) is just 500 metres but quite an uphill -on way back to your room.

On the first day, we went for a hike to the base of Ramgarh.
Ramgarh is sparsely populated as compared to its neighbouring towns such as Naintal, Bhimtal. It has two portions: Talla (bottom Ramgarh) - where the river flows, and Malla (top Ramgarh) where all the guesthouses, including Neemrana are situated.

The hike from the road less travelled that is, the kuccha road is approx 4 km only but steep. While coming back, its a good work out! Taking the side road has perks such as stunning views, and the whole adventurous feel to the activity.
While taking the car roadway - its about 10 km... that has a gradual slope and is less tiring, though more time consuming. (and regular hike)

At Talla, there isn't much to do. There is a gushing river, with few shops around where one can sit and have maggi and tea.

The place is quite laid back, away from commercialism, and an example of perfect rustic simple setting. It seems like an ideal place for writers... no wonder so many cottages around are named as "Writers Paradise", "Writers Bungalow", "Whispering Woods" .. all emphasizing the nature in its natural untamed form.

One hour from Ramgarh is Mukteshwar, that almost all the tourists to this place do visit. However, we gave the place a miss, as we were quite content to be in midst of the mountains and beauty of Ramgarh itself. Nainital too is just one hour away and makes for an interesting day trip.

Ramgarh in the start of April - was a land of flowers. Rather than the fruit bowl - I was surprised to see the flowers all across the place. There were daisies growing wildly on the roadsides, and the grass too was full of flowers and ladybirds. It was a pure treat to the eyes. Never before in India - have I seen Irises... and to see rows of them in the cottages around.. and then on my breakfast table! I kept on smelling the sweet Irises as much as I could..


 

The locals kept telling us about how beautiful it is in May and June - when the trees are laden with the fruits. While as I am more of a flowers person...think this was the best season for me to go!

The weather while we were there ranged between 18 degrees to 12 degrees. So a light sweater is recommended. The cottages have no fans in them - even in summers the temperature never exceeds 28 degrees, making it quite a perfect hill station.

Our days were full of leisure and with phone connectivity a bit low - couldn't have asked for more :P




The Blue Room has a baby room with a single bed in the adjoining room. That room is the place to be... by opening the windows - one feels as though one is lounging in the garden itself. Also, that's the place what one calls with a real sunrise view. The sunrise happens right in front and one can watch it while lying in one's bed... now that is a truly stunning view.

Sunrise

Sunset

The sunset is even more amazing ... something that the painters can truly paint. Even for the birdwatchers, the place can be paradise. 

While coming back, we even got to see the rains - that can be quite heavy in the mountains. There was a hailstorm that was next to sleet in its nature.  

Find your blue sky, ray of sunshine, patch of shade under a beautiful walnut tree at Ramgarh...

How Flipkart.com Got My Respect

"Flipkart kar lena" - a line a lot of use at times or hear it from someone around us. When one is buying anything and isn't sure - to check, to compare price, to check availability or for instant purchase - one tends to hear or say this! 

Flipkart started its operations in 2007, I made my first purchase from it - in 2008 - and have been a fan of the website since then. Being an avid reader - I had many unknown, rare books stuck in my head which I would never find anywhere but at Flipkart. The time when online shopping was seen with lot of skepticism in India - people would ask me "Do they give first hand books?", "Is the book original?", "Isn't it more expensive?" and blah blah... 

Despite all my own apprehensions in early days.. my heart was won by seeing my favorite memories arrive neatly packed with Cash On Delivery option! How could the website cheat me... I spread so much good word about the website - that at one point, I thought they should pay me for advertising! Jokes aside, over the years  - due to my hectic work and lifestyle, and with boom of various websites in India - I added quite a revenue to online sites. Flipkart became one of the sites where I would visit for books, checking for price and sometimes purchase from it, and sometimes not.

The "The Big Billion Day Sale" on 6th Oct 2014 - which was to emulate western concept of "Day After Thanksgiving" sale, frankly didn't interest me. I could not think of anything that would interest me and could be on a considerable sale. 

However, after Snapdeal started its humorous takes on flipkart big day - I thought - lets check, why not! and boy! I did find great deals on few things. Remembering Snapdeal ads - I decided to check the same items there to be sure! People who actually shopped on that day - will know that Snapdeal servers reacted far worse than Flipkart's did. Slow servers were a bother and nuisance on both sites. They failed to open, refused to load pages properly. Refused smooth checkout, volatile carts and payment process timeouts! Both need to better up here for handling volumes!

