Ep 2 Part 3 : To touch the Westernmost Tip of India

Episode 2 : Western India
Ep. 2 Part 3 : To touch the Westernmost Tip of India

After last night's late arrival I was in no mood to wake up early. So decided to sleep till I got a kick from Sid to wake up. We were late and decided to skip the brunch and instead head out first and have food enroute.
Today's main attraction is Koteswar which is supposed to be the western most point of India. I've kinda touched Northern and Southern tips before and now wanted to touch Western and Eastern tips of India. So the plan is to start with the easy one ie the West. I was blabbering all about these when Sid was like, 'salle khane ka soch pehle" (trans: Think about breakfast first dude). He was right, we were hungry.
By the time we reached Nakhatrana, all the rats and cats and whatever in our stomachs were running around. "Fun n Foods" at Nakhatrana did throw a surprise on us with it's menu, it had everything from Punabi, Chinese, South Indian :)O) and even Italian :O. Although we decided to play it safe with Chole Batura. Not sure if it was the empty stomach but it was lip-smacking. We kinda instantly decided to have the dinner there while returning.
Again the same desolate and sunny roads. Sometimes we wondered how hot would these places be during summer time. I surely don't wanna be here during summer. As always the roads were good, even the small state roads. I really wondered if there is any bad stretch of road here in Gujarat. We we will find out soon.

Long Desolate roads of Gujarat,

Reached Lakhpat around 3.30pm, it was still very sunny, luckily not too hot. We entered the fort and went to one of the watch towers. It was manned by few BSF guys. One could see the vast expanses of the Rann from there. It seems the border is just a couple of kms ahead. In fact we could see a road that leads to the border from the watch tower.

Our black chariot err the Scorpio invading the Lakhpat Fort,

There used to be a Canon there long time ago,

A temple in the middle of nowhere,

Would've been nice to see the fort in fading light of the Sun but we had another destination to cover for the day. Was wondering how it would be to shoot (photographs of course) this fort when the Sun is fading on the horizon. Not sure if it's allowed to go down to the other side ie near the Rann. But may be that's for some other time and now Koteswar awaits us for the Sunset today. So we left the Fort and headed towards the Western-most point of India.

Soon enough we were there, it was around 5.30pm and Sun was slowly into it's decent to take rest for the day. I am not exactly the temple goer kind of guy, so decided to hold my base around the viewpoint area of the promenade. Setup the tripod and oh boy, it was a mistake to do that. Some people were too inquisitive once they saw the tripod and were bugging me like anything. Sid decided to scoot off in another direction and left me fend the barrage of questions. I can't understand why people are so interested to know the price of the gear:p

The view of the Koteswar Temple,

The Temple, the lighthouse and the moon in the same frame :)

A closeup of the temple,

The lighthouse on the beach a bit far,

We've spent couple of hours there, clicking few pics of the place. As it always happen, the fading lights caste a lovely golden hue to the surroundings and I tried to capture another glorious sunset.

A ship farway in the fading sunset colors,

A boat marooned because of the tide perhaps,

Boats at low light,

Koteswar temple at night,

Decided to leave the place by 8PM around. The return journey was uneventful, apart from the fact that we couldn't take the route thru Nakhatrana and instead decided to stick to the Highway via Naliya. Food was on a dhaba somewhere near a place called Sanosara. Reached Bhuj a bit late and decided to hit the bed asap. Tomorrow we have long journey and plan is to reach Jaisalmer if we can start early. But we also thought about going to Dholavira as it was part of the original plan. Decided to decide in the morning where to go tomorrow..
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Ep. 2 Part 2: Unity in Diversity, that's our India..

Episode 2 : Western India
Ep. 2 Part 2: Unity in Diversity, that's our India..
So, we have already seen the Little Rann, how would be the big brother ie Great Rann. But before that we have to traverse thru the roads of Gujarat and reach our next destination. Again, thanks to BCMT, HV Kumar and TBHP, the best option seems to be to camp at Bhuj. The distance was around 270km from Zainabad to Bhuj. We were pretty confident to reach Bhuj by 9.30pm with a start time of 4.30pm. But as it always happen, we underestimated the circumstances. Twice we took wrong turns and only to stop and take U-turns to get back on the correct route. Once we actually were pointing the exactly the opposite direction from Bhuj. Thanks to MapMyIndia and Google Maps combo who tried to have some fun . Oh, BTW, this was not the only time that this duo has played with us. This awesome twosome had made us miss dinner while scrambling around to find the exact route. If something that we've learnt then it's not to trust technology blindly.
By the time we reached Hotel KBN (thanks for the recommendation by HVKumar) it was already 11.00pm and the kitchen was closed. We were already tired and decided to just have biscuits/snacks that we normally carry around in the car. The hotel was pretty decent and was easy on pocket. The next day's plan was to have a heavy breakfast and visit the Great Rann at Dhordo and the other nearby places.

