The Blue City

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I am becoming much more accustomed to the long trips now. This time a mere seven hours to Jodhpur, "The Blue City". I arrived in the evening, where outside the station were the most homeless people I have ever seen. An impressive yet sad sight.

After being dropped to my hotel, which I had already booked, I was informed that the hotel was full. The manager said I could stay with him for a night or two. Reluctantly I agreed but there was no need to be so hesitant. His house was enormous with an obviously homely feel. I even got a home cooked dinner. What a stroke of luck.

The next day I hopped on a tuk-tuk to the town centre. As I approached, my eyes and mouth grew wider and wider. The most magnificent cliff top fort rose above the busy city. I got dropped at the bottom of the cliff and had to find my own way up. The was no simple task. All I could do was follow my nose through the steep winding bazaars and alleys. I even came across a game of cricket on the side of the hill. These people will find anywhere to have a game. Eventually I reached the top and nearly passed out in the heat. Ticket and audio guide purchased, I navigated through the immense Mehrangarh Fort. Awe inspiring. The view of the Old City wasn't bad either. This is where the city gets its nickname. Virtually every house was painted in Brahmin Blue. Visually stunning. Something that caught my eye inside was the collection of muskets. I'd never seen such long guns. Overall, this fort will be very hard to beat. Even though I haven't seen all of them this has to be the best.

Following my fort trip I worked my way back down the hill where I bumped into two Swiss girls, who I had met on the train in. They invited back to their hotel for drinks and dinner. Nice to have company after spending a lot of time by myself. One girl, Caroline, said she was to be in Udaipur at the same time as myself in the next few days. She even said she was to stay in The Lake Palace Hotel while she was there and invited me for dinner. I couldn't refuse.

I discovered a couple of hours before leaving for Mt Abu that I had booked the completely wrong train. I couldn't find another method of transport for a reasonable price so I had to go straight to Udaipur. First huge cock-up. I had to stay another half day in Jodhpur. I wasn't particularly happy about this because there was not much to do here. Everything was based around the fort was nothing else to offer. Happy to be leaving but this takes nothing away was the memorable Mehrangarh
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Photos

Mehrangarh by Night
What a place!

Next Sachin...?
maybe not

Comments

[tim]

Brahmin heck
Are there any Untouchables in Jodhpur or are they all Brahmins?