White Rann Kutch

White Rann

This seems to be a natural phenomenon where the salt in winter hardens and turns into salt dessert. From Wikipedia :The Great Rann of Kutch is a seasonal salt marsh located in the Thar Desert in the Kutch District of Gujarat, India and the Sindhprovince of Pakistan. It is about 7,505.22square kilometres (2,897.78 sq mi) in size and is reputed to be the largest salt desert in the world. This area has been inhabited by theKutchi people.

The name "Rann" comes from the Hindi word ran (रण) meaning "desert".


Malsi Rann Homestay
First night was at Malsi Rann homestay. You will observe and they will probably share that all the huts are circular shaped. It seemed during the devastating kutch earthquake in 2001. These huts are called Bhunga (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_Gujarat_earthquake) and http://www.world-housing.net/WHEReports/wh100080.pdf the circular structures stayed more intact then all the other structures e.g. sharp edges.


This seems both observations post-earthquake and advice given by visiting Japanese researchers. You can google a decent amount of literature about this among others http://conf.idec.org/2012/earthquake-resistant-housing-a-study-of-bhung/  does validate this. Traveling is always a good eye opener. The elders thought process might have either been a coincidence or will thought observations and past experience.

Another interesting thing to note is that the huts walls are mostly made from mud, which works as an excellent climate control in both chilling winter and scorching summer. We stayed there in cold winter and yes the huts were not freezing. Outside the huts was really cold, and the bonfire was a nice warm touch.

Also they shared that the roofs were made with dry grass and a layer of plastic below with wood support. Dried grass is a premium here. And guess what the best wood they say is called Malaysia wood. They didn't know specifically which type, we've got a number of famous trees namely Jati, Cengal and even the very eco-friendly Rubber Wood (from rubber trees) http://www.mtib.gov.my/malaysianwood/
Hihi this seems to have turned into some civil engineering geography write up.

Now to the stay and experience. This was one of the best homestays. They were very hospitable, friendly, sat and chat with us, and prepared some of the best food.

At night they make a bonfire and seat around it with you, chit chat and share their stories. They have very strict cultural practices but seem open to outsiders / visitors.
Meals are included in the package. So inform before hand if you require less spicy, as Kutch food does seem to on the spicier side. Malsi bhai knows basic English to get around.

One thing that took me time to understand is that it seems there is a rule of thumb that if your driver comes along for the night, they provide basic accommodation and maybe meals (same for Rajasthan).

What we did is got a driver for the day, visited a few places and asked to be dropped off at Malsi Rann. But make sure to make prior arrangements with Malsi bhai if he can take you to the white desert for sunrise and then kaloo dungar (Black Hill). Especially true if you took the one night package with Rannutsav which means sunrise and kaloo dungar is not included. Otherwise maybe take a driver for two days. We initially opted for one night at Rannutsav due to it being way to expensive. And things turned out for the better as we experienced Malsi Rann. Even our driver initially thought we were making things complicated but it was all worth it.

One question that comes up is it necessary to do both Sunrise and Sunset. If you have some spare time and cash yes well worth it.

Do note there seems to be two main areas for viewing / experiencing the white dessert and Malsi Rann took us to another one compared to Rannutsav organizers. The one Malsi took us had a better overall open and vast uncivilized view, but you couldn't walk way to far as the salt started getting soft, like quick sand. 

But the pictures and view are better - you judge. But this spot might not be suitable for larger crowds.




Rannutsav took us to a slightly different spot which was beautiful but there were too many structures like tents, fences that spoils the view. I'm not sure if this obstructions are a norm or was there to an event they were hosting at that time (Gujarat chief minister visit).



Getting a vast open view with the sun on one side and the moon on the other is something.

Rannutsav does offer good cultural shows and a fare of locally crafted goods. But staying only one night would limit your time. WIFI coverage was limited only to the main area and intermittent. No wifi at lodging camps.





Though the event was overall well organised, I found it difficult to get email responses. Calling probably would have yielded better results if you are already in India. One of the things they are not clear about is around what time will you be dropped off at either the Railway Station or the Airport. So what I've figured so far is of you skip the complimentary sight seeing during drop off you could reach the train station at 1pm. Not sure how far is airport. If you are returning via bus then you'll have to take the auto rickshaw to the bus stand. If you go for the 3 complimentary sites namely Aina Mahaal, Sri Swami Narayanan temple and the art craft Bhujodi, maybe by 3.30pm.

All in all kudos to the Gujrat Tourism, organisers and all.

Kashmir

Day 2-6
Kashmir Day2-6
Mostly entry into kashmir is via Srinagar and Jammu mostly. I think people who want to visit Hindu temples mostly enter through Jammu. If you're more info just the view and snow enter through srinagar airport.
Note as far as I know all foreign sim cards will not work in kashmir (yes even if you have enabled roaming). Even prepaid cards bought outside this area in India will not work. So plan accordingly your meet up with your host / guide. We were lucky that our guide made it convenient for us to contact him.

There is a foreigner registration counter after you pick up your luggage. Registration here doesn't seem strongly enforced especially if you are 'indian looking'.. I'm not sure the reason for registration, likely just for precautionary safety.

Heading back to airport
When you arrived and being driven out likely got world notice a long que coming to the airport. The entry to the airport area has security check points, so plan ample time. Some suggest 4 hours. Here it is something like land border crossing where you have to alight from your car and put your luggage into the x-ray machine and security check. Again this is prior to entry to the airport compound.

