Blogs from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 4

With palaces that still evoke the splendour of their imperial past and the Thar Desert’s never-ending sand dunes that appear like golden-hued paintings, there's no shortage of places to visit in Rajasthan. The Land of Kings, Rajasthan is well known for its stunning heritage sites, luxurious hotels, scenic lakes and desert stretches that look straight out of Arabian Nights. Hop on a camel to explore Jaisalmer's fabled dunes, sail on Mount Abu's Nakki Lake on a paddleboat, dinner at Udaipur’s lake palace or have an inimitable indulgence viewing the hawelis and forts of Jodhpur - Rajasthan's palette of unparalleled experiences is kaleidoscopic. Having already travelled to Jaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar, Udaipur and Mt. Abu, I decided to spend my week this time amidst the forts of Jodhpur and sand dunes of Jaisalmer. An overnight Volvo journey took ... read more

My family, husband Greg and daughter Niamh (9) have been planning a 5 month trip in 2015. Tickets are now all booked and our itinerary is as follows Northern India for 30 nights, Myanmar for 14 nights, Laos for 14 nights, Cambodia for 10 nights, Vietnam for 21 nights, China for 6 nights, Japan for 21 nights, Latin America visiting Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua and finally Cosa Rica flying back to UK in late August. Full of excitement and trepidation we need to get started with planning as we leave on 30th March 2015. My main concern over this whole trip is India. A place that I'm really looking forward to going to but because we are covering such a whole area of it, and conflicting advice on the web do I really need ... read more

Day 8 - bus to Jodhpur I was up at 5.15 this morning. I was pleased that I had packed my bags last night before going to bed. It was just a case if getting a quick shower; my clothes were also prepared, then off! Again, there were no late comers, so we were able to get straight onto the bus and away. After about 10 minutes the bus pulled into the local bus station. We had 20 minutes to allow the locals to get on the bus, get sorted etc. We took this opportunity to ha pave a cup of chai. I must say, I am not a fan of the chai, as it is far too sweet for me. My favourite hot morning drink would be a cup of black Earl Grey, or a ... read more

The Bishnois are a sect of Hinduism that take drastic measures to preserve and co-exist with the natural environment in which they reside. Primarily descendants of Jats, a caste of pastoralists from northern India and Pakistan, they have now settled in a number of small villages in the extremely dry Thar desert of Rajasthan. The name Bishnoi means 29, representing the 29 principles put forth by the founder Guru Jambheshwar approximately 540 years ago. These include several eco-friendly restrictions that aim to protect the trees and wildlife of the region. The Guru believed that hurting the environment can be equated with hurting oneself. Today, most Bishnoi do not consume meat or alcohol, fell trees that are still alive, or burn wood that may have insects on it. They also practice humane husbandry of the cattle on ... read more

Hello again! Leading on from my last post, we have explored 3 more places within Rajasthan - Jaipur, the largest of the three, also known as the pink city, Jaiselmer - a small town on the outskirts of the Thar desert, and Jodhpur, a beautiful city, known for its blue painted buildings. We spent 4 days in Jaipur and managed to see quite a lot in that time - the Amber Fort, a magnificent fort surrounded by a wall which looks a lot like the great wall of China! Within it, it has beautiful rooms and gardens and the audio guide brought it all to life. We also went up to see the monkey temple dedicated to Hanuman, one of the Hindu Gods, which was full of macaques and had a lively view of Jaipur from ... read more