Post trauma of slow loading websites and my cart getting changed every five minutes - I was tired - yet happy with the deals that I had got. The moment the Big Billion Day Sale was over - the media was flooded by how the prices were shot up before sale and then right price was achieved by showing hoax discounts.

Well, Well, Well - if you think I am going to defend Flipkart on this... No. 

Yes, they did that! 

but not for all 100% stock but may be for something like 30 to 40% stock as per my observation.  

but does that help their case ... NO.. 

So, to be honest - anyone mentioned the sites name and said "Oh, but you love it.." I would Keep Mmmm. 

So, Why despite slow servers, bad online experience, and hoax discounts.. am I still their fan.. infact claiming that they have now won my respect! 

1. The Brave Letter: How many of us received an apology from the founders. No, am no snowman who will melt at one apology letter. I was taken aback by the sheer format! Neat, concise, and yet detailed. I am into online space - I know its not easy. Even for offline business its not easy to admit one's mistakes. Also - taking a chance that as an end user - I might not even know of other 3 problems mentioned in the mail. 

This means you take your customer seriously. Most of the businesses take their customers to be fools. (Trust me, I am battling with one world leading Indian online service portal in its space these days and they take you to be a fool.) By neatly defining areas Price Changes, Out of Stock Issue, Cancellations, Website Issues - I think its quite brave & smart to do the way they did the apology. 

2. Customer Support: They have a fantastic customer support and its no new news. One of the things I had ordered was cancelled by Flipkart within 4 hours despite full payment. I had ordered two quantities of same item and one was being cancelled. Customer Care gave me the funda of "equal opportunity". Due to limited stock, they would like to give equal opportunity to another customer who has ordered the same thing at almost the same time. How true that is.. or a creative query handler - I found it weird but was ok... with the reply and didn't pursue it further. The money reflected back in my account in 5 days. Cool enough! Move on.. I told myself. 

3. Handling Cancellations: Cancellation After a Week!!! After a week I receive a mail informing me that two items out from my order have been cancelled and money will be refunded. 

I WAS PISSED

Money back...I didn't want my money back.. I wanted my order. I didnt shop for those things as I had ordered them online, and now after so much time they tell me that order cannot be fulfilled. 

All goodwill, all smart apology letters - went right out of the window. I was pissed, irritated and didnt want to bother with the site anymore. 

and then the countdown began: Day 3 of receiving the cancellation mail - I receive an mail stating that they will be giving me e-gift voucher worth Rs 500/- valid on any product on the site! WOW.. for two cancelled items  - I get two vouchers - that is INR 1000/- when both my items didn't total up to an order of 1000 bucks, and their reverse payment is already back in my bank account. 

Not bad at all I think! 

I wait for the vouchers... Day 6 of receiving the mail - I get the gift vouchers. 

I go online to redeem them - and I can redeem both the individual vouchers on a single product! and vouchers validity is for one year!!!! Talk about customer delight!

I am blown away by the way they have handled the goof ups! At every stage they admitted "it went beyond their control.. was bigger than they expected" 

We all work, We all mess up... 

the point is how do we bounce back - how is the customer made to feel at the end of the day.

Here, I had my moments of irritation, disappointment - but also huge respect on how they have handled the whole mess. Hats off to them.  Good Work Flipkart Team. 

You continue to have me shopping on your site despite the Big Billion Mess Day.

History Bylanes: Nalanda & Bodhgaya

What would you do if you have a business meeting in Bihar - Patna that ends Saturday evening and your flight back home is only next late evening. My one and only trip to Bihar made me face the dilemma of spending Sunday in a boring (though) best hotel there! or head out to explore the city. 

Bihar is a place where at any time I found very few females out side on road, and a single girl alone was kind of rare. It could be a wrong observation or right... I decided not to take a chance of exploring Patna alone - but see if anything is close by. A little search on net told me of nearby Nalanda University and Bodhgaya. My eyes popped out on my search - as I never thought I could ever be anywhere near the ruins of Nalanda in my life.

A quick check with the hotel people told me it's doable - I can catch my flight in time only if I start early by 6 am. How excited I was! The feeling was similar to having a wish (you never imagined) come true. 

Along with my colleague, started early morning - the first stop was to be Nalanda. 

The distance was approx 80 km from Chanakya Hotel - however, the driver told us that it will take approx 2 hours or more to reach there. This was confusing as the terrain is plain - though we were made wiser once the journey started. The roads to such an important historical spot were full of pits, small narrow unkept roads...hence the time taken despite the less distance. Very disheartening! people from across the world come here and to have the driver tell us, that it is one of the good roads in the state!

