Jodhpur.......the Beautiful Blue City

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Hey Guys,
Well after a nice night train ride we arrived in the city of Jodhpur, the train was pretty good despite my ranting about the state of the Delhi Train Station. Once we arrived we got settled into our Hostel and set out to explore.

Our first stop was to vist the Mehrangarh Fort, which was built atop of a sandstone mountain and acts as a beautiful backdrop for the old city. The climb to the Fort was a little much in the heat but once we entered the Fort it was worth it. The Fort is amazing, the sheer size of it's wall is a true testament to the Fort which although was attacked many times it was never over thrown. The walls of the Fort also bear plaques of self sacrifice from the hand prints of the Maharajah's wives who threw themselves onto his burial fire and another plaque for the man who volunteered to be buried alive inside the Fort walls to ensure the Fort's success. Not to worry, his family has been taken care of by the Maharajah for the last 600 years so what's a little self sacrifice! Once inside the Fort we toured the various Palaces which are all full of beautifully carved marble and paintings. The views of Jodhpur from the Castle walls are stunning and truly show why Jodhpur is called the blue city. We lucked out too since our hostel name was "the Blue House", trust me, really easy to find😉

The next day we headed up the hill again but this time to Jaswant Thada, which is the memorial for Maharaja Singh II, the monument is made entirely of marble. The craftsmanship is very good, and there are also several mausoleums on the grounds that are also made from beautifully carved marble. I wish I could have taken a video of the kid playing the drum and singing in the courtyard, it was the best combo of cats in heat and nails on a chalkboard we've ever heard. If I could have shared it with you guys for free I would have.

Our stay in Jodhpur was really great, we were able to walk around hassle free and enjoyed seeing a somewhat calmer Indian life. The sanitary conditions are still lacking but you gotta love seeing cows eating garbage around every street corner!


Well until the next one


Cheers,

Matt & Tyne

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Photos

Clock Tower Madness
Complete with Sacred Cow

Mehrangarh Fort
This fort has never been conquered and is very impressive.

Wives Hands
These are the hand prints of the wives that threw themselves on the Maharajah's burning body when he died. I will not be following in that tradition dispite what Matt thinks.

Women working as usual
Note there are no men around - they are drinking tea under the tree in the shade!

Comments

[Jodi]

Love your Blog
Hi, I'm from the US and just noticed your blog online. My husband and I moved to Delhi India in late Sept. so I just bust a gut reading your reaction of everything....this is exactly the way I felt (feel) everyday about this place. Keep the posts coming as I would love to continue to follow. [e-mail] Jodi