Rajasthan – Before the trip
5. January 2026
This afternoon I’m traveling to Rajasthan – starting with the Shekawati region. It feels like ages since I was last there, especially for actual exploration. In fact, I haven’t really been in Rajasthan for quite some time, apart from a very small part during the fam trip in April 2025. In the past, I spent a great deal of time in Rajasthan and had the feeling that I knew most places quite well.
But:
- there are always new aspects to discover
- and things have changed
Therefore one has to check from time to time.
Two and a half weeks are far too short, and I don’t yet have any clear idea of how to divide the time. I think I’ll head to one place, see how long I feel like staying, and then decide where to go next. After all, Rajasthan is about the size of Germany – you could easily travel around there for many, many weeks.
1
What I like about Rajasthan are the colors, the architecture, village life, the barrenness and dryness – and the fact that there is always something to discover. Sometimes it can be a bit hard, because people try to sell things to tourists, seek attention, or assume that they need company when traveling alone. But life isn’t easy either.
2
One slightly frustrating thing is that I used to have good contact with a family in Bikaner, but that connection has been dormant for the past few years. Neither side really had the energy for it – and I wasn’t there either. When I reached out by email this time, there was no reply, not even after a follow-up. I don’t have their WhatsApp, and making a surprise phone call felt somehow impolite. Well, that’s how it is sometimes… We’ll see whether the connection re-establishes itself at some point. I still send guests there, though.
3
That’s all I have to write for now. I always find it a bit difficult with places I’ve been to before and about which I’ve already written a lot. No major pre-research, no big fantasies, no advance insights. A bit of travel fatigue, as the previous weeks and months have been quite full. But with the hope of a calm travel pace and still-present curiosity, I’ll set off in good spirits.
4
And I haven’t filmed in Rajasthan yet either. We’ll see whether that turns out to be more appealing than photography – or whether it will be both, or neither, or…