Bal Samand Palace Jodhpur

... house was at the train station waiting for us with a sign saying 'Krish', lots of people call Chris Krish as they think he is named after Krishna one of the most famous gods in India. <br> <br>Heaven Guest house was brilliant, the rooms were all gorgeous and the place was really well looked after, by far the best place we have stayed in India. It was owned and run by an Indian lady which is pretty rare in India as its usual all men, but it made such a ...

... and between the two 7 children. It was a unique experience, although the husbands where not present, you could clearly see that the Grandparent's held the power and the two women were responsible for all chores and looking after the children, while their husbands work. The family spoke no English and communication consisted of gestures and I was pushed off to the kitchen to help the ladies make Chipatis while Joel stayed in the hut to talk to the "men." The women ...

El sobrenom de Jodhpur es la ciutat blava per les cases dels brahmans, la casta superior, que pinta les seves vivendes d'aquest color que se suposa que espanta les mosques i ajuda a lluitar contra la calor. M'esperava que el blau fos homogeni pero com en aquest pais no hi ha gaire criteri per res, doncs el blau no es uniforme sino que tan sols algunes cases llueixen aquest color. De totes maneres, amb l'arribada de mes i mes estrangers ...

... br><br><br><br>On my last morning I went to another garden with a museum in it. The<br>museum was tiny and the natural history section was particularly<br>hilarious. It was full of stuffed balding mammals, broken birds and<br>some mouldy looking crocodiles! I wish I'd been allowed to take photos!<br><br><br><br>This was actually my last stop in Rajasthan and the north before I<br>headed on down to Mumbai (Bombay) on a nice 18hour train journey!

... is magnificent, or imposing, or impressive, or any of the words I've tried so far, would be to do it a grave injustice. The fort is outstanding and, more impressive yet for the region, outstandingly well curated. The audio guide (the first of its kind in Rahjastan) is entertaining and shockingly informative. It ties the long and mighty history or the Manwar province and Maharajahs to the present day city, including bits ...

... and worse still.....any grass!!! It was litterally a sign saying golf course and a load of dust. The two men sitting proudly in front of this shambles said the price had now risen to 400 rupees (popular demand by the look of it). It was unbelieveable!! Anyway we decided against it and instead headed back to our guesthouse and had another fantastic curry. Indians may not know how to maintain golf courses but they certainly know their spices.

... Crammmed rooms. The staff sleeps on the floor in the back of the building. And get this, the pharmacy is an open-air, garage style store separate and next door to the hospital. Here is the shocker--They roll maria into the operating room. The doctor and anesthesiologist go into the room and I wait outside. I start to relax, all I can do has been done.....let it go. Not. A woman in traditional Indain garments walks out and hands me a slip with about ...

... don't you think? Not a huge amount of sleep was had after that! So, I'm currently back in Jodhpur, and tonight is a 13-hour bus ride to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which will hopefully live up to the hype. And then I am planning to head north, through Delhi and up to Ladakh in the far north (NOT very near Kashmir, don't worry) to go trekking in the Himalaya. Sorry for no photos in this blog, again, but these old PCs don't like my camera. Will make up for it next time!

... phone people). I wonder what they do with those pictures... Jodhpur, known affectionately as the "blue city" due to the indigo-washed facades of many buildings in the city, is a really nice city. From the Fort, the biggest in all of India, the view of the city is spectacular. The Fort itself is definitely one of the best I've seen. It has been restored and repaired and is a true landmark destination for tourists. The audio tour provided allows ...