JODHPUR - FEBRUARY 15

We are spending the whole day in Jodhpur. Our hotel is not that far outside of the city, so there is not much walking to be in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Jodhpur.

http://hotelramanpalace.com/default.html

I walk with Jocelyne this morning, as we want to visit the fort first. Christine and Bernadette will visit it later in the day.

We walk all through the city, stopping many times, as there is always something going on there. Should it be shops,............. , markets, kids, ..cows, birds, ...camels, streetlife or whatever....…

....beautiful doors, pottery.........and always many details in blue.

The fort being up a hill, we try to find the stairs to reach it and here we climb…. On the way, we stop at Jaswant Thada, a marble memorial with cenotaphs of the royal family. It is a beautiful place ..............and from there, we get beautiful views over the city and Umaid Bhawan Palace in the distance (this huge place is a hotel and a museum). There is a small lake by the building and I can spot a beautiful kingfisher...It is noon and it has started being quite hot, so it we don’t feel like walking to the fort, as there is no shade on the way, so we take a rickshaw and we are there within a few minutes. The Mehrangarh fort is really huge and impressive from the outside, such high walls. The entrance fee comprises an audio guide and it is very interesting. The jali windows (lattice), the sandstone walls,.....

...

.. the golden halls,... it is so impressive...... In several rooms, there are still furniture, palanquins… From the rear part of the fort, we get beautiful views over the blue city of Jodhpur. ...In fact, the “real” blue city is behind the fort…We also get views over Jaswant Thada, we have visited just before. It is in such a dry landscape....

...

Instead of leaving the fort by the usual gate, we decide to leave it by a gate that is behind, so that we can enter the blue city, that is right at the feet of the fort. No people get out this way and in fact, there are no signs saying that it is possible to exit there.

And here we are in the blue city, exploring the many side streets…. ...............We walk quite a lot until we wonder where we are…. We just can’t recognize anything… So we take a rickshaw back to the clock tower, ..as we have to meet the 2 girls there at 3 pm and we are late already…. They wait for us at the bottom of the clock tower, in the shade. They did not visit the fort, they went shopping...

We have a delicious lassi at Mishri Lal, the best in town… Then, Jocelyne and I go shopping, before returning to the hotel. In the evening, we take a rickshaw to the train station, the restaurant “Midtown” opposite is said to be very nice. In fact, it is excellent… ...and once more, we have a delicious meal. We walk back to the hotel, as it is not too far from the train station. On the way, we can see so many people sleeping on the streets, it is heartbreaking.