On the way to Jodhpur, Harry suddenly pulled over. We couldn’t see anything of interest, it was just a straight road with fields either side. We walked to the edge of the road and looked down to see a man supplying water to villages and fields from a well, powered by 2 oxen. We jumped down to investigate, the water in the well looked fresh and apparently is 20ft deep.
I also found out where almonds come from. They grow in these little furry pods, I bit into one to find the nut, which in this case wasn’t quite ripe. Harry informs us that in India, the fleshy pod is eaten as well as the nut itself.
The next and last stop before arriving Jodhpur, was to a Jain temple which also doubled as a venue for the oscars.
We arrived in Jodhpur in the late afternoon which gave us just enough time to dip into the hotel’s pool. After the quick refresh we headed to the market, trying some Indian teas (chai) and went to a lassi bar (India’s equivalent of a milkshake bar).
The lassi was a gloppy consistency and tasted sweet with a dollop of curd running through it. Regulars sat there having one glass after an other, served with a spoon to scrape every last drop of the sweet mixture out.
The room looked up to Jodhpur fort which we climbed up to the next day.
It is only from above that you understand why Jodhpur is known as the blue city. Traditionally, a high Sikh cast known as the Brahmins painted their homes in the earthy blue colour, eventually the trend caught on till the city became a sea in the desert.
After an exhausting drive to the holy city of Pushkar we ventured into town from the hotel and visited the holy lake (shoeless) and various ghats surrounding it. There was something very calming about seeing a large still flat expanse of water in the middle of a dry dusty town.
With our shoes firmly back on our feet we headed back to the hotel via the market stalls that line the streets. Holy cows, which freely roam around aren’t too considerate of what they leave behind, luckily I dodged this one…
By the time we made it back to the hotel it was sunset.
Sunrise, 5.30AM the next day and we’re up for our camel ride. We ride around the town then to the foots of the mountains that surround the city stopping for a cup of chai along the way.
We spent the rest of the day by the pool in the afternoon and had a great roof top dinner at the vine covered 6th sense restaurant at 7th heaven hotel. The food is brought up to the restaurant using a pulley system which you can see the ropes of on the top right of this photo.
The following morning we headed back to Delhi, stopping at an overpriced restaurant where our irritatingly attentive waiter ever so kindly reminded us 5 times that the tip was not included in the bill as he hovered around the table equally as much as the flies.
I’m currently on a sleeper train to Varanasi, the train was delayed by two hours. We make a friend on the train who informs us that this is the worst train route in India and that we are foolish for not visiting Calcutta, “next time”, I said.
The train doesn’t have a “western” toilet, but a mere hole in the floor. I’d post a photo of it but I think the shitting cow is enough poo for one post. Apparently these toilets are referred to as latrines, which I think is far too nice a name, when said enough times it sounds like the name of a young French girl. I prefer to call them “are you kidding me’s”.
Fab Miles! Lolling at the cow poo, the camel’s face and your knobbly knees – Enjoy and be safe! xx