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Published: February 15th 2020
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Highway Lunch - Thali You want to know how strong is color WHITE, well visit The Great Rann of Kutch !!!!
My wife and me had this Trip in mind from long and we always wanted to visit White Desert and explore the nothingness around us... I made some inquiry about the Rann Utsav which normally starts in Nov and goes till Feb and found that the Tent City which is highly marketed by the Gujarat govt. is definitely an experience to look for but the cost..... Extortionate !!!!
So when I checked they gave me a tariff of approx 10K per person per day, which means a 2 day trip to Rann Utsav with a partner would cost you 40K approximately. So, I thought of finding a competitive option to get this trip going. So, here you go.....
Trip started from Mumbai in Indian Railways. I could manage tickets for 3 AC only in Bandra-Bhuj Superfast express. It starts at 11:45 PM which works well as people can finish their work and dinner before boarding the train. It reaches Bhuj at 12:40 PM and heard that the train is usually on time.
Once at Bhuj station, we took an auto
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Best Chapati ever eaten in a Restaurant to nearest market which is about 3-4 KM (50 Rs) away from Bhuj station. Bhuj station is little isolated and one would not find much shops around the station.
I had done my research work on renting a 2 wheeler and one answer was common MK Auto. So, I did not waste time in finding alternatives and reached MK Auto which is located in the main market area. Options available were Honda CLIQ (800 Rs/Day), Honda SHINE(1000 Rs), Bajaj Avenger (1300 Rs) and Royal Enfield Classic and Electra (1800 rs). As a bike lover my obvious choice was the Bullet. For 2 days I paid 6000 Rs out of which 2400 Rs was refundable security deposit.
So I left from Bhuj to Kutch which is approx 80-90 Km and 2 hour ride. As you move away from Bhuj city towards Kutch, you would slowly experience existence of nothing. Population in this part of country is quite low. What you would see is some plants and dry land around you. Roads are maintained well and its one straight road. So no chance of getting lost and yes internet works well through the route.
If you have plan for
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Welcome to the Rann Utsav lunch, well I would suggest to get it done in Bhuj city only as its difficult to find anything on the highway. We were lucky to get a very small Dhaba kind of restaurant and only option which they serve that side is a usual Thali. However, the food was just awesome and fresh and natural. I just loved the chapati which was served hot from the tava. You would not find that freshness in any restaurant. (Pic Attached).
After a while you would need to stop at the check post for a permit. 10 min work with your ID copies and 100 Rs per person and 25 Rs for the Bike.
From the Checkpost its another 20 odd Km. We booked a hut in a homestay called White Rann Homestay for 2500 Rs/Day. This place is 4 Km before the White Rann. I thought it was decent deal where you get to stay in a hut taken care by a family. You get very basic facilities like bed and decent bathroom and breakfast which is Poha and Tea. After all we were here for the white sand.
So, without wasting much time we just freshened up
and left to see our long lasting wish... So we reached the Rann Utsav where you get the entry to white Rann only after showing the permit. Fromm the main gate to the famous tower is about 1-2 KM. You have camel cart ride which would cost 100-200 Rs per person for a return trip. As you move away from the main gate and ride towards the white desert you will notice the emptyness and only sound you would hear is wind touching your ears. Well that it self was an experience. We then reached near the tower and then its you and the desert till wherever you can see. of course there were many other tourists also around you and to get a pic of just the white Rann I had to walk half a Km otherwise I could find people in every frame 😊 Now, when you see just white color around you - imagine the feeling!!!! One would feel so small in the gigantic white Rann. You walk a little further and you see wherever you want and all you get to see the ocean of white sand(salt). We had the opportunity to witness and experience the
sun set. This was one amazing part of the whole trip. Near the tower you find some hawkers selling souvenirs, Tea-Snacks and also local Gujarati dress which you can rent for clicking the pics. We stayed their till it got dark and then returned to our Camel Cart. To our surprise the cart had some music arrangements and the rider was playing some nice folk songs.
Usually there are some cultural programs also in middle of Rann during festival and we too got to see a DJ-Orchestra from a local celebrity singers. You could find people enjoying the music fest and also moving their legs for some Dandiya time. I heard during Dec-Jan there are some famous celebrities also who come to perform. All thanks to Gujarat Govt.
We then moved out and reached the local market just outside the Rann. You can get some cool local stuff and fast food like Noodles, Pav Bhaji an all. There was Dominos also. There is an ATM also which was good option as I did not see any ATM from Bhuj to Kutch.
By the time we finished dinner it was around 9 PM and yes it was cold.
Riding the bike in dark cold weather in the empty street of Dhordo village was little painful. We reached our room and slept off.
We thought of going for sunrise again to Kutch but then we were too tired and did not have the guts to go out in cold 😊 So we decided to check put and goback to Bhuj while covering Kala Dungar on the way. We had the limited option breakfast in the homestay before bidding adieus to lovely people of Dhordo. Also the locals do not speak much of Hindi. So language could be little bit of challenge.
We left to Kala Dungar (Black Hills). This was one of the best part of the trip. The ride from Dhordo to Kala Dungar was just amazing. What we thought was White Rann limited to only Rann Utsav area, however actual White Rann is after Dhordo. Kala Dungar is about 70Km from Dhordo village and once you are out of the Utsav area you get to see actual white desert. One straight road (well maintained) and only white color around you till wherever you can see. Best part is here you don't need permit to get
into white desert. There is hardly any vehicle on this road to be called as Traffic. (A person who is from Bangalore-Mumbai would have tears(out of happiness) in eyes riding/driving in such location 😊 ). It was little scary also at times as you are actually the only person in about 4-5 KM radius which your eyes can see. If something goes wrong then, you are on your own. But then I must say Gujarat is one of the safest state I have visited in India. We stopped in between to collect some memories in our phones as I truly loved the ride.
Kala Dungar (Black Hills) is nothing but just a tourist attraction situated on little height. All you get to see is white desert and water from top and you will be told by local vendors is Pakistan is just 60-70 Km away from there. Well, its true but then there is nothing you can see about it. Even the binocular view was little disappointing as you get to see the so called last bridge of India which is just 70 KM before the India-Pakistan electric fencing border. However, you can again click some beautiful pictures on
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White Rann Tower the hill and have some sugarcane juice to kill the thirst and heat. It really gets hot by afternoon.
After Kala Dungar we left to Bhuj which is 100 KM straight ride. You do get some villages in this route and few options to eat.
So to Conclude, you can stay in any of the local home stay resorts for much cheaper cost if you cant afford the Expensive tent city and if you are willing to miss the event happening inside.
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