Bhuj-Khavdaa-Kala Dungar-GRK-Bhuj
So we thought we would have a normal breakfast at a normal hotel. But it seems the owner of Hotel KBN have some kind of love for aircrafts. And we were surprised to see an Airliner themed restaurant at our disposal. Don't believe me? See it for yourself. We just couldn't help our giggles while we were there. BTW, breakfast was pretty decent too. Aah, another thing, it was actually a heavy brunch as we again decided to wake up late :p

No, we didn't take a flight to Bhuj, :p

After the mock Airlines food we decided to move on to see the Great Rann. The roads were empty and so were the lands. When one comes from a City like Bangalore, so much of open space really feels surreal. Miles after miles passed by without seeing a soul and we started wondering what would Bangalore Land Mafias would do if they see so much of land up for grabbing :p

At the end of the those desolate and straight roads lay ahead the India Bridge, the last point that that a civilian is allowed to go unless he have some special permission. We neither had any special permission nor had any intention to go there. The BSF jawan told us the same and I just started a conversation with him. Found out that he is from Assam and from Dhubri district. Well, it surely feels nice to meet someone from my own state. You know, we Indians do that, ie to find out people who are from same place as we are and feel amazed. As if it's some kind of miracle . After a bit of chit chat, mostly about the new firearm that he was using we decided to move on. CAn't remember exactly but it was of Israeli origin I think. Yes, we guys have some kind of fascination for fire-arms, thanks to the video games :p
Next destination was Kala Dungar, the highest point of Rann. The Sun was still high up and it was not very convenient to shoot. But I did like the view of the almost endless Rann from Kala Dungar. We couldn't wait till the jackals come out for their food as we wanted to catch up with the setting Sun at Dhordo.

Viewpoint at Kala Dungar,

Returning from Kala Dungar,

On the way we met some bovine friends and oh boy, they were majestic. As per ritual we've named them "Dabangs of Kutch" :p

And some ingenious jugaad public transport system of those areas, a bullet converted to a three wheeler.

A little roadblock by another type of Dabangs of a different family,

Soon we reached the turn for Dhordo at Bhirandiara. I forgot to mention that one need to put an entry here at the Tourism center before heading towards either Kala Dungar or Dhordo. There was a small fees also that need to be paid. On the way we could see the few resorts that have come up. I guess all thanks to the Rann-Utsav. We soon entered the Dhordo after showing our entry pass at the entry check-point which is manned by BSF. Well, basically the whole route was one dust bowl instead of the white dessert that I've initially expected. We soon reached a point from where there were no more roads but only endless empty spaces as far as eyes can see. It does feel a bit a different to see such a vast area. But we were a bit disappointed as the water haven't completely dried up and the area was more of patches of salt instead of a white desert that we've expected. Basically it's the salt which remains there after the water evaporates and creates the white desert. It seems Jan-Feb is the time when the water completely dries up and wraps the place in a white spread.

Wish it was white instead of muddy white, but still a beautiful sunset..

Some unknown factory on the other side,

Scorpio at the end of the world. One of those places which would say, "turn back, you can't proceed even if you are a Scorpio".

Other tourists returning from Dhordo,

But we decided to wait for some more time to capture a bit more. Not everyday we visit the Great Rann,

We wanted to spend some more time. But we were not sure till what time it's allowed to be there and we were the last to leave. We came up till the checkpoint and asked the BSF guys. They were like, you have the permit so you can stay as long as you want And as usual we started our small talk with the guys there. Even they were pretty amused to see a Karnataka registered vehicle there. Their commander taken a bit more interest in us as we have traveled a long way. Soon he invited us to have some drinks and food with them. We had some Pune Bhakarwadis with us which we delightfully shared with them. One thing led to another and voila, I again found out another state-mate. Actually this time basically the commander found out that I am from Assam and he become super happy. He started talking to me in Assamese and it was me who got surprised. As it turned out, he is from Meghalaya but he is an Assamese guy. But the more interesting fact was that we've met 3 more Jawans, one from Jammu, one from Andhra and one from West Bengal. It was really amusing to find people from 3 different corners ie North, South, East guarding a post on the Westernmost corner under a commander from NorthEast. Truly an example of unity in diversity and how amazing our country is.
Our initial plan was to leave Dhordo by 8-8.30PM around and have food en-route. But our new friends at Dhordo told us that we can't leave without having dinner with them. After saying no couple of times we had to give in. So there we were, two nondescript IT engineers having their best ever dinner at an armed force tent, under the starlights in a different corner of India. Man, I still remember the taste of the daal makhani, they really have some good cook. [BTW, this was just the beginning of the hospitality that we've received from our Armed forces during the trip.] We left for Bhuj around 11pm that day after loads of adda with the guys there, probably talking about everything on earth. Well, I have heard that travelers connect with people during their journeys. It did feel good to connect with complete strangers when on a trip. And on hindsight, I think this episode helped us in connecting with people in upcoming days.
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Ep. 2 Part 1. Kutch nahi dekha toh Kuch bhi nahi dekha..

