Hotter than a snakes butt in a wagon rut!

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As normal I'll finish off Udaipur. We had drinks on our first evening on the Palace Terrace watching the sunset over the Lake Palace. Not much of a sunset to report, but all the fruit bats that we had spotted in the trees earlier that day emerged from their roosts. And my what a sight it was. The sky was filled with them flying gracefully in every direction, whilst the other birds took to their night time roosts. The two islands with their hotels and the city palace were lit up accordingly but I'm afraid to say the bats stole the show.

Our next day saw us going to the Ahar. This is where the royals and nobility have been buried and the area is full of cenontaphs (nothing like what we think of as a cenotaph). A better description for us would be mausoleums and lots of them topped with domes, all made out of carved marble. There are different shapes and sizes and well worth the visit - an oasis of calm. We also went to the folk and puppet museum and the Queens Gardens. David felt the need to visit the museum again, as he had left his hat there!

We decided to leave Udaipur a day early and crack on and come upto Jodhpur. We hired a taxi and took in the sights en route of Kumbalgarh and Ranakpur. Kumbalgarh fort is magnificent, was built in the 15th century. It is reputed to have the next longest wall outside of the Great Wall of China, stretching some 36kms. Naturally there is a walk upwards! Really you go there to experience the views and scenery, which is spectacular at all times. Everywhere we go you can hear peacocks - but we have yet to see one! We walked a little bit of the walls until the heavens opened. Our driver and car were waiting for us, but he had a flat battery. Ha ha, excellent!!! A push start down a rather steep hill, left me sitting there thinking I should have got out of the car instead of sitting in it!

Ranakpur in a Jain temple which contains 1444 pillars - no two are the same. Everything is carved in white marble which gives an illusion of space. It is of course a living temple which always makes the experience more real.

We then headed on upto Jodhpur. The journey was another three hours in an increasingly hot car and a hotter outside. Lots of bizarre overtaking, going round islands the wrong way, all manner of vehicles heading towards us and lots of eye shutting and a few silent prayers, we got to the outskirts of Jodhpur. Hmm the outskirts we have had a rather intimate view of them as the car broke down! There we are sat on the side of one of the main roads into Jodhpur, with a not very happy taxi driver and us contemplating our luck! We were about 3kms plus outside of town so with an increasing amount of helpful(?) souls around us we bagged a rickshaw into town. Now David wisely had only paid half of the cost of the trip up front and was refusing to pay the rest. This got our taxi driver even more upset, but whose fault was it? We had to push start the car, got a puncture and now the car had finally ground to a halt! He finally did get some more money from us but not the full amount - all's fair in love and war!

My this place is hot. Hot actually really doesn't describe the temperature at all well. We are staying in a little place with only a fan and no air con. You can not breathe because it is so hot. We are simply melting and I have never quite known heat like this. After our long day we managed to source some cold drinks (the mouse came free!) and collapsed into bed. I then got onto the marble floor, but decided I might get some sort of creepy crawly heading my direction and got back onto the bed. Somehow we managed to nod off, but David felt the need to wake me at 3.00am to let me know the power had gone off and he was hot - thanks sweetie for that!

We have been upto the fort here and it is fantastic. It really is. It sits high on the skyline and almost touches it. It is magnificently carved from sandstone and is detailed beyond belief. There are a myriad of courtyards, rooms, walkways and lots of steps to climb. The views over the walls are breathtaking onto the town below and the blue of the havelis are very striking against the dusty flat land. We cannot get over how intricate the carvings are.

We have looked down onto the town below and you can just make out the tiny little roads that make up the old town. You only see bikes and rickshaws, cars are too big! Every building is a shop selling fabrics, tea, incense, spices, perfume, nuts, brassware - it is endless and captivating - and we are stopping in the heart of this.

Tomorrow we are heading off to Jaisalmer to visit another fort. We are going by bus, hopefully it won't break down and despite being so hot we don't know what to do with ourselves, it really is brilliant and we are loving it here!

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