India Travel

Accommodation and eating of Bundi in Rajasthan

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Practicalities Between of Kota and Bundi in Rajasthan

Buses run between Kota and Bundi (1hr) every half-hour, and cover the journey to Chittaurgarh (5hr) three times a day, two of them continuing to Udalpur; better still, jump on the 8.10am train from the station on the southern edge of town (only 3hr 30min). Coming from Chittaurgarh, you can avoid a long and tedious road journey by catching the 2.30pm train, which gets you in here at 6pm. Bundi is also connected by hourly buses to Ajmer (165km; 4hr),Jaipur (210km; 8hr) andjodhpur (11hr). For Pushkar, there are three daily direct buses (7hr 30min): Sawai Madhopur (for Ranthambore National Park)

Bundi North in Kota in Rajasthan

Jeypore Palace may be called the Versailles of India; Udaipur's House of State is dwarfed by the hill round it and the spread of the Pichola Lake; Jodhpur's House of strife, grey tower on red rock, is the work of giants, but the Palace of Bundi, even in broad daylight, is such a palace as men build for themselves in uneasy dreams - the work of goblins rather than of men. The walled town of BUNDI, 37km north of Kota, lies in the north of the former Hadaoti state, shielded on the north, east and west by jagged out-crops of the

East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

The belt of hilly land east of Udaipur is the most fertile in Rajasthan, watered by several perennial rivers. Although you need your own vehicle to penetrate the countryside, the historic town of Chittaurgarh, which preceded Udaipur as the seat of Mewar's rulers, is easily accessible by bus. Further east, clusters of crumbling temples mark the sites of still older cities. In the far southeast, the heartland of the princely state of Kota, palaces and forts in Kota and Bundi stand sentinel over fields of wheat, groundnut, castor-oil plants and opium poppies. A prime crop here for centuries, opium is

Chittaurgarh East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

Of all the former Rajput capitals, CHITTAURGARH (or Chittor), 115km northeast of Udaipur, was the strongest bastion of Hindu resistance against the Muslim invaders. No less than three mass suicides (johars) were committed over the centuries by the female inhabitants of its fort, whose husbands watched their wives, sisters and mothers burn alive before smearing ash from the sacred funeral pyres over their bodies and riding to their deaths on the battlefield below. An air of desolation still hangs over the honey-coloured ramparts, temples, towers and palaces of the old citadel, which sprawls over a rocky plateau high above the

The Town North of Kota in Rajasthan

In his Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan (1829), Col James Tod, the first British official ever to explore the region, wrote that the "coup d' oeil of the castellated palace of Bundi, from which ever side you approach it, is perhaps the most striking in India". Walking north through the bazaar today, with the creamy stone domes, cupolas and bleached walls of the palace spilling down the hillside ahead, you'll doubtless agree. Built during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in authentic Rajput style, this was one of the few royal abodes in Rajasthan untainted by Moghul influence. Its appearence is

Moving on from Kota East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

Kota is well connected by bus to destinations in Rajasthan and across the state border to Bhopal and Indore. Services to Bundi leave more or less every half an hour, taking around one hour. Travellers heading northeast towards Agra often pass through Kota to pick up the main broad-gauge line, which is also the most straightforward approach to Sawai Madhopur, jumping-off place for Ranthambore National Park. The recommended service here is the Paschim Express #2955, which leaves at 8.50am and arrives one-and-a-half hours later. There are also six daily trains to Delhi (most of them via Jaipur and Bharatpur). The easiest

Accommodation and eating in Eastern Madhya Pradesh

Most of Bandhavgarh s new and established hotels, all of which are in Tala, cater for travellers on a higher budget, and offer "jungle-plan" prices - all-inclusive 24hr deals including meals and two Jeep safaris per person. However, there are also a few budget lodges and mid-priced hotels. The only option for eating outside your hotel is at one of the friendly, cheap dhabas on the main road.

The City East of Udaipur in Rajasthan

The residential areas, bazaars, fort, City Palace and museum east of the Chambal face harsh buildings and factory smokestacks across the river. Kishor Sagar. an artificial lake built in 1346, gives picturesque relief. The red and white palace in its centre, Jag Mandir, was commissioned by Prince Dher Deh of Bundi in 1346 and can be visited only with permission from the Superintendent Engineer of Kota; ask at the tourist office. Gardens to the north of the tank are lush with mango trees, dahlias and palms, and crocodiles and gharial sun themselves in a shallow pond in the Chambal Gardens

Eating to the Bikaner in Rajasthan

Most visitors eat at their hotels or guesthouses while in Bikaner. If you fancy eating out, try Harasar Haveti, which is a popular meeting place for Western travellers and has the best rooftop views. Amber Station Road, A cleaner than average (although somewhat dingy) thali house that's popular with Westerners. Full veg menu and refreshing masala chai. Harasar Haveli, near Kami Singh Stadium. Open-air rooftop terrace restaurant with panoramic views, top landoori and non-veg Mughlai food and cold beers. Joshi, Station Road. The most salubrious of the eating places near the station. Filling, cheap rice-plate meals and arguably the town's best-value thalis,

Barmer in Rajasthan

BARMER, 158km south of Jaisalmer, is another important desert outpost, but has little to offer tourists. It's usually a dusty backwater, where the manufacture of handicrafts, its main export, occupies much of the population. In January however, the place is transformed during the hectic Tilwara Cattle Fair, held on the banks of a saltwater river nearby. This is the largest cattle market in Rajasthan, attended by villagers and traders from all over the state. Accommodation and food stalls in Barmer are scarce; if you need to stay the night, try the basic Krishna Hotel 'near the railway station, or the rather

Eating in Mumbai

In keeping with its cosmopolitan credentials, Mumbai (and Colaba above all) is crammed with interesting eating places, whether you fancy splashing out on a buffet lunch-with-a-view from a flashy five-star revolving restaurant, or simply tucking into piping-hot roti kebab by gaslight in the street.

