Jodhpur

Click on the above image to view more.

By this time in our trip through Rajasthan we were tired of budget traveling and our only priority was to get to our next destination comfortably; so we purchased deluxe bus tickets from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur. Now there are probably many times that we have been cheated while traveling through India, but this time we were undeniably taken advantage of. We had enough sense to be cautious of the legitimacy of the bus stand so when buying the tickets we asked three, very specific and direct questions: 1 Will the bus make any stops between here and Jodhpur? 2 Will there be people standing in the aisles of the bus? 3 Will we be picking up locals along the way? The guy answered "no" to all three questions.

Five minutes into the trip, we stopped and picked up some locals who filled up the remaining seats on the bus. Five minutes later, we stopped and picked up some more locals who began filling up the aisles. Five minutes after that, we picked up even more locals who piled on top of the bus and squeezed into the cabin with the driver. This went on for the entire 8 hours and we're pretty sure none of those guys paid the "deluxe/tourist" rate. About halfway into the trip, we called the reservation office where we bought the bus tickets and complained to our man. He answered the phone immediately saying, "is there a problem madam?" After explaining our problem, he assured us that our bus would not be making any further stops. We hung up the phone knowing that indeed there were many more stops to be made.

We finally arrived in Jodhpur exhausted, irritated and hungry. After checking into the guesthouse, we made our way up to the roof top restaurant for a late dinner. By this point in the trip we were not only irritated with "the cheater" and everyone else around us, but we were also on edge with each other. A waiter came up to take our order and about five menu items that Seth wanted to order were not available. Unbelievable!

We are not sure why we were even handed menus. Everything we ordered was unavailable. After many attempts at picking off the menu, the waiter finally suggested the mashed potatoes and baked beans and we couldn't help but wonder if these were recommended simply because they were the only thing available.

The next day was much better for both of us. We took it easy and walked around the busy, narrow lanes of the city. We didn't try to fit in all of the sites of the city but just took in what we saw as we walked. On our second day, we spent the entire day roaming around the Mehrangarh Fort. We really enjoyed wandering through the ancient fort while listening to a very helpful and interesting audio tour, and the views of the city from the ramparts were incredible. All the places we had visited so far in Rajasthan were significant, but it makes such a great difference in our attitude toward the place we are visiting when it is clear the people from there also understand its value and worth. In comparison to the fort in Jaisalmer, which was overrun with hawkers and crumbling from decay, the Megrangarh Fort was very clean, well maintained, and treated with respect from the locals. Everyone we met in Jodhpur was very proud of their fort — which is representative of their past. It made us also feel very proud and privileged to be able to experience it.

Jodhpur is known as the Blue City. Throughout the entire city, the houses are washed with indigo dye. Originally, only the homes belonging to Brahmins (the highest caste of Hindus) were painted blue to set themselves apart from the rest of the population, but then others began painting their houses with the dye as well because they believed it repelled insects. Standing at the fort looking down you see a valley filled with blue; it was an impressive sight.