Episode 2 : Western India
Ep. 2 Part 1. Kutch nahi dekha toh Kuch bhi nahi dekha..
Woke up a bit late in the morning than planned as were tired from previous day's drive and shoot.. Well, I kinda feared that that's what gonna be the routine for next two months or so and was mentally preparing myself. We discussed that we will try to spend atleast couple of days in a place instead of moving out next day. But again, all depends on the place, mood and ofcourse the financial position.
As per plan, it's the state of Gujarat that's in our sight and we wanted to see what's the hype about Rann of Kutch. Why Amitabh ji wants us to spend few days in Gujarat? We really wanted to find that out by ourselves. Unanimous decision was taken to visit the Little Rann of Kutch first and then to decide where next. Because, Kutch nahi dekha toh kuch nahi dekha..
We started from Daman around 11.15am instead of the target of 8am :p Yeah, we are two lazy buggers who refuse to get out of bed early. After lazing around having a not so good breakfast, we've packed our bags. The roads were pretty good and soon started covering the miles. Soon we were at Bharuch and crossed the Golden Bridge at Narmada. Man, that bridge is really small for having two way traffic. Even after folding in the sideview mirrors, the Scorpio kissed another car at one point. Luckily it came out just with a very minute scratch. After crossing the Bridge our plan was to find a decent restaurant to have lunch and we were surprised to see so many "decent" hotels on the Gujarat Highway, literally. Most of the roadside hotels/dhabas were named as "Decent Hotels" and just couldn't stopped ourselves from joking about the Ratlam station scene from the movie "Jab We Met" :p. Luckily we didn't get into any such situation and just a had a simple, decent dhaba meal at a place called "Sarvottam Hotel"..
Just before the journey, at Pune to be specific, Sid has given me strict instructions to drive within sane limits of speed. He even threatened to abandon the trip if I don't. That sounds fine to me and I drove peacefully enjoying the surroundings for most of the time. Now after the decent food at not Decent Hotel, I was a bit sleepy and let Sid take the wheel. I was pretty sure that after the long lecture about high speed driving by his majesty himself, he would be driving in a sane speed. So I dozed off without any worry.. After sometime I woke up with a feeling that the car is reaching it's escape velocity and about to leave the earth's gravitational pull. Once I was able to gather my wits I realized that we are still on earth only. Well, we were at Baroda-Ahmedabad expressway and Sid decided to test the limits of the car. And I decided to click a proof of that so that I can blackmail him later. So whenever next time he opens his mouth about high-speeding I just saw him the pic of the speedo. For the record, I didn't take the car to more than 120kmph during the entire trip and he actually have crossed 150kmph on the first chance he got :p Yeah, Boys will be boys only, but he is going to hear about this during the whole trip..

Ahemedabad Expressway

Sunset after Ahmedabad

The good condition of the roads remain till we cross Ahmedabad and crossed Sanand pretty soon. We did contemplate about staying at Ahmedabad for a day but we were not very sure about the plan and so decided to move towards LRK. We have done a little research on staying options at LRK and two names came to forefront, Rann Riders and Dessert Coursers. But we couldn't get thru the contact number of Rann Raiders and we luckily get the connection of Dessert Coursers. I also remembered reading HarshVardhan's travelogue about Dessert Coursers and felt that it would be a nice place to stay.

We reached Dessert Coursers (Camp Zainabad) by 8.30pm around. One need to take a left at Dasada for Zainabad and on hindsight, I felt it was good that we chose Dessert Coursers as it was much closer to the little Rann than Rann Riders at Dasada. Although there might be a different route from Rann Riders to the Rann, which I am not aware of. May be if I visit next time then I'll try Rann Riders too. We've been welcomed by the owner (Mr. Dhanraj, a pretty interesting person). And his boys have shown us the Hut type accommodation. It had a very rustic charm and we instantly fallen in love with the surroundings. Soon the dinner was served in the common dining area and it was a decent affair. Mr. Dhanraj took some interest in us, probably because we've driven from a long distance. He soon found that Sid is an avid dog lover. Mr. Dhanraj had around 7-8 dogs in the compound and he seemed to be very fond of them. He joined us for dinner and told us many stories about the place, Rann etc. In fact after the dinner he offered Sid to take a puppy as one of the female dog was due for birth. Of course we had to decline as we had a long journey ahead and getting a puppy from Gujarat to Bangalore would never be possible. After dinner I have taken a few random pics of the place at night and hit the sack soon. Plan was to wake up early and go for a Safari at the Little Rann to catch a glimpse of the Wild Asses or Khurs and the migrating Flamingos.

