Jodhpur

Date arrived: 17th November 2023

Date Departed: 22nd November 2023

Favourite sight: Mehrangarh Fort - how could it not be?

Average Cost: £23.33 PPPD

 A palace that might have been built by Titans and colored by the morning sun was how one Rudyard Kipling described Mehrangarh, the magnificent fort that stands guard over the blue city of Jodhpur. We spent five days here to explore the winding alleyways of the city and it's monumental centrepiece, and to see what else Jodhpur has to offer.

17th November 2023

Julie and I had spent most of our 4 1/2 hour train journey from Pushkar to Jodhpur in separate carriages, due to the foibles of the Indian train booking process. We'd managed to sit tigether by the time we pulled in to Jodhpur station however, and we battled our way through the sea of tuk-tuk drivers outside the station to reach a point where we could meet our Uber driver.

Of course, what Uber doesn't tell you is that no cars are allowed in the Old City, so we were fairly unceremoniously deposited at the gate, still about 1KM of winding streets away from our hotel. No probs - with Google Maps and our recently acquired Indian SIM card, we were able to find the place okay, and actually quite enjoyed exploring a small part of the old city to get our bearings.

The Kesar Heritage Boutique Homestay is a Lonely Planet recommended budget hotel. We were welcomed by our host, Sonnie, who showed us to our room, checked us in, and welcomed us with a complimentary Massala Chai. Always a way to get on my good side. This was offered to us from the rooftop terrace of the hotel, which highlighted by far it's best feature - it's old-town location, and stunning view of the Mehrangarh fort, standing proud above the city.

By now the sun had set, we were tired from a long day's travel, and the hotel had a well-reviewed and convenient restaurant, so we enjoyed a pretty good meal here. I even went so far as to have a beer, something that has been more scarce in India than I expected.

A few challenges started to ensue when the hotel apologised that their laundry servie was a bit behind - so could they bring us towels and a top-sheet in the morning? Of course we had little choice, and fortunately had our own travel towels and scarved stc that could improvise a layer between our skin and the itchy (and not very clean looking) blanket.

18th November 

On following up our towels we were provided with the dirtiest towels I've ever seen in a hotel. They did look (and smell) as if they had been washed, but clearly not very well for quite some time, and I would have consigned them to the bin a while ago! No sheet yet though, or indeed soap (which we'd also requested) - but nothing that couldn't be managed. We did enjoy a pretty good breakfast at the hotel, with Excellent pancakes and toast, and reasonable milk coffee.

Having booked a space on a blue city walking tour for the afternoon, we decided to save the main event, the fort, for another day when we would have no time constraints. We therefore spent the morning visiting a monument we'd seen illuminated on a nearby hill the nght before. Jaswant Thada is a stunningly beautiful marble cenotaph built at the end of the 19th century to commemorate one of the Mahorajahs. We walked through some of narrower and less busy parts of the old city that probably didn't see many tourists to get there, which was interesting as there were families going about their daily tasks, and kids playing in the streets. It was interesting the difference it made when the streets were too narrow for tuk-tuks and cars!

Jaswant Thada itself, set on the ouskirts of the city and overlooking the fort, is positioned by a small lake and protected nature park. It is very peaceful (despite a lot of vistors) and the statue of Rao Jhoda looking out over Mehrangarh is strangely poignant. it was a pity abot the smog, which significantly impacted the views. I dread to think what it is doing for the health of those breathing it in all day every day.

Clockwise from top left:

• Rao Joda looks out on the site of his fortress. Shame about the Smog;

• Jaswant Thada, in all its luminou glory. This picture doesn't capture the beautiful tranquil gardens;

• A lone tuk-tuk heads up the road to the cenotaph. There are tens more hiding behind the rock outcrop to the right.

Descending back through the decidedly non-touristy parts of the old town, we started to struggle a bit picking our way around piles of rubbish and animal output, whilst dodging mopeds and tuk-tuks as we moved onto slightly wider roads. It was nothing insurmountable, but for the first time the level of filth here was starting to get to us a bit!

We ate a nice lunch at yet another rooftop restaurant - the Dylan Cafe. It has a sister in Jaipur called the Bob Cafe. Any guess what music was playing? From here Julie was able to facetime her parents, and show them some of the magnificent views of the fort. And so on to our walking tour...

First of all we had to get there which involved travelling right across town toone of the ancient gates, on the other side of the fort. This was fine - we just walked - although I've concluded that walking anywhere in India is bloody stressful! Arriving with a few minutes to spare, we found a chai wallah and enjjoyes a cup of sweet massala-ey goodness, before joining the very relaxed multinational walking tour group. 

