Rajasthan Road Trip

First off I didn't wake up to see the sunrise on either day in Jodhpur. Though I could tell you I did and it was really good and you wouldn't know because I'm still unable to upload any photos. In this I've been hindered by losing my memory card reader, then none of the other card readers or usb leads people have thrown my way have got even close. Screen messages tell me I have no photos on the camera, I know that isn't true as I can see them on the little screen. If the little screen is anything to go by some of them are quite good. One day I will add them here and this paragraph won't make any sense.


So, Jodhpur. The main sight to see was the Mehrangarh Fort, that was the focus of our day. We toured the fort in the self contained bubbles of excellent mp3 audio guides. A hell of a fort, never taken by force and you could see why. The hill to get up to it would be enough to put off most, then the walls start.


We also took in the marble Jaswant Thada and later the outside of the Umaid Bhawan Palace. This was where culture fatigue first set in for me. You can see all these places and tick them off but not get anywhere near appreciating their qualities if you try to do too much, especially when one part (the Fort) was so much more impressive than the rest. There was a balance we were yet to find between seeing plenty of sights to get value out of having the car and getting the most out of each.


From Jodhpur we moved onto Udaipur, again with a stop for some culture on the way, this time the marble Jain Temples at Ranakpur. Everywhere that we had been to before I had liked but when we got to Udaipur it had an extra something, the sort of place I'd happily spend a lot longer. As it was though we only had two nights. For the first time the task of finding a hotel room wasn't straightforward and we spent an hour or so running round the streets before I secured me and the boy Tom an excellent deal at the Udai Niwas, with the others staying a few minutes down the road.


For sightseeing we visited the derelict Sajjangarh Monsoon Palace, good views but just a shell of a building, it was originally to be nineteen floors but eventually built as three, then abandoned shortly after when it became clear water couldn't be pumped to it. Apparently a great place for sunset views, we went at midday. Then there were some gardens I cant find the name of that were comically poor as an attraction. Time to get back to the city after that, where we spent the rest of the day planning, replanning and booking trains and flights that will cover most of the rest of our time in India.


Next onto Pushkar. We'd read that the hotels book up and prices for rooms can go up by 5 to 10 times during the Camel Fair, an event that anually brings 250 thousand camels and allsorts of other action to the city. So we entrusted the arranging of a room to our driver and stayed for a reasonable price a short walk from town in the Hotel Oasis. The big boards outside advertising a swimming pool but the excitement was short lived, whilst strictly the boards were true I find the appeal of a pool to be the water contained within them, something overlooked here. Certainly plenty of camels in town though, and plenty of pushy street vendors. Again, somewhere we would have happily stayed longer.


Then to Jaipur. I'd been advised (after it was too late) that it wouldn't hurt too much to give Jaipur a miss. I wish we'd known in time. I'm sure the city has much to offer, but in the two days we were there we didn't find it. The sights weren't up to the quality we had seen in the days before, the city was congested even more than Delhi and it felt like wasted time. To make matters worse our driver started some shenanigans with hotels and not taking us where we asked to go that can only have been for his commision benefit. We payed good money for his services (though he probably doesn't see a lot of it) and it left us more than a bit annoyed. It didn't work for him as we took control and chose a place of our own but to lose trust in him so close to the end of the trip was a shame and left us feeling low. Then to kick us while we were down it was the start of stomach problems for three out of four of us, with only Sasha escaping any trouble.


Drawing to a close the road trip was Agra and the Taj Mahal. Whilst the price for foreigners to get in is a bit extreme you can't not see it. And it certainly is impressive. Not so the rest of Agra, think Jaipur with even worse pollution.


Our last journey in the Ambassador was to Tundla Junction station outside Agra for the train to Varanasi and goodbyes to our driver, who despite his late small misjudgements was excellent behind the wheel and had helped make the car trip a great success.

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