Jodhpur
Our tour guide says:
“Upon arrival check into your hotel Ratan Vilas, exudes an aura distinctly its own – enhanced by its rich and varied collection of paintings, treasure troves and hunting trophies of yesteryear. Everything is well preserved by the royal family, which still uses a part of the building as its home. The magnificent sandstone building, built for Sir Ratan Singhji, the Maharajadhiraj of Jodhpur, tastefully blends the lavish interiors and modern comforts. Present day facilities are harmonized so as not to disturb the antiquity of the royal abode
After rest & relaxation we proceed on a guided tour of Jodhpur. Our tour includes the massive fort. In olden days this must have been impregnable since its rocky base is scraped straight down making it nearly impossible to ascend. Once inside, royal palaces abound with fascinating history and priceless jewels, on to the armoury and Jaswant Tara – the Royal Crematorium.
Evening, we would ride horse carriages to the Clock Tower Bazaar. This is one of India’s largest and most colourful wholesale markets especially with respect to clothes, fabrics, spices, vegetables etc. It is a fantastic experience to walk through the place observing and photographing this incredible spectacle of vibrant lifestyles and incredible colours.“
Lonely Planet says:
“Glorious Mehearngarh fort mushrooms from beneath a huge rocky cliff to dominate the once indomitable Blue City. At dusk you feel a part of a real-life movie, as the camera-shy palace peeks over awesome stone walls, and citizens mill about in the hemmed-in chaos below. Jodhpur proper stretches beyond the 16th-century border, but it’s the immediacy and grandeur of the old city, once a stop on a vital trade route, that has more and more travellers raving.”
“New Jodhpur is dirty and – bless those errant cows and those open sewers – smelly, but dive into the Brahmin-blue laneways of the old city to find boxes of snuff and boxed-cuff trousers (oh yes, the baggy-pants brigade started here!) bejeweled regalia and sensual spices – you name it, you can get it, half-price and gift wrapped.”
“Jodhpur was founded in 1459 by Rao Jodha, a chief of he Rajput clan known as the Rathores, and the city grew out of the profits of opium, sandalwood, dates and copper. Rathore kingdom was once cheerily known as Marwar (the land of Death), but today its mustached men are more about smiling for the camera.”
We say:
I forgot if our guide said if anyone was ever able to successfully attack this fort. I’m thinking no. The hill to get up to the fort is pretty steep to start with and then the turns into a gate are at a 90 degree angle making it extremely difficult for an elephant to head-butt the gate with any real force. At least that’s what the guide told us on the tour! We rode a horse carriage, but we were seated behind and watched the oncoming traffic get very close to the carriage. We even had a short conversation with a motorcycle rider while we were all moving.
We only spent one night at our hotel Ratan Villas, but the service there was one of the best we’ve experienced on the trip. The manager of the hotel took the time to introduce herself and welcome us to her home. We had to leave very early to catch a train to Jaipur, so the hotel was packing a breakfast to go for us. We left so quickly that we forgot to ask for the breakfast. On the way to the train station, a moped stopped alongside our car, said something to Jagat, our driver and handed him two boxes. Our guide who was in the car with us explained that the boxes were our breakfasts that we forgot at the hotel.
Meherangarh fort from a distance. |
The entrance gate |
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Jodhpur is known as the Blue City! |
The Royal Crematorium |
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There was one of these rooms in each palace we saw. Here is where the king would watch dancers do their thing. |
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Elephant saddle |
Elephant Saddle |
Children’s saddle |
Standard bearer coach |
This standard bearer coach. This one swings like a cradle but not for children. It was built for one “very large baby” |
A wedding carriage for the bride to the ceremony |
Maharaja Cradle |
Couples were given a gate like this one for their house to bring them luck. |
A liquor flask. Fills from the head and pours from the extended hand. |
Dumbbells for the royal women…really this time. |
Wedding dress and accessories |
Town clock tower. Still working after hundreds of years. |
A very proud vendor in Sardar Market. |
There was a whole street devoted to paan vendors. Paan can be any number of things. The most popular being a mixture of betel leaves, betel nut and chewing tobacco, since smoking in public is now against the law in most places in India. Men that chew this mixture have teeth stained red. The men spit disgusting red blobs all over the street and in corners of buildings. This man is prepping betel leaves for paan to later be rolled up in little triangular packages. There is a sweet paan that doesn’t have chewing tobacco and is used as an after meal digestive and mouth freshener. It is delicious. Just don’t stick the whole thing in your mouth at one time as Chris later discovered in Kolkata! |