Few hours from the moment I landed in Bangalore, I knew I have to come back again. My mother and I were all excited about the trip. First Stop – Jaipur, I was on a nonstop flight travels much to my liking in the past few weeks, and I had more to go.

We rested the night of the 16th before heading out for a city visit around Jaipur. The places we visited include Pink City, Hawa Mahal, City Palace, the Bhool Bulaiya Place, and the ‘Rang de Basanti’ place.

I appreciate my mom for giving me as a company. At that moment, she was the only one who could tolerate my silence and a sense of awkward behavior without asking why I am behaving the same.

Later that night, we went to Choki Dani – traditional Rajasthani village, Sawai Man Singh Cricket stadium and did a lot of shopping for my sister, cousins, and few friends. What about me?

And during this time, I went in search of oxidised bangles for a friend. Little I realised that time, I was being fooled, and she told me a year after when I finally managed to give it to her. Rajan, this isn’t oxidised bangles. Gosh, what’s wrong with her!!!

The next day, the flight to Jaisalmer was exhilarating. It was on an ATR, top of Pokhran desert, we manage to land on the Air force base. Jaisalmer has no airport, and we had strict Air force people taking us to the nearest stop point.

One of the officers showed me the area which was bombarded during the Kargil war in 1999. We relaxed for a while at the hotel before setting out to see the Thar Desert.

It was a hot afternoon; I had my jacket to protect myself from heat. We went on a jeep.

I had this fascination to ride on a camel’s back, and the driver took me to the place.

My mom wasn’t interested, so she went in the jeep and relaxed a few miles ahead in a caravan. Oh man, it’s an experience riding on a camel’s back. It’s so scary at times, because of the height.

It’s a pleasant feeling when it is sauntering, but we had to cover a lot of distance. It was like a movie, a deserted place, just me, the camel, and the camel owner.

When the camel is ambling at speed, the jerky movements are not pleasant for a newcomer like me.

Finally, I was all alone in a desert. I sat for a long time, wondering, all my life, especially the past year. A time, just for me.

And I cannot quite express how it feels to see no one for a long distance. I was alone, not lonely, though. I sensed a feeling of change in the way I looked at things. I knew the experience was worth a million dollars.

Actually, it’s priceless.

I always dreamt of the desert in my childhood. I am happy; I ticked one of the dreams off my list. Sunset was a sight to watch.

The next day, I visited on my own to Jaisalmer palace and other parts as my mom was not able to walk long distances and climb steps. Later that evening, we headed to Udaipur.

One of the reasons for the visit was to attend the wedding of Mun-Mun. She became a friend of mine during my last trip to Udaipur in 2006; she also happens to be my best buddy’s sister. I met their family, and the next two days, we went about having loads of fun.

My other buddy, Anmol, joined us too. It was hilarious. I had a chance to go to Lake Palace once again, City Palace, and other places. I (a Bangalorean) was the guide of Udaipur for Anmol and Mom.

I vividly remember the streets in Udaipur. The food was something out of this world. Overall, I was happy I managed to see all my college project mates in a few days. It started with Keith in Mumbai, and here in Udaipur, it was Anmol and Raj. Ahemadabad being close to Udaipur, I had decided earlier to drive down there from Udaipur. It was close to five hours to go by cab.

We took a flight to Bangalore, and that culminated our trip to Rajasthan.

It was five days, five flights, yet we managed to cover the places I had dreamt of. My mom was happy to see me back to my usual self at the end of this trip. I just got to know her a touch better. I owe this change in me to her.

Ok, excellent rejuvenation, here I was ready for Times Speed Quiz, India’s first Motorsports quiz.