Hotel Residency Palace Jodhpur

... size and Martin joins in the rush and takes his shoes and socks off and is modelling flip flops like a native. I don't think they were used to foreigners, as no one seemed to speak English but they were happy to see us and tried to sell Martin a traditional shirt. Getting out while we were ahead we turn our thoughts to hats.
Now although the daytime is warm, even hot, the nights are surprisingly chilly, and the locals are wearing cardis and jumpers ...

... stay close to the fort can have accomodation in the local hotels run by the residents in there own houses ( a sort of guest house).

We returned to our hotel and took a long rest before we ventured for our final destination- Jaisalmer.

Our journey to Jaisalmer started at night when we boarded the Jodhpur Jaisalmer express which takes about 6 hours to reach.

... for a maharaja and a lot of money was apparently spent on it, as well as it taking 15 years to be built. Unfortunatley it was a bit of a disappointment as half the palace is an amazingly expensive hotel which we weren't permitted to go in, and a large chunk is where the current maharaja lives, so all we were left with was a poxy museum housing a few architectural designs and a snore-inducing collection of clocks.

The food we had ...

... stacks of new round clay pots, the kind that they use to carry water. The family shows us the grinding stone that they use to grind the wheat and millet that are their two primary grains. Also we see the small fireplace where they heat the griddle to cook the tortilla-like bread that they eat with all of their meals. At the next stop we are greeted by a stocky woman wearing a colorful sari, a pound of gold jewelry and a big ...

... for money or anything. Interesting .. Pretty rare, guess tourism has not hit this corner. M used the Fuji Instax and took some pictures and gave them which made them very happy. After which they asked the french lady to do the same on her digital camera :) They must be confused why it cannot. I wanted to take a look at the printed picture and they were so frightened ...

... as for your comment on the last blog mum.. i think Ive done very well to have one cold shower on this trip already.. that really did require alot of inner strength.. and as with everything else, have learned that there are some things best avoided) anyway, to the point, when we asked, 'there is only hot water from the taps', there was a bucket standing next to these 'taps' and it all became very clear. so a bucket full of hot water later we ...

... grain and we saw the pictures of all the different gods on the walls. Then we went to an opium ceremony, where three men who were old showed us how to make opium tea, then shared some with us. You had to drink it out of the man's hand, to show respect, and then you would let him drink out of your hand. I did not drink the opium, but Dad and Mom and Indirajit did. Then Dad smoked a bidi, which is a very weak cigarette and let me try it. I did not ...

... to Jodhpur, far larger than Jaisalmer and less touristy. We stay in a fantastic traditional 'Haveli' in the old town, a real sanctuary amid the hustle and bustle of the main town. Another huge majestic Rajasthani fort overlooks the town and the views are incredible. Looking down on the old town its a sea of blue houses. The colours, sights, smells and noises hit you at every turn. Men in white robes and dazzling turbans, huge twirling moustaches, women in vivid red, yellow ...

... and vegetables of the day. when i first started frequenting his stand, i was greeted each day by the fleshy orange-white outsides of little peeled clementines jumbled up together in jar 1, the glistening taut green spheres of hundreds of grapes in jar 2, the big bulbous pale yellow forms of peeled mousambi (sweet limes) in jar 3, and usually the beady little wine colored seeds of pomegranate squeezed tartly together in jar 4. with the changing of the season, those ...