The Rann of Kutch Trip Under INR 7000

I Came, I Saw and I Still Remember!

First and foremost thank you to all the readers who appreciated Trip to Sanchi and Bhimbetka at INR 3500 blog. And if you haven't yet read that blog yet, it is TIME that you should (Clever me! Have already interlinked the blog for your reference, so there is no way that you should ignore it now :P). Also, let me assure you that this blog will be of as much use as the previous one. Since, Rann Utsav 2015-16 is being celebrated in Gujarat, I didn't want to miss the opportunity to share my travel experience to Rann of Kutch during the festival time. If I was asked to summarize my Rann of Kutch travel experience, I would say that it is one trip that changed my perspective towards Indian men, Gujarati food and female travelling in India. This easy on pocket trip was a dream come true and that is why it will always have a special place in my heart. Before the Drama Queen in me pack a punch to the travel writer in me, I must quickly get to the point as to how I was able to accomplish this trip under INR 7000.

Train Tickets: Rs. 2900 (Per person, both sides)

Sharma and I packed bags for our first ever female travel in India. We chose to leave in the second week of February 2015 and booked our tickets in advance for Rs. 2900 each. Ala Hazrat Express that can be boarded from Old Delhi Railway Station has departure scheduled at 11.45 from Delhi. The train takes nearly 22 hours and reaches its destination, Bhuj at 2PM. Since, it was our first female trip, we wanted everything to fall in place, that is why we pre-booked the hotel, which was a kilometer from the Railway Station.

Hotel Tariff: Rs. 900 (Per Night, AC Room)

Posing at the Hotel Raj Mahal's Lobby

Our hotel Raj Mahal was a decent hotel with helpful staff and basic amenities. The USP of the hotel was that it is situated just behind a popular single screen movie theatre, where we took out time to watch the Ranbeer Kapoor starrer Roy. Although the hotel did not provide any dining facility, the staff was helpful enough to guide us to some good restaurants in the area. We head out for lunch and found a lovely place to eat, which eventually remained our haunt for the rest of the trip.

Auto to Hotel: Rs.20 (Per Person)

Lunch: Rs 125 (Vegetarian, Per person)

The Tummy-Filling Kutchi Thali

Let me confess, I never had so much food that too delicious food for a sum Rs.125 in my life! And adding another feather to the cap is that you are allowed to take as many servings as you want. The Shrikhand was my favourite thing to savour along with Masala Chhachh (Masala Butter Milk) and Undhiya. All my ignorant life I thought all Gujaratis ate were Dhoklas, which were a strange mix of sugar and salt that I detested big time. Yes, the Gujarati Cuisine and the Kutchi Cuisine vary in taste but I guess if I relished the later so much, I am going to be OK with the former as well. Coming back to the topic, after finishing the lunch, we decided to visit the White Salt Desert (Indeed, this is what I came in here for!). We booked the same auto, which dropped us to the hotel from the Bhuj Railway Station.

Auto to White Salt Desert: Rs. 1000 (Both Sides)

White Salt Desert is situated some 95kms from Bhuj city. There is no bus service available thus one has to either book a cab, mini bus or a three-wheeler (like us). You can definitely bargain the fare, however, we think that we paid a reasonable amount, which included to and fro. At the edge of the White Desert is the temporary set up Tent City, which is the defacto venue of the famed Rann Utsav. Held between December and February, this festival promotes the culture and rural art of Gujarat. If our auto driver Javed Bhai has to be believed, the quake-hit Bhuj city could only get a facelift due to the celebration of Rann Utsav. The White Desert has two culturally rich villages, namely, Hodka and Dhordo on its edges. It is here that you can witness the rich art and craft of Kutch region. 

The road to White Salt Desert from Bhuj has two diversions, one of the routes leads to the Kutch Fossil Park, which we unfortunately couldn't visit due to shortage of time. Another fact that I should mention is that there are no streetlights on the entire paved road between Bhuj and White Desert, which actually freaked me out! Yes, I was scared and all through the way was plotting in mind as to how would I escape, if the driver, who was now accompanied by one of his friends would attempt to rape us (Laugh as you may, but when one is travelling alone, one ought to have thoughts like these). But, Gujarat is probably one of the safest places for women in India, not only we made it safe to our hotel but we were offered  Mahwa (a sweet made of milk solid) and a delicious dinner at one of low budget restaurants in Bhuj along with ample of knowledge about Kutch and its geography and culture.

The Venue of Rann Utsav

The Tent City is an expensive affair, so we decided not to book a stay here. We got a good chance of exploring the inside of the Rann Utsav, however were denied the access to cultural events that were only for those who booked either in the Tent City or the hotels in two villages. For us to be able to be here and see the White Salt Desert was more than enough, we had been dreaming to walk the desert for so long. According to Javed Bhai, Flamingo tour and Night Safaris are also provided to those who book in one of the aforesaid resorts. We, on the other hand spend a long time walking in the desert, taking pictures, watching the sun go down and visiting a small exhibition of armours by Indian Army.