It wasn't the most detailed or informative walking tour we've ever done, but it certainly took us to a few places we would never have ended up ourselves,in particular in the historical brahmin part of the blue city. It also helped us to understand something of the history of the blue city, as well as giving us a bit more to research on the varous castes that make up (or at least made up - arguably) Indian society. And we got some cool piccies :-)

19th November

Today our initial plan was to go to the Fort, but having dawdled over breakfast, and taken time to drop our washing off at a local launderettte, we decided that we would leave that until the following day when we could have more of a run at it. We also managed to obtain some stamps and post the post-card I'd been carrying round for a week and a half!

On that basis we set out to find the Toor Ji Kalra stepwell, in the centre of the old town. We'd read that it had been very thoroughly cleaned up, after having been filled in and used as a rubbish dump for decades, so we were quite keen to see it. It is genuinely very impressive, an the geometric patterns of the steps make for great imagery!

As part of the cleanup of the stepwell, a coffee shop and restaurant has been built overlooking the pool. We visited briefly, intending to have lunch, but after a quick look at the menu settled for a cup of tea! There was quite a premium attached to the view. Instead we decided to go to the Omelette Shop, a tiny stand just outside of the main market square in the old town. This provided us an excellent lunch for mere pence!

We spent our afternoon back at the hotel, watching the CWC final between India and Australia. It was a good game, but not quite the same intensity as the previous final, where England and New Zealand finished dead-level and had to go to an extra over.

20th November

No more time to waste - today was the day to visit Mehrangahr. Armed with a guide book and DSLR, we set off up the hill to this mighty fortress, and spent a good few hours walking around its depths - and its heights. The Palace Museum is excellent, and walks you through a number of the main state rooms of the site. It also includes a well put-together audio guide which offers everything from a welcome message by the current mahorajah, through to various in-depth optional recordings on topics ranging from sati (the ancent tradition of ritual suicide for a widow who survives their husband) to the historical importance of opium. Particularly in sati!

Following the palace tour we explored some more of the enormous site! Unfortunately the massive battlements are now largely closed following a fatal selfie-accident a few years ago, which doesn't even bear thinking about when you look at quite how high those walls are! We spent a good four hours here in total, including a decent lunch at the on-site cafe, which ended up being far more substantial than anticipated. All-in all it made for an excellent day out! Mehrangarh is absolutely breathtaking.

21st November

Today we visited the large reservoir that sits in the centre of Jodhpur old town, and also called in at the stepwll next to it. Slightly smaller and less well restored that Toor Ji Kalra, it is not in terrible condition but is, like most things in India, pretty filthy, and home to stray dogs and Monkeys. The water looks really quite unwell - as if someone has been dumping nuclear waste here - but Julie swears she saw a turtle in here somehow!

From here we paid a visit to the excellent Sardar government museum, which is a little outside the old town. We chose to walk to it as we neede cash and a few supplies - but regretted that decision by about helf way, given the usual challenges of navigating India's streets on foot. The Museum was excellent, and had a good collection of historic art, arms and armour, sculptures, and textiles. We learned from our mistakes and took a tuk-tuk back however!

We paid another visit to the Omelette Shop for lunch, before rlelaxing for a couple of hours in the hotel for the afternoon. We also went out for dinner to a different hotel with rooftop restaurant, however were initially offered a table in the downstairs restaurant. They were hosting some live traditional music, which in the enclosed space was a little too loud for me, and made me a bit grumpy to be honest! In the end we went up to the roof - even though we were the only people there. We were pleased we did however, as the fort was well-illuminated for some kind of event, and looked fabulous. The food was pretty good too.

22nd November

With a 4PM train booked to Jaipur, we decided to deposit our luggage at the Jodhpur railway station, and then pay a visit to the ancient capital of the region, Mandore. We managed to find a tuk-tuk to the railway station, then find the luggage office, then work out that we wanted to hire a locker at 30 rupees for up to 24 hours. So far so good.

We then asccertained that we needed to fill out a form, suppply a padlock to lock the locker, and provide copies of our train tickets and identification in order to secure said locker. Good old indian bureaucracy at its finest! Fotunately a man wandered past who was selling padlocks for a pound, and one of the travel agencies outside the station had a xerox machine and could do copies for 5 rupees a piece. Simples! Well, not simples, but all sorted within a few minutes and minimal cost. Watching the chap in the office copy out our completed form onto another form in, I kid you not, triplicate, was almost funny.

So - Luggage safely stowed, time for another tuk-tuk to Mandore, about 8KM away, The town is small, but has a lovely garden complex that encapsulates the old ruined fort (the precursor to Mehrangarh) a collection of royal Cenotaphs, and very pleasant gardens, all topped with a small museum built in a previous Mahorajah's summer palace.

After exploring the fort we had some lunch - good old Dosas - and then managed to find a tuk-tuk to take us back to the station, ready for our train to Jaipur.