Since I had heard a lot about the Palace on wheels, I thought to cover the three cities major cities Delhi, Jaipur and Agra within the package offered by it. As mine was an official trip, I didn't had much time to spend on traveling. The palace on wheels offered me a 8 day package tour that involved sightseeing of the three exotic cities.

The tours started from Delhi and covered Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Ranthambore-Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Agra-Bharatpur and Delhi.

The Voyage!
Exactly at 4:15 pm, I was standing at the Delhi Cantt, the place from where the train starts. The journey to explore the royalty of the three cities starts at 4:45 pm. “Namasthe” greeted the females with a garland in their hand. They were responsible for our reception. I was overwhelmed by the ceremonial welcome and was something very Indian. As I entered the train, I was impressed by its deluxe yet ethnic look. It had all the facilities of a five star hotel and was supported by the warm ambience of cultural India. As I explored the train I found that it was acquainted with every facility from bar to Restaurants. In fact it had two restaurants and I relished myself with the mouthwatering dishes and exotic spirits in the bar. As the day finished I was quite relaxed and confident of choosing the right way to explore the three enchanting abodes.

The second day, I got up early in the morning and got ready for the enthralling day ahead. All my colleagues were fast asleep and I took the pleasure to wake them up..so that they could also enjoy the refreshing morning in India and that too on a train!!! We arrived at Jaipur at 8:30 am and I was astonished when I saw caparisoned elephants standing for our welcome. An air-conditioned coach was provided that took us for sightseeing. It was a guided tour and covered historic monuments like Hawa mahal, Jantar Mantar, Amber Fort. Our guide told us that Jaipur was the first planned city of India and was created by Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727 A.D. The most adventurous was our ride on elephants to Amber Fort.

I spend my energy as well as money on the Colorful bazaars of Jaipur. Since It was noon, we were taken to the City palace hotel to fill in our stomach and soon we explored the beautiful City palace, home of the erstwhile royal family. At the end we went to Jantar Mantar, the largest observatory in India. The AC bus then took us to back to train.

The next day we went to Jaisalmer, adorned by Thar desert. The guide on the train told us that this place was founded by Rawal Jaisal in 1156 A.D. Well we visited the famous Nathmal ji ki Haweli, Patwon ki Haweli and Salim Singh-ki- Haveli. We were also taken for the desert Safari, and took our dinner under the twinkling star with camp fire at a site. After that we came back to train and resumed our Journey.

I can sum Jaisalmer as a good escape to the desert sands to enjoy the flowing breeze. No longer one need to travel to Jaisalmer in a caravan fitting ..your carriage is the luxurious train.

The Journey continues.....
On the fourth day, we pooped in to another desert kingdom, Jodhpur. Well I spent my morning at the Mehrangarh Fort that towers over the city like an eagle eyrie. Then our entire troupe came downhill to lunch at Umaid Bhawan Palace, the largest art deco residence in the world.

The next day the train took a way to Ranthambore- Chittaurgarh. As the palace on wheel arrived at Sawai Madhopur, I was able to sense the life of wilderness. Soon we were taken to Ranthambore National Park as our breakfast visit. Our guide told us that it is one of the India's best sanctuaries and famous for photographing the activities of Tiger. After exploring the wild Rajasthan, we delve into Chittaurgarh famous for its valorous fort, its history and unending saga of passion.

On the sixth day, we thronged to Udaipur, founded by Maharana Udai Singh. Well I was quite mesmerized by the beauty of the two palaces made with white marble- the lake Palace (Jag Niwas) and Jag mandir. “ If I happened to make a house I'll make it like one of them”I thought. The two beauties were surrounded by the sparkling blue water of the Lake Pischola.

As I was involved in my thoughts, I realized that already six days had passed and we are over with our Rajasthan trip. Now we were heading towards Agra, Although I was excited to visit Agra but there was warm pain in my heart realizing that soon our magical journey is going to end. Our train halted at Bharatpur, the capital of Maharajah Suraj Mal.

And soon we were taken to Keolado ghana National Park, famous for its migratory birds, especially Saiberian cranes. If in Agra, nobody on earth can miss the seventh wonder of the world- The Taj Mahal. My entire group was quite excited to see the monument that is a symbol of love. “Wow...what a beauty???? All for love” I exclaimed. Well the dinner was provided on the board.

I quickly went to sleep in the night and the next morning we were at Delhi at 7:30 am.