Camels,culture and curry… on the Rajasthan ride of your life
ONE Monday morning, with the urge to jump on a motorbike and go somewhere a bit further than the office, I called Roro La Velle, the founder of Two Wheeled Expeditions.
And so, just a few weeks later, I am astride a Royal Enfield Bullet in Delhi, negotiating the crazy rush-hour traffic and genuinely fearing for my life.
Roro, who has travelled around the world on a motorbike, promised me the ride of a lifetime but didn’t sugarcoat it – I’d be spending two weeks touring the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, clocking up 1,250 miles on gruelling ninehour rides on dusty roads during the intense heat of summer.
By some miracle, our group – including a silver-haired New Zealander, three Canadian ladies and two retired policemen from Kent – manages to survive Delhi and reach Jaipur, famous for its Amber Fort.
We leave our smouldering machines at our hotel (a pickup truck deals with our suitcases during the trip) to dive into the culture.
Our guide Anita, a hardened Indian biker with experience of leading groups in the wilds of Nepal, takes us for delicious curries and arranges tuk-tuk rides to the very best street markets. On this outing Anita and our four female riders have henna tattoos done, while the men roam cluelessly and take selfies with a dancing cobra.
The route takes us further west and into Holi celebrations, a Hindu festival of hope for prosperous harvests, where everyone throws coloured powder and water everywhere. To get us in the spirit, Anita appears with powder and soon us blackshirted bikers are covered in pinks, yellows, greens and reds.
We then make it to Udaipur, a regal-looking town flanked by hills and lakes and boasting a series of Venetian-style bridges. Its enchanting character could have kept me here a few more days, but our tour isn’t even halfway done. For some reason, a huge feeling of goodwill is offered to bikers, with people waving enthusiastically as we speed by in convoy.
Add to this the ever-present sun, the intoxicating colours and the great camel processions and Rajasthan is pure biker heaven.
What’s more, my Royal Enfield Bullet commands a sort of mythical status here, and remains a top-tier vehicle for both Bollywood stars and ordinary mortals alike.
The journey continues to a camp in the Thar Desert before the frontier town Jaisalmer, with its ramshackle sandstone fort, and Bikaner – a remote spot near the Pakistan border where we stay in a palace.
At Mandawa, our final stop before returning to Delhi, we stay at a beautifully restored hotel once used as a gold and opium merchant’s townhouse.
After once again surviving Delhi’s rush hour, I take off my sand-encrusted jacket one last time to recall with my new friends just a few of the extraordinary things we have seen together: a ride across empty salt flats, racing camels and even, on one memorable occasion, tea with a princess in her palace. Where to next, Roro?
13-day all-inclusive trips from £3,175pp, including bike. You need a full motorcycle licence for bikes over 125cc. Women-only rides also offered (twowheeledexpeditions.com).