At Nalanda Entrance

My fascination with Nalanda has been since childhood. Been brought up on stories of ancient India, Chanakya, golden era of Indian civilization - my mind had Nalanda as the ultimate, mystical destination for knowledge and learning. It has been mentioned in the writings of the Chinese traveler Hieun Tsang, acknowledged as one of the world's first residential university that flourished from 5th cen. AD to approx 1100 AD. Known for its impressive architecture and brilliant library - the university attracted students from as far as Japan, China, South East Asia, Greece, Persia, Tibet and many other countries. To more on this, please Click Here

Dormitories from top 

Walking thru the monastery.

What a systematic layout! Also as per Wikipedia - Nalanda had three main large buildings. One of The main building was Ratnadadhi, meaning the Ocean of Gems. It was nine stories high and housed the most sacred manuscripts. The towers were supposedly immense, bejeweled & gilded to reflect the rays of the sun! What a fascinating fact... stuff of what real good stories are made of!!

Stupa at Nalanda

This beautiful bell right outside in the gardens of Nalanda Museum is a Dharma Bell and is a gift from BuddhaDharma Foundation.

Thereafter, we moved to Bodhgaya - it was another approx 2 hr drive. At entrance of Bodhgaya, one doesn't feel one is in India - as everywhere you see banners of Japan Support. Wherever I turned I saw  - funded and aided by Japan flags / banners and no doubt the place was better kept than others in Bihar! Here the pavement, entrance was better, neater. Its now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.



Bodhgaya is a site of pilgrimage and in the top four sites of importance to Buddhists. This is the place where Lord Gautama Budhha is said to have attained enlightenment. The Mahabodhi Temple as the guide told us was buried under layers of sand and mud, and was excavated only in late 19th century by Sir Alexander Cunningham - the same man who is also responsible for Harrappa excavations.


The entrance of the temple is marked by Ashoka Symbol - Emperor Ashoka is said to have visited the temple 250 years after Lord Buddha.

The weather had become cloudy and indicated rains when we reached there which was quite pleasant. The temple as you can see below is quite like a pyramid, typical of Gupta architecture. The place dates as back as 250 BCE, however, temple's current structure is believed as to be 5th - 6th Cen. AD construction. Many other structures like stupas, railing around the temple are older than that - dating around 1st Cen. BC or older. In 2013, the tip of the temple was covered with gold as gifted from the King and devotees from Thailand. (The pic was taken in 2011) The temple is completely made of bricks and is one of the oldest brick structure to have survived in India.





The main sanctum, as you can see, doesn't have the image of Buddha with folded hands. The right hand here is shown touching the earth - this pose is representative of the moment of his enlightenment. It is also known as "Bhumi Sparsha" Mudra - symbolic of determination, confidence and steadfastness.
Again as usual, it was difficult for me to get away from here. It's a place where you feel the peace and the history. Yes, the history too! the whole area has a pulse of ancientness that is hard to miss.

Inside the temple, there is a lotus pond, and the Bodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.

There was a Sri Lankan team of approx 100-150 people visiting when I was there. A single leaf of the tree is considered a relic by the devotees - one is not allowed to pluck the leaves, so one stands for hours waiting for the air to make one leaf drop!

Apart from the lotus temple, the temple has beautiful stupas around, walls inscribed with Buddha's life incidents, and a row of stones known as Chankranama, this is the sacred spot right next to the main temple, its believed that wherever Buddha kept his feet, a lotus sprung up. I tried matching the steps on the side, my colleague with me was around 6 ft. tall, he could match the steps but still fell short by few inches... so Lord Buddha had to be really tall!

Lord Buddha and Lord Mahavira were contemporaries. Although as per history, they never had a chance to meet, the guide showed us a carving around the walls of the temple that shows Lord Mahavira seeing lord Buddha as a child. This is a recent drawing, and can be an artistic expression.

Thereafter, we headed to airport before making a final stop at 80 ft statue of Buddha. Due to rain, could only take one quick picture.

Bodhgaya and Nalanda are beautiful places - and despite there isn't much one can do in Patna - I would not mind revisiting it for going back to these places. Better roads and better infrastructure from government would have helped in making it a top tourist destination for historical enthusiasts. However, should you be around the place, take out time to visit the old lanes of Indian history.

Weekend Getaway: Jaisalmer!

Who would ever think that Jaisalmer could be a weekend getaway from Delhi! this bizarre idea wasn't mine but of my friend... We had 3 days to go anywhere (Sat, Sun, Mon) and she came up with this idea as she had been to Jaisalmer before.
In my head Jaisalmer was the other end of Rajasthan....very far! which takes ages to reach...
A suggestion that was just perfect... as despite my umpteen visits to Dubai - I haven't had the pleasure of walking through sand dunes.

