Write about someone who has finally managed to succeed at a long-standing New Year’s resolution. Holiday

Hi, world! My name is Suresh and I’m from Visakhapatnam and I would like to take you through my new year resolutions which was fulfilled in the year 2019. I had a plan from my School days that I should visit the "Pink City of India" which is in Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan.  The trip could not be materialized in the school days as my father had official commitments. I completed my schooling in 2007 and my father was transferred to Visakhapatnam on promotion from Hyderabad. Even during my college days, it could not materialize as my father had frequent travel on official work and finally I lost all hopes of visiting Jaipur.  

I completed my education in the year 2014 and after various attempts, I secured a job in the Private sector. It was in 2017 my boss asked me to be ready to travel to Jaipur I felt super excited on hearing about the place and felt that the time has come to visit the pink city however it was canceled later. I had lost all interest in going to that place.

I subsequently got 7 days' time off from work by my boss for New Year in 2018 Dec. Since I had no program initially, until I received a call from a travel agent advertising on their travel packages and this time as a surprise my travel got materialize to visit Rajasthan on a Holiday with my parents and the trip was arranged by the travel agency, I felt very excited that after 12 years the trip has materialized. On the morning of 01^st January 2019, we all left by flight from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad and took a direct flight from Hyderabad to Jaipur since we dint have a direct flight from Jaipur to Visakhapatnam and landed Jaipur at 11.30 A.M.  All the arrangements post-landing to Jaipur was taken care by the travel agency. Pradeep was our cab driver cum guide at Jaipur he was so kind and helpful and he took us to a good hotel from where we checked in. Our travel itinerary was 2 days in Jaipur, 1 day trip to Pushkar and Ajmer, and followed by a flight from Jaipur to Udaipur for 2 days trip.

Staring with the first day, Pink city travel on 1^st Jan 2019, in the afternoon. Pradeep took us first to the Albert Hall and the city palace in Jaipur. Then we all had a good Rajasthani tea which was so delicious, from the city palace we took a ride around the pink city and visited a place called Hawa Mahal which I heard from my School days and felt very happy on viewing the pink city from the top of the Hawa Mahal. The view of the pink city was so lovely, from Hawa Mahal we went to a place called Radhagovind temple which is of historic importance. Actually, the deities of Radhagovind were originally from a place called Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. They were subsequently shifted to Jaipur from the fear of Mughal invasions. After visiting those places we came back to the hotel room.

On the 2^nd of Jan 2019, the next day the cab driver took us to a good hotel where Rajasthani parathas were served and the specialty was Alu parathas and Gobi parathas followed with famous Rajasthani masala tea. After breakfast, we visited the forts of Jaipur which is Nahargarh Fort, Jaigarh, and Amer forts which is worth seeing. After visiting the forts we all had a Rajasthani thali lunch and later did some shopping by late in the evening we visited the Ethnic resort – Chokhi Dhani village, we enjoyed the famous Rajasthan puppet show and other cultural activities, folk dances and I also had an opportunity to dance along with them, the dinner was arranged at the resort, we tasted the signature dish of Jaipur Dal baati churma and other flavors of Jaipur, we reached back to the hotel late in the night.

On the 3^rd of Jan 2019, we traveled to Pushkar and Ajmer. Pushkar is said to be the only place in India having the temple of Lord Brahma in Deity form. It is at that place the annual camel fair is held every year which is very famous. We all went on a camel ride in Pushkar since a visit to Rajasthan is not complete without a camel ride. From Pushkar, we went to Ajmer and visited the Dargah of Sufi saint Shaik Moinuddin Chishti. The Dargah was simple and beautiful. From Ajmer, we came back to Jaipur and got prepared for the next day's flight to Udaipur. The flying time to Udaipur was only one hour.

On the 4^th Jan 2019 morning. The travel agent had arranged a good hotel in Udaipur. We had a cab driver and guide called Raju who was very young and energetic. The first place we visited in Udaipur was the City palace which is worth seeing and also a James Bond movie Octopussy was shot there. From the city palace, we saw the Pichola lake and the lake palace. Udaipur is called the city of lakes and mesmerizing views. From Pichola lake, we visited another lake called the Fateh Sagar lake and had a boat ride around the lake and also had another camel ride which is memorable. From Fateh Sagar Lake we visited another place called Saheliyon ki Bari which is a garden where the queens used to take relaxation during those days. From Saheliyon ki Bari we visited another place called Jagdish temple which is a historical temple in Udaipur. After visiting the temple we checked into the hotel.

 On the 05^th Jan 2019 morning, we checked out and continued our visit to another place called Monsoon palace located in Aravalli hills. From the top of Monsoon palace, the view of Udaipur with the lakes was so beautiful. From Monsoon palace we went to a place called the Haldighati. It is a place where the famous battle was fought between the Rajput king Maharana Pratap and the Mughal king Akbar. Maharana Pratap's horse Chetak played a pivotal role in the Battle of Haldighati. Chetak was fatally wounded in this battle and died. Maharana Pratap erected a small monument for his horse at the place where Chetak fell. The name 'Haldighati' is believed to have originated from the turmeric-colored yellow soil of the area. 

From Haldighati we reached back Udaipur airport and took a flight back to Hyderabad.

The trip which did not materialize from my School days finally got succeed; my long-standing New Year’s resolution became a reality in the New Year 2019 which is a memorable one.

Suresh.