All airports in India will require to see your booking and photo ID prior to entry

We checked out two hotels at Srinagar, namely Centre Point and Hotel Royal Batoo. Didn't notice much on tripadvisor for Centre Point but it is definitely value for money. They have central heating which they turn on at nights and in mornings. Noticed even Royal Batoo does not on the central heating in mornings.
If you go for Centre Point suggest get with the breakfast option (and maybe dinner if you don't want to walk out). The breakfast is really good. Try the masala omelette.
Both hotels also have shower heaters (commonly called geezers here).

Choose to visit pahalgam, Gulmarg, Sonmarg or all. The most commercialised one with the cable car is xxxx.

Seasons for visiting. The least visited is didn't winter. I guess it's too cold and got can't enjoy the beautiful gardens and blooming flowers. The good thing about visiting in winter is it is less crowded, so you can negotiate better guide and hotel rates. But if you are not local probably do all your negotiations with a good reference on pricing first or pre negotiate with hotels before arrival. Remember got won't have data to check rates online once you arrive.

We got a pretty good driver overall. He owner himself took us around the first few days and did a splendid job. He shared a number of tips to navigate the tourist taps and rates Somehow mid way he deployed his worker to take us around, whose service was just average. So besides getting a good company it is equally important to get a good designated driver.

Interesting either it is hard to get money changers in kashmir or it is not common info. Our foreign credit card and atm card did work at one of the HDFC ATM. Initial try at J&K bank to no avail.

One of the main itinerary for tourist is the boat ride on dal lake. I think it's really worth it if you want to re-live Hindi film scenes. Personally I'd give it a skip of you've have boat ride before.

Delhi day 1

Here begins 2015 Trip to India.

Arrived at Indira Ghandhi International Airport, New York, I mean New Delhi. Nowadays it is a little easier to get a prepaid phone sim again. There were 3 booths at Terminal 3 where international flights arrive. Airtel, vodafone and aircel. If you are travelling in cities then coverage should be good for all. But if you are travelling to more remote places e.g. like Kutch, Vodafone works better.

I bought a prepaid sim. It takes around 4 hours to activate I think (I slept and next morning it was working). You need to then call an automated interactive number (ivr), key in your last for digits of passport number to activate it. Remember you need to do this from the state that you purchased your sim card I believe.

For taxi i took the prepaid taxi. Immediately after arrival gate (still inside airport doors next to the Vodafone and aircel counter is the prepaid taxi. There have been mixed reviews on these taxis and don't know if there are better options. I took this, booking was easy seemed honest. Now when u come out had towards the black and yellow cabs and minivans. You'll also see another prepaid booth of the same operator. Easier and less people inside the gates to buy your prepaid taxi coupon. I suggest you get the taxi driver to confirm he knows where to go or at least have the hotel phone number handy.

My driver didn't give me a positive experience, he asked (very insistingly) to let him wait and pick up other passengers after he drived few hundred meters in front. I had to be firm and said no. They will then act frustrated but will usually take you to the destination. Keyword act. I think they tend to try their luck.

Arrived at Chanakya Inn hotel. The front desk manager seemed to have this don't care attitude. Interestingly for hotel reviews in India on Tripadvisor there are a lot of one time reviews that speak either way to positively or negatively of hotels. So it is pretty hard to get real reviews. Anyway after a lot of searching and cross checking reviews on agoda and booking.com (i found booking.com reviews quite unreliable too though they say it is all reviews by actual guest). Maybe the hotel gets someone to book, then refunds their booking and puts on a fake review.

Anyway that's why I guess blogs are still useful, as it is supported by the credibility of the writers previous posts. So based on my searching I found 2 hotels near the airport that were decently rated. First hotel Delhi Aerocity and secondly hotel Chanakya inn. Aerocity was full so i went with Chanakya Inn, whose rates were better.

Overall hotel was ok, quite close to airport (both terminal 1 & terminal 3). Bathroom was decent. Bed was ok BUT had stains on sheets.

 I THINK this is still overall better then some of the other hotels nearby the vicinity if you want to stay near the hotel. Room is basic, and if you don't look too much in detail, it's a nice stay. Interesting I didn't feel very cold in December, though don't think there was heating.



The toilet was surprisingly new and rather clean.

Would be nicer if they provided a floor mat or bathroom slippers as your wet feet just stains the room's floor once you come out of the shower.




They were nice enough to offer me replacement of the morning breakfast as I was checking out before breakfast time. Got nice tea, and butter bread toast. Make sure you negotiate when you check in, and remember the staff's name as the next morning he might not be around. Overall I would say value for money if you need a place to bunk for the night for your next flight. My next flight was around 6am, so I wouldn't risk staying in the city. For longer stays, if you can figure out the metro you might want to consider staying in the city depending on your luggage again. All in all, I think one of the reviews I read sums it up - this is a hotel you'd stay for proximity to airport and for a quick in and out.

Fare from airport using prepaid taxi was inr200+. The hotel charged inr400 for back to airport early morning . Their car was AC car. I tried checking uber the night before but their surcharge was wayy too high. Didn't check in the morning.

Headed back to Delhi airport safely. Some notes:

• Terminal 1: dedicated mostly for domestic and budget airline. Not sure if there is a booth selling prepaid sim cards.
• T1D- for departures
• T1C - for arrivals
• Terminal 3: for all international flights. Non budget domestic flights use this terminal. There are 3 prepaid sim card booths.