Accommodation and eating in North Bengal

Kalimpong's acute water shortages are likely to influence your choice of accommodation - few of the lower-range options have running water. The market area (Tenth Mile) and the area around the Motor Stand are where you will find most budget hotels. The best restaurants are in the hotels - the Kalimpong Park, Crown and China Garden. Other options include the legendary Gompu's bar and restaurant a: Dambar Chowk which serves great momos; the Mandarin, a Chinese restaurant at the Motor Stand; and the basic but friendly Kelsang, tucked around the corner from the Motor Stand servmg curd and Tibetan food.

Thripunitra Eating in Kerala

Unusually for Keralan cities, Kochi offers a wide choice for eating out, from the delicious fresh-cooked fish by the Chinese fishing nets at Fort Cochin, to the sophistication of the Bmntori Boatyard. Between the two extremes, various popular, modest places in Ernakulam serve real Keralan food. The ferries run all evening, and so it is possible to enjoy a meal on one of the more atmospheric islands before heading back to Ernakulam at about 9pm.

Accommodation and eating of Udaipur in Rajasthan

While Chittaurgarh's mid- and upper-range hotels cost a little more than elsewhere, places at the lower end of the price scale are pretty dingy. This is one place budget travellers might want to splash out. As for food, both the Pratap Palace and Mceta have popular non-veg restaurants, of the dimly lit variety where travelling businessmen indulge in chicken eating and beer drinking. A more respectable, and cheaper, option is the Ralu Raj Vatika, across town. They specialize in traditional wedding feasts, but also have an excellent little pure-veg restaurant inside with tables spread over a lawn. The paneer dishes

Practicalities Khauldabad in Maharashtra

MSRTC buses pull in every half-hour or so at Rauza's small bus stand, a short walk west of the walls, en route between Aurangabad and the Ellora caves just down the hill. There is no accommodation in Khauldabad, so you should press on to Ellora or Aurangabad. If the prospect of eating in one of the sweet shops and chai stalls in Rauza's main bazaar doesn't appeal, you'll have to wait until you get to Ellora.

Mahansar, Ramgarh and Lakshmangarh in Rajasthan

Some of the most outstanding murals and Hindu monuments in the region are scattered across three small towns in the far north and'west of Shekhawati: Mahansar. Ramgarh and Lakshmangarh. Of these, only Mahansar has any accommodation (an old fort that's been converted into a characterful, and relatively inexpensive, heritage hotel), but you can reach the other two easily enough on day-trips from Fatehpur.

Eating to Rameshwaram in Central Tamil Nadu

Eating in Rameshwaram is more about survival than delighting the taste buds. Most places serve up fairly unexciting "meals". Arya Bhavan and Kumbakonam, W Car Street. Both places are run by the same family and dish up standard, inexpensive veg “meals”. Ashok Bhavan, W Car Street. Offers cheap, regional varieties of thalis. TTDC Hotel Tamil Nadu, near the beach. Gigantic, noisy, high-ceilinged glasshouse near the sea, serving good south Indian snacks and "meals:: - many items on the menu are unavailable, however.

Visiting Rajasthan

Rajasthan's climate reaches the extremes common to desert regions. Temperatures can rise unbearably to over 45°C between May and June, before the heavy skies over central and east Rajasthan break with a fierce monsoon that revitalizes the arid land and fills empty- river beds. The fierce summer heat lingers until mid-September or October, when night temperatures drop considerably. The best time to visit is between November and February, when daytime temperatures rarely exceed 30°C; in midwinter, you'll need a shawl or thick jumper if you're outdoors, and a thin sleeping bag for night journeys and hotels that don't provide blankets. Getting

Ajmer East of Jaipur in Rajasthan

As you head west from Jaipur, or north from Chittor and Bundi, the flat, arid expanse of the Dhundar plains are dramatically interrupted by the Aravallis, running in a bare brown ridge towards Mount Abu and the Gujarat border. A reference point for millions of pilgrims over the centuries, this steeply shelving spur, known locally as the Nag Pahar (Snake Mountain), forms an appropriately epic backdrop for AJMER, famous throughout India as the former home of the Sufi Khwaja Mum-ud-din Chishti, founder of the Chishtiya order. He died here in 1236, at a time when Ajmer was under Muslim rule,

Accommodation and eating of Tripura in the Northeast

Agartala has a small but good selection of hotels - nothing fancy, but something for everyone. All places listed provide mosquito nets. Choices for eating are more limited: Abhishek on Dutga Bari Road (10am-9pm) is the best in town, with indoor and garden tables; Ambar, next to the hotel of the same name, is another option. Ambar, SD Barman Sarani. Central location with reasonably priced rooms. Brideway, JB Road, near the west side of the palace. Friendly place. Reasonable rooms with large attached bathrooms. Deep Guest House, LN Bari Road. Small hotel on main road. Carpets and attached bathrooms, though the