We started our journey to Bundi with a local bus (190 Rs, 4 hours ) from Udaipur bus station that dropped us off at Beejoliya junction where we hitchhiked on the back of a pickup truck (0 Rs 10 Min) to Beejoliya bus station and from there took another local bus (38 Rs, 2 hours) to Bundi. In hindsight we realize it was probably a better idea to take a train from Udaipur like people suggested to us (but it arrives late at night so we decided to go for the bus option, oops).
From Bundi bus station we took a rickshaw (60 Rs, 10 Min) to Shivam Guesthouse (434 Rs per night with attached bathroom) that has nice and clean rooms and also offers good food.
Recovering from the long journey we went to eat at Out of the blue restaurant that offers one of best Italian menus in India (also their branch in Pushkar is great).
As most places in Rajasthan Bundi boasts a palace- Garh Palace (100 Rs entrance fee) a bit dilapidated and has a strong smell of Guano thanks to the bats that run the place, and a fort- Taragarh Fort (100 Rs entrance fee) that offers beautiful views of the town but is really rundown and the only ones running the place are the local monkeys and over grown bushes, but it has its charm and it's nice that you can walk wherever you want climb what you want and nobody will tell you anything.
Bundi is also famous for its Stepwells (around 50-60 around the town) and the most important one is Rani Ji Ki Bawadi a combined ticket that Includes: 84 Pillared Cenotaph and Sukh mahal (70Rs. Per person valid for 2 days). Rani Ji stepwell is nice but since most of the underground water supply has bean depleted and piped water arrived to Bundi most of the stepping wells around town lost there charm and became garbage holes....
we continued from there through the old city, which similar to Jodhpur is spotted with Brhamin-Blue houses, to Bundi's lake, Jait Sagar which is nice and really big but aside from feeding the local fish or watching the migrating birds doesn't offer a lot so we went back to our guesthouse catching a lift with a nice guy on his motorbike.
Ringo star is a nice touristic restaurant that offers really good Indian food but be prepared to wait a while, try the beigan barta!
From Bundi bus station we took a rickshaw (60 Rs, 10 Min) to Shivam Guesthouse (434 Rs per night with attached bathroom) that has nice and clean rooms and also offers good food.
Recovering from the long journey we went to eat at Out of the blue restaurant that offers one of best Italian menus in India (also their branch in Pushkar is great).
As most places in Rajasthan Bundi boasts a palace- Garh Palace (100 Rs entrance fee) a bit dilapidated and has a strong smell of Guano thanks to the bats that run the place, and a fort- Taragarh Fort (100 Rs entrance fee) that offers beautiful views of the town but is really rundown and the only ones running the place are the local monkeys and over grown bushes, but it has its charm and it's nice that you can walk wherever you want climb what you want and nobody will tell you anything.
Bundi is also famous for its Stepwells (around 50-60 around the town) and the most important one is Rani Ji Ki Bawadi a combined ticket that Includes: 84 Pillared Cenotaph and Sukh mahal (70Rs. Per person valid for 2 days). Rani Ji stepwell is nice but since most of the underground water supply has bean depleted and piped water arrived to Bundi most of the stepping wells around town lost there charm and became garbage holes....
we continued from there through the old city, which similar to Jodhpur is spotted with Brhamin-Blue houses, to Bundi's lake, Jait Sagar which is nice and really big but aside from feeding the local fish or watching the migrating birds doesn't offer a lot so we went back to our guesthouse catching a lift with a nice guy on his motorbike.
Ringo star is a nice touristic restaurant that offers really good Indian food but be prepared to wait a while, try the beigan barta!
Leaving Bundi we headed to Pushkar that serves Hindus as a holy pilgrimage town and to others (foreigners and young Indians) it serves as a laid-back town with a special hippie atmosphere and also some of the best value travellers shops selling clothes, jewellery and just about anything you want.
To get to Pushkar from Bundi we took a local bus to Ajmer (156 Rs) and from Ajmer to Pushkar another bus (20 Rs, 45 Min)
We settled in Rising star hotel (400 Rs per night with attached bathroom) that offers very nice and clean rooms, the place is run by a lovely family that also makes really good food in there restaurant.
We spent many hours at the chai shop across from Ombaba restaurant drinking tea, people-watching and chatting with our travel buddies Nona, Louie and Matt.
Watching the sunset is a highly regarded daily activity in Pushkar, and we joined the crowds at Theeasrern Ghat to do so, and also climbed up to Saraswati temple one day for a beautiful view. On our last day we even managed to wake up early to watch the sunrise from Papmochani temple near the bus station.
To get to Pushkar from Bundi we took a local bus to Ajmer (156 Rs) and from Ajmer to Pushkar another bus (20 Rs, 45 Min)
We settled in Rising star hotel (400 Rs per night with attached bathroom) that offers very nice and clean rooms, the place is run by a lovely family that also makes really good food in there restaurant.
We spent many hours at the chai shop across from Ombaba restaurant drinking tea, people-watching and chatting with our travel buddies Nona, Louie and Matt.
Watching the sunset is a highly regarded daily activity in Pushkar, and we joined the crowds at Theeasrern Ghat to do so, and also climbed up to Saraswati temple one day for a beautiful view. On our last day we even managed to wake up early to watch the sunrise from Papmochani temple near the bus station.
Foodwise, we enjoyed the the sandwiches, salads, and special chocolate balls at Funky monkey Cafe, the Indian food at Ombaba restaurant is nice, and the falafel stands serve nice falafel lafas (all 4 of them!)
We headed to Ajmer on our last day preparing to board a train to Khajuraho late at night. During the day we went to see the Nasiyan temple a Jain temple also known as the red temple, that shows an impressive gold Diorama of the Jain concept of ancient times (10 Rs entrance fee), The temple itself is off limits for non-Jains (although in the website it is written otherwise). We also strolled through the Muslim quarter and the busy bazaars, visiting the holy sites of Dargah of Khwaja Muin-ud-din chishti and Dhai-din-ka-jhonpra. Our train was at 3am and thanks to our lovely and generous friend Bapu we had a nice place to stay at her family's beautiful home in town where we could relax and get some sleep beforehand.
Great blog post about Bundi. A real pity that I have skipped this town. Next time... - Cheers from Nepal (after the quake), Matt.
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