I finally go to travel again after a whopping 6 months. While it was a short trip, I still had so much fun being on my own in a new place.
Where did I go? Bikaner
Where is it? It is a small, desert town in the state of Rajasthan in India. It is rich in history and culture. It is also a army/air force base due to its proximity to our border.
How did I travel? I flew there from my city – Delhi. There are only flights from Jaipur and Delhi to Bikaner on alternate days. Being an Indian Air Force airport be prepared for flight timing changes.
How was the weather? Insanely hot. During the day, the temperature was around 40C.
Who did I go with? Ha, if you read the title – I went solo (finally!).
Where did I stay? I stayed in a gorgeous royal palace turned into a luxury hotel. (I choose nicer places to stay in while travelling solo)
COVID checks? At the airport only fully vaccinated people or people with a negative RT PCR from the last 72hrs were allowed to leave. Other folks were required to quarantine and get tested. I am fully vaccinated.
What did I do? I roamed around a little, ate A LOT, slept A LOT and shopped around for products for my brand. Bikaner (and most of Rajasthan and a lot of other parts of India) are rich in local handicrafts – hence, I went around looking for artisans that I could work with for my brand.
Here is a short photo journal –
The Royal Cenotaphs
These are memorials built for the various royal family members that have passed over the past 300 years. Some have been built in red sandstone and some in marble.
Narendra Bhavan (the hotel I stayed in)
One of the royal residences of the Maharaja of Bikaner which has now been converted into a beautiful hotel.
Laxmi Niwas Palace
Another royal palace converted into a luxury hotel, I stopped here to sample their famous food and I was not disappointed.
Junagarh Fort
The Havelis of Bikaner
My most favourite part of the entire trip – visiting these havelis. The old merchant part of Bikaner has these gorgeous almost 100 year old mansions built by rich merchants. They are now locked up since future generations of the merchants aren’t living in Bikaner anymore. My photos don’t do justice to the beauty of this place.
I visited a lot of other beautiful places too mostly stumbled across them while walking around but this blog will get too long if I include more photos. I am so glad I got to take a break and get away by myself for a few days. Maybe it’s a quirk but I love alone down time – it helps me reset more easily.
Have you been anywhere recently? I can’t wait to escape to the beach soon.
Checkout my other recent posts –
Happy Panda 
It is NOT a quirk. Alone down time is so so necessary and I‘m glad you got it. What gorgeous pictures! Love that pic of you in that amazing black dress 😃 That hotel looks so so sooo dreamy. Literal palace. Funny, years before, it would have operated exclusively for the royals. So many stories… Enjoyed looking at the pictures. Glad you had a fabulous time!
PS: Since you asked about Travel, I‘m fully vaccinated too, so setting off for a pilgrimage before college begins 😊 (I‘m going to be in COLLEGE? 🤔😱).
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Wuhuuu! Have a great time!!! Travel as much as you can when you are younger. 🙂
Oooh – when does college start? What are your pursuing? Good luck! ❤
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Looks sooooo gorgeous, and I’m so glad you’re traveling again since it seems to make you so happy! I love this post and all the pics, yay! 🤩
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Thank youuu! ❤ 🙂
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Absolutely beautiful! Glad you had a great time x
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It looks like you had a wonderful time! Bikaner is so beautiful 🙃 And you look so pretty!! And alone time is necessary for sure 😌
I absolutely love the pictures! They look so old and beautiful!
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Alone time is the BEST! Bikaner and its beautiful historical sites were amazing! 🙂
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Wow these pictures are stunning! The architecture and the art, WOW! Glad you could have a mini trip to yourself, we are still stuck at home, the country is under a lockdown!😶
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Ahhh! 😦 When will this pandemic be behind us? Hoping you all get through this wave and get through the other side soon. Praying for SL. ❤
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Thank you soo much!💕
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Wow, Bikaner looks like a gorgeous place! I love getting to visit old architecture – there’s a certain aura and mystery to them. Totally agree with you on alone time!
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Same! Historical monuments/buildings just make me feel so dreamy – imagining what life may have been like in their heyday.
Alone time = best time.
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I love older architecture. I am in awe of how things were built with minimal equipment and mostly manual labour.
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Same! From the Pyramids of Giza to Machu Picchu to Great Wall of China to the 1000s of historical monuments still standing in India – I wonder how they did it!!!
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Bikaner is a beautiful place having rich historical and cultural heritage. 27 Jan 1987 was the first time I had put my foot in Bikaner.
Breaks are a must in life.
Beautiful pictures.
Stay blessed always.
🙏🌻🙏
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Bikaner is really pretty – I am glad I went.
Thank you so much. 🙂
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Whoa! Bikaner looks amazing, and you too. Seems like you had a wonderful time there…♥️
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I really did! Taking a break is so so important. 🙂
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Sounds amazing and your pictures look beautiful, I just booked my first solo trip and I’m so excited!!
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Wuhuuu! I hope you have an amazing time – can’t wait to hear how it went! ❤
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Thank you!!
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I’m so happy for you that you were able to do this! Looks gorgeous!
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This seems to be like a less explored place , and travelling solo is like meditation 👍🏻👍🏻
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It isn’t as touristy as some of the other places in the region – it also has extreme weather conditions since it is a dessert. Travelling solo is the best experience especially to just reset and refresh. 🙂
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I agree that , it has some special feeling when we travel solo ✌🏻
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Desert* 😀
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omg such stunning photography!! i think it’s so cool you got to spend some alone time, wish i can do that too someday 😍
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Thank you!!
Solo travel = the best! You can do things at your own pace and just enjoy your own company. 🙂 I hope you get to do it too.
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What a lovely place to visit! You’ve traveled after only 6 months? Are almost 2 years that I don’t travel…oh how I miss it 🧳 but it seems will take even longer until they’ll open the borders 🙈
Enjoy your travels 😉
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India is such a big country – so much to see (I’ve barely seen 2-3% of my own country). So while I haven’t left the country – I did two trips in the past year – one to the far east and one to the far west of the country. 🙂
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A good way to discover your own country 😉🧳
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Wow… how wondaful!! The Bikaner looks stunning!
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Glad to know that finally you went out and explored Bikaner. I haven’t been on that side of Rajasthan yet!
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Me too – this is my first trip beyond Jodhpur. Hoping to visit Jaisalmer next. 🙂
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Oh my god, this place looks STUNNING! 😍 I have never been to India but it seems exactly how I picture it ahah! It’s also amazing that you finallygot to travel again (and solo!), I hope you’ll have many more experiences like this one!
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It is! I hope you get to visit India once the situation improves. I’d love to show you around! 🙂
Me too – I hope I get to travel more frequently and get quality me time. How have you been? ❤
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For sure India has been on my list for ages! It just looks like a wonderful country and I would love to get to know more of its history too!
I have been great, thanks! Finding time for blogging has been a bit hard lately but I am slowly getting back into it! What about you?
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So glad you got to do a bit of travelling!! It’s so amazing to feel a bit normal again ❤️❤️
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I enjoyed the post.
You have a total of 30 pics in the post. Does it look overloaded? I love exploring architecture & your pictures helped me.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us. Keep smiling.😊
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The place looks so peaceful for a solo trip. I haven’t gotten my vaccine probably next week as I keep postponing. So glad you had a great time
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Oh wow. These are travel goals, Moksha. Those palaces-turned-hotels look amazing! The photos are so beautiful. I’m glad that you had such a great time
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Beautiful photos! I have a solo trip to India on my list. Thank you for putting Bikaner on my radar. ❤
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