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Our second week in India led us to the golden city of Jaislamer, deep in the Thar desert. We have reached rural India and although it has taken a long time, Mau has finally stopped asking for cappuccinos and WiFi! The city is overlooked by the impressive Sonar Fort. As distinct from the other forts we have visited, the Sonar Fort is a living fort and still houses many restaurants, shops, stalls, hotels and cows. Cows can be found pretty much anywhere in India. Except fields. We also visited some of the city's famous havelis (mansions). Not a patch on Castlekeale or Cooleycasey!
Venturing deeper into the desert, we climbed aboard two camels (rather ungracefully) and roamed the sand dunes before stopping to enjoy an Indian sunset.That night we stayed in a guesthouse in the desert and we took their suggestion to sleep on the roof under the stars. Gale force winds rattled all night (okay maybe a slight exageration here but it was very windy!) and very little sleep was had. But it wasnt a total loss as Mau had a very interesting time watching (stalking) the family next door who had also slept on their roof (as is
presumably the norm for them when it is this hot). They woke when the sun came up and proceeded to hand milk the cows, take the camel to fetch water from the well and go about their morning chores.
Another city and another fort but this was so impressive - Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Citadel of the Sun. Towering above the city below it was easy to see why this was an unconquerable fort using the natural cliffs with only one entry point to defend. Despite signs of canons hitting its walls no attacker could infiltrate beyond its main gate which was at a right angle to the pathway so to eliminate the momentum that the attacking elephants would have. Similar to Sonar Fort, the views from Mehrangarh are spectacular with the Jawant Thada (marble memorial and cremation ground of the kings or maharajas as they were known) to one side and the Umaid Bhawan Palace (current residence of today's maharaja) to the other. In it's shadow lies the manic Sardar Market. We managed a meagre 30 minutes before having to abort due to the heat and the general mayhem of the place. Next we spent a relaxing couple
of days in the beautiful countryside of Ranakpur, where we visited the world's largest Jain Temple.
Our Indian adventure concluded in the beautiful city of Udaipur; a little slice of Venice nestled within the Aravalli mountain range. The city was perfect for pottering and wandering the streets. Mau finally got a nice cappuccino and Donal took the plunge and got his hair cut. We enjoyed a scenic boat ride around Lake Pichola with great views of the City Palace before embarking on a sad journey to the airport.
Our two weeks in India has been a cultural rollercoaster. India's rich heritage and history, sheer volume of people and pace of life has left us astounded. The religious faith of the people is remarkable and is evident at every turn with temples, monuments and free roaming animals. The food has been mouth watering and having embraced the largely practiced vegetarian way of life here we have to admit we didn't even miss the meat! That and the fact the place is full of dogs with no sign of a cat......... The heat nearly killed us and don't get us started on the suicidal driving but overall it has been
an amazing and memorable experience.
After a non stop couple of months we are looking forward to taking a holiday from the holiday - Sri Lanka here we come!
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