Well, during out time in Jodhpur we ventured up a very steep path to walk around the main attraction which is the amber fort called Mehrangarh, an amazing place with huge canons on the battlements (which run 6-36m high) as well as buzzard field skies and mischievous chipmunks in the grounds. Funny enough, it was mainly Indian visitors here so, being in the minority, we attracted all the usual stares and requests for taking a selfie with us (which we said no to!). The streets below were chaotic with too many people/rickshaws/mopeds/cars all battling for a space and frequently ending in gridlock. It was a constant assault on the senses just getting around town.
As it was the start of Diwali, we were treated to even more noise in the form of the Indians letting off very loud fire crackers (sometimes as you were walking past) and fireworks in the street (even small children were left in charge of these much to our horror). This went on all day and night which made going to sleep difficult and waking up easy! However, the festival had a positive effect on the locals as they frequently greeted us in the street and wished us 'Happy Diwali!' which made a nice change from the usual staring at us like aliens from planet Zog. We were staying outside of the main tourist area so we attracted even more attention being the only white tourists walking around but most people were friendly and we even had some shop keepers give us free Indian sweets for Diwali (though they didn't taste too good!).
For the rest of our time here we kept our venturing out time to around a couple of hours as it was such hard work so we would return to the hotel for a much needed rest from the mayhem. In addition to this the pollution was awful and it's pretty much everywhere here.
We struggled to find good/safe places to eat near our hotel so we were happy when we found a restaurant around the corner who served reasonably priced tasty/hot food which didn't make us ill. The only drawback was that we had to endure the usual staring from all the staff and other customers but we didn't care once the food was on the table!!
We thought Jodhpur was worth visiting but were surprised at the lack of tourists here and the lack of things to do/see. We visited the fort, Rao Johad desert rock park, the old clock tower/market area and the step well in town but all of these involved the usual struggles with rickshaw drivers (asking silly fares) and difficulty putting up with the heat/scorching sun/toxic air.
It was time to leave so we did our research into a place called Jaisalmer out in the desert and searched around town for a means to get there...........
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| Now that's what you call a fort! |
As it was the start of Diwali, we were treated to even more noise in the form of the Indians letting off very loud fire crackers (sometimes as you were walking past) and fireworks in the street (even small children were left in charge of these much to our horror). This went on all day and night which made going to sleep difficult and waking up easy! However, the festival had a positive effect on the locals as they frequently greeted us in the street and wished us 'Happy Diwali!' which made a nice change from the usual staring at us like aliens from planet Zog. We were staying outside of the main tourist area so we attracted even more attention being the only white tourists walking around but most people were friendly and we even had some shop keepers give us free Indian sweets for Diwali (though they didn't taste too good!).
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| View from our hotel room - a holy cow with a 5th leg growing out of it being paraded around the streets..... |
We struggled to find good/safe places to eat near our hotel so we were happy when we found a restaurant around the corner who served reasonably priced tasty/hot food which didn't make us ill. The only drawback was that we had to endure the usual staring from all the staff and other customers but we didn't care once the food was on the table!!
We thought Jodhpur was worth visiting but were surprised at the lack of tourists here and the lack of things to do/see. We visited the fort, Rao Johad desert rock park, the old clock tower/market area and the step well in town but all of these involved the usual struggles with rickshaw drivers (asking silly fares) and difficulty putting up with the heat/scorching sun/toxic air.
It was time to leave so we did our research into a place called Jaisalmer out in the desert and searched around town for a means to get there...........
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