Best Western Ranbanka Hotel Jodhpur

From the golden city of Jaisalmer to the blue city of Jodhpur it was another overnight train - although this time just six hours arriving at the ungodly hour of 05h30 ... so we waited a couple of hours in the sleeper passengers waiting room area just above the main station hall (check out the photo to see what that looked like!). The hotel was a great one in an old haveli with excellent views from the rooftop restaurant (great for breakfasts and a meal under the stars in the evening), and rig...

Waking up in the middle of the desert in a train somewhere between Agra and Jodhpur was amazing if not slightly confusing (considering we were meant to be in Jaipur at this point!) Didn't get much sleep all night thanks to the disgustingly loud snoring of the old man on a nearby bunk, and I semed to be lying right over a wheel... Still, was pretty exciting, and we were so relieved to get out and into a quiet early morning Jodhpur. After the stresses of the previous few days, Han and I decided...

... and for once it's not such a great thing :-) It is absolutely amazing how many men are in India... I knew that it was a male dominated society coming into the game but you really have to see it to believe it. We will often walk down streets filled with men, not a woman or child in sight. It is all very strange really - I have never been so aware of my gender (or race) in my entire life. It is difficult as I am not sure how to interact with the men here - mostly we ignore them when they sp...

A little battered and bruised, and feeling slightly travel sick, we arrived in Jodhpur. Sharwan, our driver, didn't know the place too well - perhaps you might think road knowledge would be a pre-requisite for such a career, but you would be wrong - and we spent about an hour trying to find our hotel. We eventually did, in the heart of the old walled city, tucked in the very narrow streets that were barely wide enough for a push bike, let alone the two way cars, cows, donkey carts and ricksha...

After a delicious breakfast overlooking the lakes in Udaipur, we started our drive to Jodhpur via Ranakpur. The roads themselves had seen better days - they were little more than dirty tracks and our driver had to keep swerving to avoid holes. The Indian use of the horn is different to the way it's used in England. In England it's used to say 'get out of the way', but in India it is used to say 'I am coming/here'. By virtue of the fact that cars move - indeed, that is their purpose - they are...