Jammu to Jaisalmer .... chasing the mirages!

thefirstthambi

thefirstthambi

Aj Raina
Hi,
Just got back from a ten days long sojourn, seven days in fact when we discount the travel legs, to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Before I kill you with some shoddy write-ups and misplaced images, a bit of preface...

Firstly, keeping up with what happens with me every time I step into Thar, we did receive a few droplets this time too. Even though the shower would have escaped a casual eye, we saw the droplets on our windscreen on two brief occasions. So, the tradition continues!

Secondly, a few pick ups from the trip....


That certain Rats make better community than a typical human settlement




That Freedom comes at a Price



That human Ass(es) can really rub off a Stone bench



That Daughters grow up really Fast




That Ghost Tourism is not that bad an idea after all




That Nature's force can turn wood into a rock



That to some, idea of Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan does not make financial sense



That 'virginity' need not always relate to a particular gender



That if some of them could speak, many of us would die of shame and guilt


That when He summons, we bloody well oblige

&


That a Jungle may look like this.




​
 
SHEKHAR 257

SHEKHAR 257

Be a Good person but Don't try to Prove.
Awesome Start. I also did Jaisalmer trip last Diwali. Awesome Place. Waiting for next update.
 
thefirstthambi

thefirstthambi

Aj Raina
It was the usual winter vacation time for Czia and we had two options - Goa or a part of Rajasthan. And then events took turns of various kinds and made us realise that we had just about ten days to quench our thirst to drive around. Goa, suddenly began to look like a mission difficult to achieve unless aim would just be to spend two days there. We, therefore, settled for the other option - Rajasthan. Rajasthan has been visited a number of times in the past, not to count many transit drives, and while there is nothing much left for me to see per se, for Czia and Deepika, Jaisalmer looked attractive. So, it was gonna be Jaisalmer - proposed and finalised in no time. We, however, wanted no deadlines and timelines to ruin the fun. No reservations, thus, were done for anything. And then just a day before our proposed date of start, Pathankot incident happened. With red alert and talks of some more bastards looming large around NH, it was obvious that we had no choice - we had to go and so did we! If such cowardly acts succeed in forcing us indoors, their aim would be met. We did our bit by defying them in our own little way.

Day One :- I took off from my base and reached Jammu by 0800h. Another hour there and we were off at 0900h. Jammu to Pathankot was a zip on the four lane. There was hardly any traffic and one could see more of men in khakhis than in civvies. A couple of years back, we had gone to Golden Temple from Jammu using Pathankot-Amritsar route but 100-odd Kms had turned out to be a pain in the back with lot of construction work, resultant diversions and jams. Any thought of taking Jallandhar route were, however, nipped in the bud when a police party stopped us on the deserted highway near Pathankot. Some action was on along side the NH, they informed us. We had no option but to move straight on towards Amritsar, steering away from Jallandhar axis. As we drove into the road leading towards Amritsar, we were pleasantly surprised to see an empty but well-made four lane waiting for us. The run till Amritsar was smooth and flying. We wanted to call a halt at around lunch time and for that Bhatinda appeared to be well within our sights. However, nothing appeared to have changed beyond Amritsar since 2009 when I was posted at Ferozepur. A congested exit from the city and then traffic on a road that is just about two way with many bumps and cracks. Finally, reached Bhatinda a couple of hours later than expected. A friend, at a very short notice, had organised a good accommodation there and that was where we nested for the night.


Our Nest for the night​



Czia with Grizzly
​
It was a pretty nippy evening and we stayed indoors. The staff served us with some simple but very tasty and appetizing dinner and we slept well with our tummies well fed. The first day on the road was over for us. However, the fact that same days and moments have different meanings for different people, was reinforced as we switched on the TV and logged into our Whatsapp. Not known to us at the time when we had been asked to take diversion near Pathankot by Punjab Police, for some, the life had got over...... Lt Col Niranjan had been martyred an hour or so before we had been guided by the cops.
 
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thefirstthambi

thefirstthambi

Aj Raina
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