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Published: December 31st 2009
We liked Jodhpur from the moment we arrived; the streets were bustling (even more than normal due to a festival), the blue houses looked really awesome and there were cows everywhere. After checking into our (very well located) hotel and we ordered lunch on their rooftop which overlooks many of the major sites including the clock tower, Mehrangarh Fort and Umaid Bhawan Palace (the current Maharajahs house) as well as lots of blue buildings. After a huge lunch we set off to explore the streets on foot. It seemed as if a lot of people from non-touristy areas had come to town to enjoy the festival as people were calling out hello and shaking our hands constantly. Eventually we made it to the clock tower, grabbed some lassi’s and set about the tough task of people watching. As soon as my lassi arrived I regretted ordering one, I was already ridiculously full after lunch and the last thing I needed was a huge thick milky drink...so I gulped it down anyway. After some more people watching we decided to head back to the hotel so I could lie down...
Back at the hotel I was feeling quite sick, I started
worrying that my lassi had been made with dodgy milk. However after vomiting up everything I had for lunch + my lassi I realised that it wasn’t the lassi, it was self inflicted - when will I learn that my stomach isn’t as big as I think it is? Scott now has unlimited teasing credits; not only did I eat so much that I made myself vomit, but my camel was so exhausted after carrying me for an hour in Pushkar that it had to lie down and have a nap. I think my new name will be crazy fatass elephant/cat lady..
That night we headed off to Indique restaurant which gets an incredible review in Lonely Planet. Within 5 minutes of stepping out the door I had been groped by a random man for the first time in India (actually first time ever). Slightly shaken and with strict instructions for Scott not to be more than 2cms away from me we continued on our way. After about 2 minutes we came across a large group of people watching some street performers playing with fire so we stood and watched them until it suddenly clicked that the rough squeeze
Hotels new swimming pool
It's actually carved out of the rock...hmmon my butt didn’t come from Scott...awesome, groped twice within 10minutes of leaving the hotel. I could deal with once, but twice put me over the edge so we headed back to the hotel for a safe night inside away from all the horrible men brought out by the festival.
The following morning we headed to Jodhpur’s main attraction, Mehrangarh Fort which towers over the city. Included in the price of the entrance ticket is an audio tour, which was actually really brilliant. We made our way around the fort listening to the tour which was full of very interesting facts about the building, the history of the city and the current day roll of the royal family of Jodhpur, Rajasthani life and customs. From the fort you can clearly see why Jodhpur is called ‘the blue city’, you have an amazing view of hundreds of bright blue buildings which are scattered throughout the old city making it look very blue indeed! Mehrangarh Fort is an amazing building; the architecture is really beautiful, intricate and grand and it has been beautifully maintained by the trust set up by the current day Maharajah (who has no political powers but still
seems to command a lot of respect) - it’s definitely my Rajasthani monument so far.
We opted to walk home from the fort rather than taking the car to give us a chance to enjoy some of the interesting streets filled with bright blue buildings and heaps of cows. We successfully managed to find our way back to the clock tower and grabbed a drink (juice this time, no more lassi for me!) and settled in for some more people watching. After our juice we decided to buy a kilo of pomegranates for lunch - only 60rupees a kilo, bargain compared to what you pay for them in Australia!
That night for dinner we were determined to actually make it to Indique to try the delicious food that Lonely Planet raves about. We made it there safely after only having to stop to ask for direction once and grabbed a table at the wonderful rooftop restaurant. The restaurants location and the delicious, quality food was absolutely worth the price; we had an awesome dinner of chicken tikka, aloo matter, butter chicken, naan and rice complemented with a beautiful view of the fort, clock tower and lake and fantastic
service. As we were leaving down the stairs we passed a bar which also gets a mention in LP; as it was closed we peered in the window admiring all the cool furnishings. Luckily for us the owner (we assume) saw us peering through the glass and offered to let us in so we could look around - the bar, though decorated with various animal trophy’s, was extremely tasteful and definitely had a very colonial feel about it.
On our way home I decided to buy a couple of Rajasthani as our budget had already been completely blown for the day! I ended up with three small paintings; one of a tiger, one of an elephant and one of a peacock which I will have framed when I get home. Now, in the tradition of our previous trips, I have a difficult purchase to cart around for the next month (packs aren’t great for keeping paintings flat) - still they aren’t as awkward as a huge parasol or a Vietnamese hat!
The following day we set off for Ranakpur...
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