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Published: December 12th 2005
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I appear incapable of leaving the hotel without getting lost, and this morning was no exception. I'd noticed yesterday that the dogs here were extremely territorial, and in the dawn quiet I managed to wander into the domain of one of the most aggressive of them. As soon as it saw me, it started barking away like crazy, as well as following me as I quickly retreated, and the commotion attracted a host of other yapping mutts plus several amused locals. Given the manginess of most of the animals, I'd be surprised if any of them had the energy to actually launch an attack, but at times like this you do start to think about your non-existent rabies injections.
Undeterred, I continued my aimless searching for the Mehrangarh Fort entrance, and was soon rewarded by finding it. It's quite a distance to get to the top, but the approach was up several long zigzags, so I managed to keep some control over my breathing. At the top, I was challenged by a guard to produce a ticket, at which point I realised I'd come in the back entrance. The correct way in was close by, and it was one of
Out of the blue
Mehrangarh Fort rises above the city the more expensive places I've visited, with Rs 250 disappearing into their coffers, but an audio tour was included which was enlightening. The first interesting fact was that, when the fort was built, a hermit was unceremoniously evicted from his home on top of the rocks, whereupon he immediately cursed the place with a water shortage. The general consensus was that the curse could only be lifted if a sacrifice was made to the gods, so a generous fellow volunteered to be sealed alive into the foundations, after which water was never in short supply.
The fort has a slightly strange look to it because it was built by succeeding generations of kings, and not always in the same style. However the views from the top are, heat haze and pollution aside, rather impressive. You can certainly see that the dominant colour of the buildings down below is blue. There were a lot of eagles soaring above the ramparts and sending the chipmunks scurrying for cover every so often. A series of cannon, some local and some war booty from far-off campaigns, are trained over a wide angle of the city below.
Connected by road to the fort
is a cenotaph called Jaswant Thada, whose marble construction is often compared to that of the Taj Mahal. It's situated next to a tranquil pool, that's definitely best viewed from a distance so you can't see the scum on its surface. The cenotaph is also another shoes-off pigeon zone. Inside the building, you can see just how fine some of the marble sections are, by the fact that they appear orange due to the strong sunlight coming through from the other side. I think this is supposed to be the best place from which to view the fort, but the haze is considerable.
I was so incensed at being quoted Rs 80 by an auto driver to take me back to the hotel (roughly twice the going rate), that I ended up walking the whole way back to the hotel, which was 2 or 3 miles through a few suburbs of Jodhpur that I doubt see much tourist traffic.
I attempted unsuccessfully to get some shots of the skyline at sunset (I think the hotel is just in the wrong part of town), during which I received another helping of pigeon droppings - this time only a small
one and of a drier consistency, but slap bang on the middle of my left hand. At least this time I was able to get a comfortable seat at dinner.
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brian
non-member comment
great blog
John - found your blog really interesting, funny and informative as I'm off to Delhi, Rajasthan in a few weeks - might read it all again soon ! Cheers Brian (Brisbane Australia)