Common Dining Hall @ Dessert Coursers,

Sid enjoying the Jhula

Our plan was to wake up early in the morning and start by 6/6.30 in the morning. But as usual 6am become 7am by the time we could start. The assigned guide was ready and was waiting for us. We just gathered our gears and started the small drive to the Little Rann.

Not so early morning @ LRK

After crossing couple of small villages the guide showed the route to enter the Rann. Soon we could see a herd of Khurs grazing around. They looked very similar to their cousins from Ladakh region. They seemed to be used to the human presence and as long as we kept some distance they didn't bother about us. We spent around an hour and half among them and tried to capture them thru our cameras. The 2X TC definitely come in handy.Wished we could see few more inhabitants like Nilgais or the foxes. But they turned out to be bit elusive that day.

Few of the Wild Asses pics from the load that I've gone crazy clicking :p

Family?

Mother & Son,

Young ones,

Kids,

The loner,

Next plan was to catch a sight of the beautiful foreign visitors. No, don't get any other ideas as I am talking about the stunning Flamingos who visit India during the winter time. We soon reached a big Lake/waterbed and we could spot a huge colony of Flamingos. But alas, this time the 2x TC and 70-200mm combination was not enough. They were very far away. So instead of concentrating on photographs we decided to spend some time just watching them. The way they would suddenly fly off in a formation and land nearby is a sight to behold. We again spent more than an hour there. The Flamingos did came a little forward but not enough to satisfy my photography needs :p. Naah, I am not complaining, I am not birder. But still made a mental note of visiting our foreign visitors again sometime later.

Dance of the Flamingos,

We, the Flying Flamingos,

So are we ..

Marching Flamingos,

I ain't no Flamingo, so I ain't gonna dance, fly or walk for you..

Neither would I :p

We've decided to move on as it was getting late and we were pretty hungry by that time. Dessert Coursers had given us a packet of small bites but it was not enough and we needed some heavy food. So we hurriedly returned by 10.30am around so that we can have something to fill up our stomach. Yes, we love our food and just can't wait for it.

The rain forsaken Land of Rann..

There is a mirage ahead,

But alas, we mere mortals plan and God, sorry I meant the Govt. plans something else. As soon as we came out of the Little Rann and hit the road, we hit a major roadblock. The roads are getting newly laid and they've stopped all vehicular movements on the road. Now after a wait for more than an hour, which felt like eternity, we were able to move once they moved their heavy machinery. But again, it was not an easy task as only a small part on the side road was open and Scorpio turned out to be too big for it to cross. There were big stones laid on the side of the road and no way I can take the car over them. Had to wait for some more time, luckily there were only few vehicles behind. Thankfully the guys working on the road came with their tools and removed the stones and at last we could move on. But this delay also meant that we won't be able to catch the breakfast and have to now wait for the lunch. Anyway, we decided to wait at the dining hall itself, yes we were hungry. We started discussing our next plan on what to do next. I was voting in favor of staying for another day but Sid Vetoed it as the cost per head was beyond our per-determined budget. We didn't want to spend too much during the initial period itself as having cash is very important for a long trip as such. In the meantime Mr. Dhanraj joined us again and as usual the discussion veered towards different topics, spreading from dogs, horses, Khurs, Rann, Gujarat, India and World. We met his young son too and boy, that kid sounds almost 10 years older than his age. Interesting young kid who loves riding his horse and he spends lots of time with his father at the camp during his vacations.
Anyway, during lunch we again discussed about staying there for another day as I wanted to go back to Rann and capture the flamingos during Sunset. We even thought about driving to Bhuj after Sunset. But again had to curb my intentions in front of Sid's reasoning. But as a consolation prize got some time to have a nice afternoon siesta. Decision was made to move towards Bhuj for our next Kutch ki Khoj.

and till cows come home, ok fine, buffaloes come home for the next chapter :p :p

Place stayed : Dessert Coursers, Zainabad
Cost : 1750Rs including Breakfast,dinner and lunch and Rann Safari.
Stay quality/comfort : Huts made like old rustic homes. Attached shower and bath.
Food : I had veg food and it was on the normal side.
Driving conditions : Very good roads almost for 95% of the trip. Only pain point was the Narmada bridge crossing at Bharuch.
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