Travels in India, 2020 - The Blue City of Jodhpur, Part 1

 We left Walsall on 14th January, 2020 and three flights, two taxi rides and twenty-three hours later we were in the northwest state of Rajasthan, in the midst of the heaving bazaar of the legendary Blue City of Jodhpur.

As always, our arrival into India was a total assault on the senses, the aromas of cow dung, incense, roses, and wood smoke hung heavily in the air whilst a cacophony of car horns, Bollywood filmi music, and bicycle bells assaulted our ears; we feebly attempted to shrug off the motley assortment of beggars, pariah dogs and touts desperately vying for our attention whilst avoiding treading in the open sewers running parallel to the curb on which we stood. Before too long a tuk-tuk pulled up, we threw our bags inside, wedged ourselves on top and gave the driver our destination address. As the driver bumped his way through the tangle of twisting Medieval lanes, many little wider than the tuk-tuk itself, swerving to avoid cows, goats, immaculately sari-clad ladies and groups of chai-drinking men clustered on street corners shrouded in wool shawls and exotically tied turbans, we wondered how we'd ever find our way out of our lodgings once - or, if ever - we'd found them.

Just when it felt that we were never going to find our destination I spotted the familiar green gates of the 250-year-old heritage haveli I'd seen pictured online (and fallen in love with) three months ago. We handed the driver a 100 rupee note (approx. £1), squeezed ourselves out from the confines of the tuk-tuk and entered what was to be home for the next five nights.

I still can't believe this beautiful heritage house cost us £15 a night with breakfast included! Link HERE.

  A smiley man gestured for us to leave our bags in his care and to climb the stairs to the roof where we were warmly greeted by hotel manager Vikram who directed us to a table and served us sweet masala chai accompanied by Marie Gold (the equivalent of Rich Tea) biscuits while we caught our breath - although we were breathless again within seconds when we looked out over the rooftop and took in the spectacular view of the imposing Megaranth, said to be the finest fort in all of India.

Chatting to Vikram and the gentle heat of the midday Rajasthani winter sunshine, the day-long journey started to take its toll and we could both feel our eyes closing and struggled to stifle yawns. We were shown to our room where our bags were already waiting, closed the door, pulled off our boots, threw ourselves on an inviting-looking antique bed and caught up on some sleep.

A couple of hours later we were refreshed, wide awake and ready to brave the maze-like city streets to explore the fort - which wasn't as tricky as we'd initially feared. On the climb uphill we were stopped by an elderly couple lounging on the doorstep of their tiny home, both fascinated by my jewellery and the vintage Indian kaftan I was wearing. Of course, this being the country we know and love we were soon beckoned inside to be shown the prized family photograph album. No wonder it always takes us ages to get anywhere in India.

Promising to drop by the next time we passed, we continued on up the hill to the magnificently muscular Mehrangarh Fort. Standing 120m above Jodhpur's skyline it was built in 1459 by Rao Jodha, the chief of the Rajput Rathore clan. We explored the museum - the fort's former palace - and marveled over the splendid Rajput architecture and opulent decor (and needless to say, I fell wildly in love with the beautiful 18th century Indian textiles on display). The network of courtyards and halls feature carving so fine that it looks more like sandalwood than soapstone.

The sun was starting to set as we left the fort. On our descent, we popped into a tiny hole-in-the-wall shop just outside the fort walls to buy a bottle of India's cola, Thums-Up (to accompany the rum we'd bought with us) which causing much amusement to the shopkeeper who called her entire family inside to giggle at the strange goras (Hindi for fair-skinned people) on the premises. Back at the Gouri we piled on the layers (Rajasthan's winter evening temperatures are pretty similar to those in the UK minus the luxury of central heating), unpacked our bags and poured ourselves a drink before heading upstairs to Indigo, the Gouri's rooftop restaurant for dinner and to once more marvel at the mighty Mehrangarh.

With thirty-five nights ahead of us, we decided to go to bed early which was just as well, the drums from the Hindu temple and the mosque's call to prayer awoke us shortly after dawn and by 8am Jodhpur's marching band had struck up directly below our bedroom window....more about that in my next post.

See you soon!

Find my entire album of Mehrangarh Fort and Gouri Heritage Haveli photos HERE.