by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey

After a night on the rails - personally, I slept like a baby in a rocking cradle, but some passengers took a couple of nights before they slept through the constant chug-chugging and rocking - you wake in Jaipur, the Pink City.

Jaipur, the Palace of Winds.

Jaipur - the name alone spells Mughal splendor and lush treasures of Maharajas past. Here is the famous Palace of the Winds, which is no more - but also no less - than a façade; the City Palace; an incredible garden full of enormous astrological instruments, and the breathtaking fort at Amber, to which you ascend on elephants.

Lunch is served at the Rambah Palace, now a hotel but once the last official residence of the Maharaja of Jaipur. Get "A Princess Remembers" by the ex-Maharani, Gayatri Devi who used to live in the palace - it is a must-read for your journey.

Next day, Jaisalmer, the Golden City, beckons with its sandcastle-like walled city. The stunning 'Havelis', former merchant houses, have such intricately carved facades, that it is absolutely unbelievable that the carvings are made from sandstone rather than wood.

Lunch is offered on the train before a venture out into the desert north of Jaisalmer. Large sand dunes, just 80 km from the Pakistani border, have recently become a major attraction due to the camel rides available there. If this is too touristy for you, just sit, have a coffee and watch the camels in the sunset, swaying up and down the dunes, with desperate tourists clinging on for dear life.

Another day, day 4, another city named after its colorful houses: Jodhpur, the Blue City. Famed for being the birthplace of the jodhpur riding breeches, the city has yet another towering fort. This one accessible by a steep climb that gives you stunning views over the city and an insight into the splendor that was a Maharaja's life, as part of the fort has been turned into a museum.
Lunch is at the Umaid Bharan Palace, part of which has again been turned into a hotel, but the top floors of which are still home to the current Maharaja of Jodhpur.

Ranthambhor National Park at Dusk

Day 5 starts early, very early, too early if it wasn't for the fact that its Tiger Safari morning. Wrapped in blankets, you get bundled into some open-topped jeeps to visit the Ranthambhor National Park, which offers delights such as mist over the hills, a slow sun-rise, monkeys, parrots, crocodiles and, for us - a paw print of a passing tiger, but not the actual kitty itself. (CONTINUE...)