Jodphur

Thursday 6th November 2008 (Wendy)

Had a lazy morning, packed and chatted with the group from the camel trek the previous night. We visited Maharaja’s Palace inside Jaisalmer Fort. The views from the palace were stunning across the town. A flying visit but worthwhile still. Allan had booked a train from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur. We left at 4pm and shared a sleeping booth with a Slovenian couple. I didn’t like them too much as he sat on my bunk the whole journey (they had booked the 2 top bunks). On the side bunks sat an old Israeli couple. We started to chat to them about all their travelling experiences. I think they had travelled almost everywhere in the world. When I asked her their secret she told me she ate lots of fruit and veg (all colours) and no junk food or alcohol!!! Not sure I can cut those out. They were in their seventies and travelling happily. He even got onto the top bunk for a sleep. Me and Allan want to be like that when we’re 70+. What an inspiring couple. Arrived at 10pm in Jodhpur. Headed out to Priya Restaurant which was really busy and had 2 thalis for 100 INR=1 pound 30.

Friday 7th November 2008 (Wendy)

Headed to Jaswant Thada, a white marble memorial with a fantastic view over the city. A wonderful place to have a tomb. Next we headed to the Meherangarh (magestic fort). It sits on top of a sheer cliff peering over the indigo colour houses below. Truly stunning building which even has Christmas balls on the ceiling in the Raj bedroom (a gift from the British empire). I had my palm read inside the fort. Very impressive!! Headed back to Priya for a late lunch and walked through the markets home. Absolutely teeming with life, a definite overload for the senses.

Saturday 8th November 2008 (Wendy)

We knew this might be an epic day and we were right. There is no train from Jodhpur to Udaipur. We hired a car with air con and a driver to take us for 3200 rupees (45 pound!!) Its quite usual for Indian drivers to overtake at anytime anywhere. Blind corners seem to be quite popular too. Leaving the city was ok as we had a road that was wide enough for 2 vehicles. 1 hour into the trip we then used a single road for the remaining 4 hours. Any oncoming vehicles (usually big trucks) play chicken and just pull onto the side at the last minute. This is all done at high speed!! A little crazy but it seems the norm. The scenery was amazing though travelling through the Aravalli hills. We stopped at Ranakpur Temple which is one of India’s most important temples and the finest in Rajasthan. The temple is carved beautifully out of milk white marble. It has a total of 29 halls supported by 1444 pillars. Certainly worth the drive through the mountains to get there even though there were many tourists. We then drove to Kumbalgarth fort. The fort was very simple but the sheer size was overwhelming. The fort walls are 36Km long enclosing 360 temples all at 1100m high in the Aravelli hills. It was so peaceful, no tourists and no honking horns and the air was clean. That’s a first in India. We finally arrived after many close calls on the road. Had dinner overlooking the Lake Palace island hotel. Just stunning.