So off we went in April end - we realized taking a train from Old Delhi Station is the best way to reach Jaisalmer. The flight to the nearest airport is followed by at least 4 to 5 hr drive - which takes the same amount of time spent in reaching the destination.

We left on Friday noon (half day from office!). The train doesn't have any pantry - so please pack up food. Comesum people come and sell food thalis before the train starts - but better to carry home food if possible.
Old Delhi Station also boasts of a McDonald right inside the station. Apart from pantry, its a comfortable train and usually follows the time table - which can be a rarity in India. More or less 90% on time - so no worries there.

On the way, my friend told me that Jaisalmer is also known as "Golden City" as all the houses there have a yellow-golden tinge to them. We also discovered that the whole city is now a World Heritage Site.

On the way, early morning the train stops at Pokhran. Pokhran famous for its nuclear tests - was a name which we were simply excited on seeing. The train stops here for a while and one can get tea and snacks here.

We reached the place Saturday morning and people from Suryagarh Hotel were there to pick us. If you thinking Jaisalmer - think of no other hotel. Its a delightful hotel - that's just 20 minute drive from the station.
http://www.suryagarh.com/

It was a delight to arrive at the hotel - built in shape of a fort, very pretty, fabulous architecture and tastefully done rooms. With just 2 nights there - I would have been happy to just lounge around the pretty hotel.

After few hours of resting and post lunch, we headed to the "Sam Dunes". The locals call Sam as Sum as in Hindi. Sam Desert is a part of Thar Desert and is the area where we see the dunes.

We did not book the Desert Safari with the hotel or any other company. We wanted to go there and explore the place ourselves. In hindsight it was a very good decision as a typical safari is marked by - camel ride, ethnic dinner and dance show with time constraints. We decided to explore the desert ourselves at leisure.

The hotel cab dropped us from where the safaris start. The place had a lot of camels and camel carts.
They charged us only 100 each for one camel and one camel cart till the sunset point. Before we could be happy we realized we have been made a fool - as sunset stop is just fifty steps away!!!
Well - once there we made a deal with the cart guy - that he shows us around the desert, all the points that make a safari at only 700 INR odd. We used the cart as the dumping site for our bags and ran after the cart exploring the sand dunes on foot. It was a pleasure and a good workout climbing the dunes and hopping from on to another.

Sunset over the dunes is majestic

If you see any artists roaming around volunteering to play for you while you sit in desert. Please stop them to play for you, esp if you see some one carrying double flutes. Its an art that is dying. The double flute or as its called "Algoja", "Alghoza" has a strong loud sound and is a sheer delight to listen to! After a little search I found that this instrument was also quite prevalent in Punjab, though this is the first time I came across it. and its loud sound was perfect for desert setting.

A clip sharing our experience on desert:

The artist playing for us told us that only a handful of people are left who can play this instrument as it takes 10 to 11 years of practice to master it and one has to start early in age. I do not know how correct or false this info is - but in case you like the sound and want to hear it more.. check Rajasthani Algoza

The next day started early with exploring the hotel. They have pet peacocks and birds which they leave in their gardens in morn. It was fun to view them with my friends daughter.

After breakfast, we started the day early to avoid the day heat - as the mercury was soaring up to 43 to 45 degrees during noon in end April there.
We started with the lake - which till a few years back the sole source of water for whole city. Its a quick visit - however, outside the lake we found another fantastic artist.

Sorry for the inverted image in Video:

He played it so well! I even bought a CD from him of his own work recorded in a studio. Wow, an artist selling his own work outside a lake... what talent we have in India. Again he had the same sad story - very few people left with this art. The instrument used is Ravanhatta, a very ancient musical instrument - considered to be used by the great Ravana to please Lord Shiva.

Thereafter we went to see Jaisalmer Fort - don't take any autos, just walk till the fort from the parking, its a very small place. The main temple inside is quite pretty. Apart from the fort, we saw Patwon Ki Haveli - a quick round there was good, after this we headed to Lodurva, the old capital. It has a beautiful Jain temple which I found quite exotic.

It's a new construction, as in has been recently rebuilt using bright yellow sandstone.

We were able to finish our trip through the city by noon, and in the evening we enjoyed a wonderful cultural evening organised by the hotel people. I wish I had the pics and the video of it to share with you all. It was a classical program and which the hotel does almost every evening. However, this became extra special as guests from Palace on Wheels were being hosted by the hotel. So, a lot of dance and fun marked the evening.

The next day it was time to bid adieu to the lovely place and head back to Delhi. One trip I remember as truly short & sweet.