The Palace On Wheels

My coach The Alwar and our steward Ummed who looked after us brilliantly

This afternoon we boarded the Palace on Wheels. Each coach is named after a state in Rajasthan. It provides an experience of travel in the bygone era of Maharajas and royalty. They were a favourite mode of transportation then. The Indian Railways decided to discontinue the service, only to return in 1981-82 when various new heritage trains were launched to visit the regal palaces of Rajasthan. All coaches are fully air conditioned, with twin beds and a shower room. The train has 2 lounges and 2 restaurants serving Indian and International cuisines, and a 24 hour bar. Magazines, DVD’s and internet connection are all readily available. Each coach has 2 Khidmatgars, ours, Ummed & Uttam looked after us very well. They prepared our breakfasts (tea in bed if we wanted it), did the cleaning and laundry. Each morning they escorted us from the train to the coach, and were waiting for us when we returned each evening, to escort us back onto the train. Anything we needed they would get for us – batteries, memory cards, repair broken spectacles, even have a dress or suit made.

Our welcome onboard was lovely, the men were given a turban, we ladies a long scarf,
we also had a bindi put on our foreheads.
Our carriages were very well equipped with two single beds, a wardrobe and writing desk/sideboard

 And a shower room

We settled in, had dinner and departed for Rajasthan.