Triple J and the Holy Rats

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After Udaipur, our journey through Rajasthan took us through several cities with beautiful old forts and some rural areas with unique temples.

Jodphur, the blue city, had a great fort and palace complex, while the old quarters were awash in various hues of blue. Jaisalmer, the golden city, had yet another fort, but what made it particularly interesting was the fact that a signficant part of the city still lives within the fortified walls in a maze of alleyways. Jaisalmer is also on the edge of the Thar Desert (hence the 'gold') and the jumping off point for camel excursions in the desert (Sylvie couldn't resist another thigh burning, butt crunching ride on a desert beast).

In between we visited some stunning Jain Temples that feature intricately carved white marble and stone, and a temple dedicated to rats. We can't recall what made the rabid rodents so sacred, but we had to remove our shoes (thank god for socks) and negotiate around pigeon droppings to get close to the rats who scurried about everywhere while sniffing the occasional toe. Obviously some of us got closer to the action than others; perhaps we needed more of the whiskery blessings.

Editor's Note: Our apologies for the excessive photos, but we're behind on our homework and need to catch up.

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Photos

Jain Service
The photo frown hides the warm hospitality we received when we ate at the Jain Temple canteen. The veggie thali was one of the best we had in India.

Jodphur's Old Quarters
A great place to wander until you're..... blue in the face.

Roof Top Action
Indian roofs are a great place to cook, play, do laundry, dry dung and....set up guesthouse restaurants.

Rajasthani Footwear
For the Imelda in all of us.

Local School Transport
We're not sure about the Disney sponsorship.

Jodphur Street Feast
Who needs grain fed when there are good scraps close by? Yet another reason to choose the veg option on the menu unless your name starts with D.

Tacky Tourists
We just can't seem to fit in like the locals.

Dung is King
Cow dung is magic material in Rajasthan. It is mixed with wood chips and dried to create cooking fuel, and it is also mixed in with mud and ash to coat the outside of hut walls. Apparently it keeps the bugs away.

Boo!
Not sure if this scares away bugs.

Haveli Haven
Havelis were houses built by the rich merchants/traders. They feature intricately carved stoned fascade and interiors and are now often used for multi-family dwellings.

The Dark Knight
Other havelis shelter hordes of bats in the dark passageways and stairs. Yes, there were many, many more lurking about.

Water Jugs
Water is obviously an issue in Jaisalmer, so these clay pots were used to carry water from the public taps. They were attached to bikes and sitting on top of heads.

City Kitchen
This is in a house within the old city of Jaisalmer. The family invited us in for some chai and chatting.

Country Kitchen
This is the kitchen of a mud house in the desert. It was quite unexpected given the simple exterior.