 |
| Jodphur - The Blue City |
So I took my first Indian flight today as well, from Mumbai - Jodphur. At the comedy show the night before they slammed Air India, the company I was flying with, and I really didnt know what to expect. Again, maybe because I live in Vietnam and I'm used to poor service, I was actually impressed by how good they were. Nice, comfy seats, an inflight meal for a 2 hour flight, constant attention from the air hosts...it puts other budget airlines like Airasia to shame!
After the very short flight, I got to Jodphur around 2pm. I arrived at my hotel, the blue house, I which is a lovely B - B (Bed no Breakfast). The hotel is run by the Jain family and their mission is to make you feel like your staying at their home and not a hotel. Mission accomplished. They were so helpful and friendly and it was a joy to stay there.Now Jodphur wasn't even in my original plan, and was intended to be a rest day in the hotel, but I decided to book a tour thru the guest house and see the major sites. Wise decision.
Jodphur is exactly the kind of place you want to see when you go on a holiday. It's a walled city overshadowed by a giant fortress on the far hill, and a small, but still huge palace on the right. The whole city is walled, with a lot of the houses built into those walls. Streets are about 2 meters wide, barely enough for the auto rickshaw I was taking on the tour, and certainly too small when cows, people, or carts blocked the wall. The general vibe of the city was just "exotic", and I could certainly see it being a place where some word blocked writer might go for inspiration.
 |
| You get walk up there!....Yay? |
My driver, a nice guy who spoke basic English in a very thick Hindi accent, took me first to Merangarh Fort. A giant fortress that served as the Maharajah first home and is built on top of a mountain. The fort was fantastic, and again, you really get that old world India feel as your walking through the rooms. Of course being on a mountain, you can expect a lot of uphill climbing, with no steps either. Just steep uphill incline = me tired.
After that, we went across the way to Jaswant Thada, a cenotaph or small temple made of stone. After all the hecticness of my first three days it was strange to be in this lakeside temple in absolute quiet. Very refreshing.
 |
| I'd have been more impressed if they'd let me see more than 2 rooms |
From there the last place we went was Ra Ka Bag Palace, the last palace built here. Today, the palace has become a super exclusive hotel, so only a fraction of it has been opened to the general public. Because of that, I was a bit underwhelmed here. Only a small wing was open, and while the Maharaj who built and lived here had an impressive life - it couldn't compare with the places I'd just been.
After we finished the palace, it was getting late, but like any good tour guide, the tour couldn't be completed without a trip to the local markets. I managed to get away from the tailors shop, but wasn't as lucky with the handicrafts shop, and ended up buying a few things that I now regret having to carry for the rest of my trip.
The last stop on the tour made the shopping worthwhile, as I was taken to a local Spice Shop - one that Gordon Ramesay had visited when he came to India last year. That was a lot of fun, as the owner took me through all the spices and teas they made, as well as giving me samples. I kind of let myself go here, and bought a lot including a tea that's supposed to be good for hangovers!
Finally it was getting dark, so we headed back to the guest house where, before going in, I gave the driver a tip of 100 rupees for the trip ( about 2 USD). With a five am wake up for my bus to Jaisalmer, there's not much else I can do except for sleep. Yeah, one stereotype that definitely isn't true of India? It's extremely cold. I'm hunkered down under a very heavy blanket and am still cold. I can't believe it; I thought Canadians were immuned to this!
Tomorrow morning: Jaisalmer!
No comments:
Post a Comment