Jodhpur

So we (Liz, Laura and I) got on the sleeper bus in Udaipur and headed for Jodhpur. The sleeper bus was not nearly as restful as the train but at least the sleeper bus allowed us to lay flat. We arrived on the outskirts of Jodhpur at 4:00 in the morning and we were hurried off the bus onto a dark almost deserted road in a place we had never been. We hopped in the only Auto (auto-rickshaw) available and headed for the guesthouse we had booked. After some knocking and a phone call a kind, sleepy old woman opened the door for us and showed us in. We slept until 10am when we went up to the rooftop restaurant to see this!

The view of the Jodhpur Fort and "Blue City" from the rooftop restaurant of our our guesthouse
(I might have let out some expletives at the amazing sight since we had arrived in the pitch black and I had no idea what awaited me!)

We had breakfast on the roof and then headed through the blue streets up the hill to the fort. Although we tried to resist the audio-tour of the fort it proved to be really well done and very informative. Since it was included in the foreigners ticket price, what could we do.

Just as you enter the gates of the fort you will see these hands. The wives of the Raja (King) dipped there hands in vermilion (red color) and left a print on this wall when they left the fort for the last time to jump onto there husbands burning funeral pyre.

The royal chamber of the fort.

Rajasthan is known for its miniature paintings. This one, exhibited inside the fort, reminded me of the artwork of my cousins Jake and Aaron.

The top of the fort offers amazing views of the "Blue City," but you really have to be there.

We made many unsolicited friends on the tour of the fort as well.

Many people thought Laura was Punjabi (can you tell which one is the videshi (foreigner))?

The temple on top of the fort.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Jodhpur and had one last meal on the rooftop of our guest house before heading to the train station to leave Jodhpur for Delhi less then 24 hours from the time we arrived.

I have to give a shout out to the Jodhpur train station. It is by far my favorite train station in India. I didn't want to ruin the mood by taking a picture, sorry. But it has a fantastic atmosphere. It is also featured in the movie Darjeeling Limited.

Thanks to Liz and Laura for some of the pictures.