View the train route
View the taxi route
Date of the journey:- November 2019
Distance travelled:- 97 miles
Our next destination was Pushkar, a town bordering the Thar Desert, in the northeastern Indian state of Rajasthan. It’s set on Pushkar Lake, a sacred Hindu site with 52 ghats (stone staircases) where pilgrims bathe. The town has hundreds of temples spread throughout.
The journey to Pushkar couldn’t be done directly, so we needed to catch a train to Ajmer Junction railway Station and a bus from there to Pushkar. Leaving Rawla Rawatsar, our accommodation in Jaipur. We got an Uber taxi for the 10-minute journey to Jaipur Railway Station.
The train tickets were pre-booked through 12Go Asia, 90 Rupees each for the second sitting class (2S) option. 12Go Asia charged an 856 Rupee booking fee for both tickets.
Unfortunately, we had already pre-booked this train journey with them before being aware of their huge booking fee. Subsequently, we never used them for any further train ticket purchases. Our advice is to register with the Indian railway’s website, IRCTC. Simply register, pay the foreigners registration fee of 118 Rupees and book your tickets.
See our page on India travel tips & advice for more information.
The train was number 12181, the Dayodai express, due to depart Jaipur at 1200 hrs or the 2 hr 20 mins journey to Ajmer. This time we were train savvy. We knew we were in carriage number DS7 and seat numbers 33 & 34. Now knowing that the displays on the platform show where each carriage stops. We knew exactly where to stand on the platform.
This time the train wasn’t full so we had plenty of space and as the journey was during the day we had the opportunity to see the countryside.
Out of the cities, India is completely different. Beautifully tended fields, full of colour from the amazing clothing worn by the women working them.
The train arrived at Ajmer on time and we then needed to transfer to our accommodation in Pushkar. Research we had carried out, indicated that there was a public bus from Ajmer to Pushkar. The information advised, cross the pedestrian overpass in front of the station. The buses to Pushkar stop under the overpass. We followed this advice, but couldn’t find the public bus.
Not being able to find the bus, we headed back to the train station and got a taxi directly to our accommodation, Inn Seventh Heaven. Booked through Booking.com.
On entering the town in the taxi, there was an entrance fee of 10 Rupees per person. The charge is levied as it’s a holy town.