India, off the beaten track

Does the thought of squeezing all your clothes into a backpack and roughing it in single-star hotels always put paid to your dream of seeing the Taj Mahal or exploring the romantic cities of Jaipur and Jodhpur? Then read on.

For all of us who have either grown out of or were never into backpacking, there is the Palace on Wheels.

This hotel on rails makes it possible to see the most interesting parts of India while enjoying all the comforts you are used to.

Converted into a luxury hotel with impeccable comfort and service, the train has 14 carriages, each named after a region in Rajasthan and decorated with fabrics and colours typical of that place.

Each room has its own bathroom with a shower and there is even a beauty salon where you can have a massage, a facial — and everything else you require to feel human again after a hard day's sightseeing. That's not all.

There are two restaurant cars and a bar which cater to the other essentials.

Though it may seem that a holiday on the train would be quite sufficient, there is, of course, the other reason for being on it: a trip through all the important cities and sights in the state of Rajasthan, and Agra, in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Departure

The holiday starts in Delhi: meeting at the train station and checking in. We were ushered past a group of local musicians and into a room decorated with garlands.

There, we were introduced to the two stewards who would look after each carriage. We had time to unpack, check out all the little freebies in our room and refer to the busy itinerary — and all of it before dinner.

Pink sunshine

Day 2 broke after a night's sleep that can only be compared to lying in a cradle and being rocked all night — not something that appealed to everyone, judging from the faces emerging after breakfast.

The Pink City, Jaipur, turned out to be rather ochre-red, the shade being the colour of welcome in India.

Legend has it that the Maharaja of Jaipur had the city painted red in 1905 on the occasion of the the Prince of Wales's visit.

The next surprise was that the Hawa Mahal, or the Palace of Winds, is not a palace but a façade of intricately designed niches, windows and screens that not only allowed the cool breeze to enter but also let the womenfolk discreetly watch the proceedings on the street below.

We then rode on elephant back to the Amber Fort perched on a hill — and we just missed the Maharani of Jaipur in the bookshop when we had lunch at her former palace, now aptly named Palace Hotel.

Building sandcastles

By Day 3, we had travelled all the way from the from the Pink City to the Golden City, Jaisalmer, which lies in the heart of the northern desert region. In fact, the city wears the appearance of a gigantic sandcastle.

Surrounded by high walls, Jaisalmer is a maze of little streets in which you have to compete for space not only with the locals but also cows, goats, dogs and the ubiquitous street hawkers trying to tempt tourists with yet another gorgeous pashmina or a finely carved elephant as a souvenir.

The most breathtaking sight in Jaisalmer are the intricately carved havelis or old merchant houses.

The afternoon was spent riding camels around the desert at sunset, a prospect that is more appealing to people who do not normally live as close to the animals as we do.

Having the blues

Day 4 started with breakfast in Jodhpur, the Blue City. Our third day in a colourful city, and another climb up to a truly impressive fort with a museum exhibiting the extravagant lifestyle of the maharajas.

Houses in Jodhpur are painted blue to help reflect the sun's rays. The smell of paint is also supposed to keep mosquitoes away.

In earlier times, the colour was reserved for the Brahmin caste but is now commonly used.

Lunch was at the stunning Maharaja of Jodhpur's residence-and-hotel. This is where Liz Hurley got married.

Tiger feet

Very early the next day, we reached Sawai Madhopur and had to get up at what seemed like the middle of the night to go on a tiger safari.

Dressed in five layers of clothes and wrapped in a blanket, we set off in open-top vehicles.

We saw virtually every living thing India has on offer, including a crocodile, but of the tiger we could only see fresh pugmarks.

We then headed back to the train for a hot shower and a massage, and not long after that, reached Chittorgarh, whose primary claim to fame is that the city was conquered three times.

Death to dishonour

Each time the men died in battle, thousands of the women performed jauhar, burning themselves to death rather than live with the enemy.

On Day 6 we woke up for the first time in the same town we went to sleep in and piled into our coaches in anticipation of Udaipur.

Octopussy's lair

This city is home to the famous Lake Palace, which featured in James Bond's Octopussy.

The palace was as beautiful as we expected it to be and everybody soon discussed details of where which bit of the movie was filmed.

The main palace houses an art museum and gallery — great for shopping! — but lunch is on the actual lake, which is partly surrounded by the beautiful façades of the city and partly by misty mountains in the distance.

Edifice of love and loss

All too soon we made our way back to the train for the trip to Agra. The highlight of the journey — the Taj Mahal.

Day 7, our last day on the train, broke far too early but we intended to be at the Taj Mahal in time to catch the sunrise.

What can I say, when we walked through the red sandstone gateway and caught the first glimpse of the white mausoleum in the morning mist, it was breathtaking.

There are so many pictures of the Taj Mahal but to actually be there and watch it turn pink in the rising sun is an experience difficult to match.

One of the most romantic views must be from behind the Taj Mahal, by the Yamuna River, with the morning mist lingering and the residents of Agra performing their morning toilette by the water.

Stately ruins

Later in the day, we looked at the ruined town of Fatehpur Sikri. Unfortunately, after the overwhelming impression the Taj Mahal had made on me, I could not appreciate the town to its fullest.

We returned to Delhi the next morning and had to leave the palatial train that had taken us to so many stunning places.
We promised to come back, if only to follow the same route again, just slower this time so we can look behind the palaces and façades in a more leisurely fashion.

We had only had a glimpse of India, but what an experience it was!

— Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey is a UAE-based
freelance writer

Go there ... New Delhi

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HISTORY

Sands of time