Park Plaza Jodhpur

... to allow the cow to pass quietly by. The cow did so until it came level with her at which point it turned it's holy head and gave Liz an almighty holy head butt! This, Aidan, Isobel and I, found very funny but the locals found it hilarious and all pointed their fingers at the western woman cowering from the cow! The second tale comes from a visit to a material shop. Now bear in mind that these stalls are a bit like open fronted cabins with god knows what behind. Bedspreads, carpets ...

... with delicate sandstone screens, and despite their beauty the purpose was to hide women from the eyes of men, so they would view the palace events from afar. Of course this was nearly 500 years ago...but the idea of hiding yourself from a man in India, seems to still exist today. <br><br>Also housed in the fort was a clan of bats. I don't know if bats live in clans....but it was ...

... rickshaw across the other side of town to see the other impressive Umaid Bhawan Palace where the Maharaja of Jodhpur lives. It has now been partly converted into a very expensive hotel of the Taj Heritage Hotel group with some 347 rooms, taking sixteen years, three thousand laborers and 1.5 million pounds to build. We paid to look around the few interesting museum rooms which show the original interior designs ...

... and is visible from any where in the city. It was originally built in 1806 and built onto many times. There was a very good audio tour, and that in part made this one our favourite forts. They said the fort looks like it was built by giants and angels. A prime attraction of the city is clock tower and the sadar Market near it. These colorful markets ...

... l intérieur ce qui ce passe dehors mais de dehors on ne peut pas les voir ! c'était très intéressant. Nous nous sommes arétés pour manger une omelette en pleine rue au milieu des vaches et du bordel habituel, des tuc tus de la crasse ect....Le directeur voulait absoluement qu on regarde les commentaires des touristes qui avaient mangé la ainsi que les photos ! Et il insiste et il insiste comme les rabateurs ! C est souvent un peu lourd, et je pese mes mots ! Je suis ...

... which I didn't want to as I thought it wouldn't help anyone, but apparently it did) to get any sort of response from him and mention the tourist police a couple of time, after not long he seemed to jump into action and started to make some calls and telling me things I didn't want to hear. After a whole day of tired inquire s and trips to meet various different people I had concluded that my bike had been wrongly taken off in the middle of he night but ...

... za meso, zelenjavo, rizote, krompirjeve jedi, caj...). Pri njima sva tudi vedno pila najboljsi indijski masala caj. Anilova mesanica ok. 6 zacimb je perfektna; si predstavljate pravi crni caj skuhan v mleku in zacinjen s scepcem te mesanice (cimet, ingver, klincki, kardamon, crni poper!)? Kot ponavadi ne moreva domov brez zacimb. doma se takih mesanic, tudi po 20 zacimb, pac ne dobi. Ker se ne greva domov, pac paket po posti. Njam ...

... Miss! Miss! You see my store, looking free! No pressure!" I love the Indian version of English also. Well really, all the various phrases I'm picking up from non-native English speakers. "Why like this?!" which means "why is this like this? it's not good" or "More better!" "Same Same" and my favourite.... "Why not". You ask any question and rather than saying yes...they say "why not". Can I have a water please? "why not" . It's brilliant ...

... I got back on my camel and resumed the slow trek to the golden city.... Day 6: after several days following a highway, drinking chai with bearded truckers, drifting off only to be viciously jolted awake by a large object screaming past me at 120km...I reached the Gypsy fort of Jaisalmer..... It was dusk, and as we climbed the last hill, the city made of sandstone and the old fort glittered, truly a golden city....I have never been so happy to haggle over a rickshaw.....

... Heritage Haveli, built in the 1600's. There is parking for the taxis and vehicles, and Sanjeev knew this hotel well (there is accommodation for the drivers as well) and he even caught up with a few of his driver mates there too. The Haveli is full of character and charm, with twenty eight elegantly appointed rooms with an eye for historical detail, a restaurant with 2 levels, and located practically at the base of the Mehrangarh Fort!. We had a choice of 2 ...