Travelling tales...

Jodhpur

Pictures

The Mahrangarh Fort was the first stop today.This magnificent fort has again 3 gates after the one entrance to confuse invaders. You get a pair of headphones and an MP3 player for this fort which is nice as you can really take your time but it's no good if you want to ask questions!

Stunning views of Jodhpur can be seen from the top of this fort as its on top of the highest hill. You can see the indigo blue rooftops of all the houses. The indigo blue was the colour of Brahmins (the highest caste in India) but was soon adopted by all in Jodhpur for it's mosquito repulsing qualities and the beautiful colour.
Next we drove to the cenotaph of the Rathore rulers of Jodhpur. My excellent guide showed me the transparent marble interior. This stuff is 6 inches thick but still the golden glow of the sun can be seen through it!
The palace hotel/museum was next. This was 90% hotel and 10% museum. Very disappointing although I did manage to slip into the hotel by "mistake" and look round. Astonishing piece of work! Fat businessmen will like it because it is close to the office. Grrrr...!
Went to the market on recommendation of the Lonely Planet and walked into hell itself. Dusty, dirty and full of quite sorry things. Walked around looking for a jewel in its crown and came away disappointed....
The night was a disaster. Stayed in and watched Father of the Bride on cable and was just settling into Tomorrow Never Dies when the cable TV went off. Great. Then I tried to erect my mosquito net which just wasn't going to happen. Kind of managed it by tying strings from the curtain rail on one side of the room and the wardrobe on the other. In between this the power failed and I was plunged in total darkness. No moon light from my view of an alley way so waited for 30 mins until it returned. Could I find my maglite? Could I %^&%^$ !!! Went to bed at 2:30am rather than the 11pm I hoped for...