Dinner: Rs 325 (For Three People)

We reached around 9PM in Bhuj and asked Javed Bhai, if he can assist us to some reasonable place to eat. We were taken to this shabbily maintained place, however none of us doubted the choice of our auto-driver. The food was as expected delicious and cheap, plus the hospitality the staff showed to us made me have a lump in my throat. We reached about 9.45PM at our hotel and after discussing the plan for the next day, called it a day. 

Breakfast: Rs 50 (For Two)

Yes, the breakfast costed us Rs.50. In Bhuj and may be in other parts of Kutch, one can find Dabeli, which is a street food item. It is basically a bun cut in the middle to make place for a spicy stuffing of potato, sev and tangy sauce made of tomatoes. One Dabeli costs just Rs.10 and is enough to fill the stomach of people like Sharma who small appetite. Since, one Dabeli was not enough for me, I insisted Sharma to try other street food as well. We stopped at a roadside vendor, who was making fresh Fafda, Gathiya and Jalebis. Nom Nom, how could I control the Devil Foodie in me, I walked upto the vendor with an infectious smile, to which he responded by grabbing us two stools to sit infront of a closed shop. He hurriedly fixed us a mix of items along with green chutney and grated raw papaya on a piece of a newspaper. Tea was offered to us from the  tea stall situated next to us. 

Bus Fare to Mandvi: Rs 180 (Per Person, both sides)

Although, we were being convinced by Javed Bhai to take an auto Mandvi, which is somewhere 60kms from Bhuj city, Sharma and I decided to try Gujarat Transport Corporation Bus Service. The bus stand was at a short distance from our hotel, so we decided to walk to it. There are regular buses to Mandvi, thus we boarded the latest one which appeared to be leaving in next 5 minutes. The buses are comfortable. You would find number of school children and government personals boarding the bus. There is a no commotion, everyone gets a seat and overstuffing is avoided. The landscape between Bhuj and Mandvi is scenic and the small villages that one passes through are brilliantly maintained that one cannot resist praising them. It takes about an hour and a half to reach Mandvi, which by the way has a beautiful beach.

After we got down at the bus stand in Mandvi, we decided to first visit the old ship building yard, which is no longer in use. This yard is situated opposite of the Bus Stand, thus walking is suffice to reach here. One can see some wooden ship structures and a fair amount of migratory birds Flamingo.

Auto to Vijay Vilas Palace: Rs. 60 

Entrance Fee: Rs 35 (Per Person + Rs 50 for Still Camera)

Next in the list was the visit to Vijay Vilas Palace. The beautiful palace have been the shooting location for many Bollywood flicks like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Lagaan, R.Rajkumar and several others. It's quite a place to witness, we spent almost 30-40 mins exploring the place and clicking the pictures.

Auto to Mandvi Beach: Rs. 70 (For Two)

Snacks: Rs. 60 (For Two)

By the time we reached near Mandvi Beach, we were starving, so instead of hitting the beach immediately, we decided to grab something to eat. Like every beach in India, there are food stalls on the sandy trail. We went to this little makeshift stall where the board indicated Bread Omelette and Paranthas with Omelette. It had been 4 days since we touched non-veg, thus we certainly felt the urge. We ordered Paranthas with Omelette, which costed us just Rs 20 each. While we ate, we included the owner, who by the way was also the cook in our conversation. He told us several interesting incidents of the beach and intimated us with his life story as well (Hmm, I better start working on the blog about the people I meet over my journeys, I have lots to share!). 

After finishing the full-filling meal and the conversation, we headed to the beach, where we had great time in the water and we also savoured Chana Chat, which was of only Rs. 10.

We returned to the hotel by 7PM and after resting for a while decided to book the tickets for the movie Roy at the movie theatre situated next to our hotel. We dined out at the restaurant of our choice and then quickly headed to the theatre for the movie. Unlike other cities in India, Bhuj is absolutely safe for women, we did not find a single male who behaved in a lecherous manner or passed a cheap comment. Even being out late at night, we felt completely safe in Bhuj.

 Breakfast: Rs. 50 (For Two)

 Lunch: Rs 225 (Vegetarian, For Two)

 Snacks: Rs. 100 approx. (For Two)

 Auto to Railway Station: Rs 40 (For Two)

This was our last day in Gujarat, we had a train to catch at the evening. Thus, we decided to explore Bhuj city after we enjoyed a scrumptious Khaman Dhokla, which was Rs 25 per plate. Everything that was worth seeing in Bhuj was at a walking distance from our hotel hence, commutation cost was almost zero. We walked to Lake Harmisar, Bhuj Museum and Prag Mahal. We returned about 3PM and had lunch at our favourite haunt. This time we chose Punjabi Thali over the Gujarati one, to our surprise it was also equally delicious. After finishing lunch, we headed to the same shop, where we relished Khaman Dhokla for breakfast and got some of it packed for our train journey. It was almost time to bid goodbye to Bhuj and we both realized that we are going to cherish this place forever.

Kutch is truly one destination that has changed how I thought and felt about my country. It has made me believe that India is still a cultured nation, there still are people that are selfless and not every male in the country is a lecher. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog. If you think that I have done a good job by accomplishing this trip under INR 7000 and also what I said make complete sense to you, please leave your thoughts in the comment box below.