Jodhpur

Day 10 of our trip already and we had a 5am start to the day for our morning bus ride to Jodhpur. The layout of the bus was the same as from Bikiner to Jaisalmer with two seats on one side of the aisle and one on the other and sleeping compartments above. We sat in single seats one behind the other as the group were allocated seats 2 - 9. It was a chilly start to the day so we both had our jackets on, a couple of others from the group had forgotten that the temperatures had started to decrease and were quite cold on the bus. Our itinerary told us it was a 6 hour bus trip but we made good time and arrived in 5 hours. We drove through the desert landscape with small farms along the side of the road. The driver blasted his air horns at any cattle or goats on or near the road. We also saw groups of peacocks and many other types of birds along the journey. As we neared Jodhpur we saw many large quarries which supply the stones for the buildings in Jodhpur. Once at the hotel we checked in then had lunch before setting off to the Mehrangarh fort in auto rickshaws or tuk-tuks. The hotel is the same one they use on the comfort trips, it has beautiful green lawns and a swimming pool.

When we arrived at the fort there was a wedding party exiting and they stopped and allowed people to take their picture.

We had an audio tour of the fort and it was very interesting as we heard audio of the prince and his grandmother who had come to live in the fort when she was married at 16. She had seen many changes and they now live in the palace of which we had a view from the fort. We walked through a howdah gallery (Howdahs are the platforms they put on the elephants to carry the people) and a palanquin gallery (a palanquin is carried by people). Open  howdahs and palanquins are for men and the curtained ones for females.

We wandered through the many rooms of the palace viewing the armoury, jewelry, miniature paintings, bedrooms, state rooms and a cradle gallery.

The tour ended at the Mehrangarh museum shop which was full of beautiful jewelry and handicrafts. The group then met back up with our leader and we walked the ramparts of the fort where they have a collection of cannons and fantastic views over the blue city of Jodhpur.

We watched the sun set from the ramparts before walking down into the city. It was quite a steep walk passing people in their homes and out in the narrow laneways. We walked to the clocktower and took a few pictures before having one of the best lassis we have had, reputedly the best in India. Then we walked down the street and back before setting off to a rooftop restaurant with magnificent views of the fort.

After dinner we shared an auto rickshaw back to the hotel with Badam and Marcus. We played Uno with Marcus for an hour before heading off to bed with the sounds of a wedding in the background again.

Day 11 and we had a huge breakfast of omelette, toast, cornflakes, fruit salad, juice and tea/coffee before heading off for a jeep safari to the Bishnoi villages. We managed to see a couple of groups of black bucks, with their huge horns and many birds at a small lake.

Each of the villages we visited had a different industry they specialised in. One was known for the weaving, another for making pots. The children of one of the villages asked to have their photo taken so David was happy to oblige.

We also stopped and had masala chai in one of the homes of one village and the patriarch came to join us. He lived there with 2 sons and his grandchildren and great grandchildren. After making the chai the lady wanted us to take a picture of her making buttermilk.

The driver dropped us back in town near the clocktower so we decided to try another lassi which was just as good as the ones we had the night before. We headed back to the hotel which is in a quiet part of Jodhpur to relax by the pool and catch up on our blog/ journal writing. We met back up at 7pm and headed back in to the hustle and bustle of Jodhpur for dinner.