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Published: March 21st 2024
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We’ve just enjoyed two great days in the fascinating city of Jodhpur and I’m writing this while travelling by bus to our next hotel in Pushkar. It’s been a whirlwind of sightseeing, shopping, chatting, eating and drinking - so much to take in. A ‘feast for the senses’ as many people warned me it would be!
Jodhpur is well set up for tourism with an amazing and well preserved fort perched high the hill.
It’s much drier than I expected and unsurprisingly, our guide Kamal says it’s surrounded by desert. The nearby countryside is flat and devoid of most vegetation except small scrubby looking plant life. It must be super tough for anyone trying to farm this land.
The toughest life in Jodhpur is reserved for the people who live on the street. Right near our hotel there are whole families who live on the footpath, and even the median strip, while the busy traffic whooshes by. Both mornings I got out of the hotel for a morning walk with my new buddy Belinda who is part of our tour group, and we’ve both been upset seeing the people living on the street.
But back to our
journey, en route to Jodhpur we watched the world go by and saw how people live in small lot farms and villages. A highlight was an oxen-powered water wheel that draws water from the stream below into a channel. The other feature was the Jain (a Hindu sect) temple at Ranakpur where we were treated to a guided tour by the High Priest. The Jain philosophy is quite inspirational. I love their colour theory. My favourite colour red represents Siddha and is the great energiser. It controls the energy centre and denotes honesty. They also believe in the idea of Karma. Wise people. Although I’m not so keen on their theory about vegetables growing under the ground. They don’t eat them because they believe they have a soul. I would really miss my potatoes!!
In typical India-time we didn’t reach our hotel until 9 pm after also visiting a family who runs a cooperative selling the handwoven carpets they have been creating for many generations.
In Jodhpur itself I enjoyed visiting the Mehrangarh Fort which is perched high on the hill, presumably built to make sure you can see the enemy coming. And apparently it was never been
breached!
My least favourite story about the Fort was about the Maharajah’s wives who were expected to join their husband’s funeral pyre and burn to death in silence even though they were very much alive!! Harsh and definitely against my feminist ideals!!
The afternoon was spent shopping, firstly at a textile wholesale place where we all enjoyed a few purchases and a local market that was bustling with people of all types.
The roads in Jodhpur are as crazy as most other places we’ve been with incessant beeping (the locals call it honking) mostly to warn other road users that you’re about to overtake. It was through this riotous throng that we needed to traverse to get back to the safety of our bus so we all linked hands and slowly moved across the busy street. It was scary and funny in equal measure but clearly we survived. Cheryl (who’s a librarian) said it reminded her of the kindie kids on a group visit to the library. I’m sure many of the locals found it amusing too!
During the evening we were treated to another hair-raising rickshaw ride to a rooftop restaurant that overlooked the lights
of the Fort we visited earlier in the day.
A special mention goes to my fabulous Mum Joan. I know she’s finding the walking and particularly the stair climbing very tiring but she’s soldiering on like the resilient and strong person that she is. She’s also a wonderful travel companion and it’s a trip that we’ll both remember this special time together.
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