Rajasthan in a nutshell
by guest Bhavi
(Huge thanks to Bhavi for squeezing Rajasthan into a nutshell for a quick decision and train ticket reservation)
An arbitrary weekend in Rajasthan sounds like fun but you must leave soon, any later than March and you will find yourself in a living inferno.
You can pack off to Jaipur/Jodhpur/Jaisalmer-Sam/Udaipur/Mount Abu/Ajmer/Pushkar if you are looking for a laid-out weekend i.e organized fun. These are the main tourist destinations of Rajasthan and cater to all kinds of travelers from backpackers to the S class.
Main attractions in all these places are the forts and palaces primarily.
Jaipur is a quaint town and a house to the world of textiles.
Jodhpur is a princely town.It is a cultural hub and is very active on polo,sufi/folk concerts,vintage car rallies etc but the season for this is December to February.
Jaisalmer houses the famous Jaisalmer fort, the only inhabited fort in the world.Sam, 30 kms off Jaisalmer is where the dunes are. They look like a work of photoshop though but none the less you can see the dunes at Sam (pronounced sum). The famous Sam festival which attracts a lot of tourists just got over.There are a lot of villages short of Jaisalmer like ditchi etc which have endless stretches of untouched golden sand but there are no motels/hotels there.
Udaipur is a beautiful town.It is the most picturesque if you ask me.It is steeped in history.It is an expensive place but most definitely worth visiting.
Where ever you go you must try the Rajasthani cuisine i.e dal bati churma.
If you can't find decent lodging then the RTDC which is a government run chain of hotels all over Rajasthan will always be a safe bet.
Ajmer is a busy town with little to see/do. Pushkar is a junkie hot spot.It is the Goa of Rajasthan.I haven't been there myself so can't furnish you with first hand information about the place but if you ain't into mindless drugs and promiscuous sex then maybe it ain't the place for you.
Bikaner/Mahajan/Barmer/Pali are other not-so-tourist areas of Rajasthan. These are relatively untouched also under developed.Traveling to these areas is purely at your own risk..an amazing idea if you have a car and a lot of time on hand.