Jodhpur

With the amount of spitting going on in India, we’ve both been surprised to escape being spat on; that was until some paan juice came flying through the bus window onto my face during the journey from Udaipur to Jodhpur! It had to happen sooner or later. 

We were recommended a place to stay in Jodhpur from the owner of our Udaipur hotel. The place had a pool which I had planned to make use of, but unfortunately the recurrence of stomach lurgee put a stop to that. I still had some meds from my first bout, so it didn’t stop us from sightseeing.  

Jodhpur is known for the massive Meherangarth Fort, the biggest citadel in Rajasthan, and being the place where jodhpurs come from!  There’s not a whole lot else to see, which made for a welcome change of pace. We got up late and headed for the Fort, stopping briefly at the nearby Jaswant Thanda memorial.

This musician chap had a crack at teaching us how to play his stringed instrument (not sure what it’s called). Shejal managed to get something resembling a note out of it; my attempt produced only a worried look from the musician. 

We then got a tuktuk for the short (but steep) ride up to the Fort. Definitely one of the more impressive sights we’ve seen so far in India, the Fort rises high above Jodhpur perched on top of a huge sandstone rock. 

An excellent audio-tour is included with the price of the entry ticket which described the history of the fort. 

Zoned out

From the top of the Fort we could see the blue coloured houses of the old town which give Jodhpur its nickname - the blue city. 

We spent a couple of hours in the fort before heading down into town. We visited the lively local market where I finally picked up a makeshift cover for my rucksack (it has been getting filthy in the boots of buses). The market chap needed some persuading to part with the old rice bag, not because he didn’t want to sell it, but because he couldn’t understand why I wanted to buy it.