Jodhpur, a City of blue!
Trip Start
Jan 18, 2008
1
5
11
Trip End
Feb 02, 2008
Where I stayed
Jodhpur,
India
Monday, April 7, 2008
As the day fades into the night...
Night time was approaching as we made our way through the outskirts of Jodhpur. Traffic was building up in the city and a few government buildings and the Sadar Market's clock tower were lit up in coloured lights, ready for India Independence Day celebrations on 26th January (same date as our Australia Day celebrations!).
We continue driving through narrow streets to our home for the night - Krishna Prakash 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 rooms, and chose one next to one of the courtyards with a little garden and fountain and not too far away from the main entrance. The Manager (very pleasant) told us upfront that the ceiling in the bathroom (over the bath/shower) did leak when the guests in the room above it, had a shower. That didn't bother us and the room was good value for the price - nicely furnished, decorated doors and painted borders, lead light windows, and it was quite warm too.
After registering, and freshening up, we had dinner at the restaurant (indoors, as was too chilly and windy outside) and I had a Thali, which was spicy and tasted fine, though wasn't the best Thali I've eaten.
After dinner, time then to relax, write more entries into the Journal and catch up on some sleep.
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Getting to know Jodhpur, the blue city...
After our complimentary breakfast, Janice and I walked up fairly steep narrow streets and lanes, past smiling families, some on bicycles and motor bikes near their blue painted houses, decorated tuk-tuks (auto rickshaws), dogs, goats and lazy cattle, and up the stairs to the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort, beautifully crafted and decorated Palaces, with intricately carved panels and jahlees (small verandahs), and Museums exhibiting an exquisite collection of palanquins (royal carriages), elephant howdahs (seating or saddles and some with umbrellas), royal cradles, miniatures artwork, musical instruments, costumes and furniture.
The impressive fort's foundations, and some of it's temples and buildings were built in the 1400's, but most of the fort was built from red sandstone from 1638-1678, - its walls up to 36 metres high and 21 metres wide, and spreads over 5 kilometres atop a 125 metre high hill, where you can view the whole city of Jodhpur, with it's many blue houses and buildings. Why painted blue, you ask?..well, it's due to the indigo tinge of the whitewashed houses around the old part of the city. The blue houses were originally for Brahmins but non-Brahmins soon joined in, as the colour was said to deflect the heat and keep mosquitoes away!
We decided to take an audio tour of the fort (included in the admission price) and I recommend it - you can tour around the fort at your own pace, and listen to informative, interesting recordings (with music and various 'characters') in a range of languages, with earphones; pressing the No.s on the playing device that you can put around your neck that correspond with the No.s placed at the points of interest. Simple! You do need to leave your passport at the Audio tours office, where it's stored safely, till you return your audio equipment.
We even had a local drummer who saw us, and quickly in an alcove, set-up his 2 fairly large drums, resting at angles on 2 cloth rings, smiling all the way, and drummed (using sticks) while singing Rajasthan folk songs to just us! (for a little while at least) and was very entertaining. He invited Janice to sit with him and put a turban on her head - suited her too! We happily gave him a donation each for his performance and he was most grateful.
We 'toured' there for nearly 3 hours, taking lots of pics and found this fort complex fascinating!
At the end of the tour, we decided to tuk-tuk back to the KP Haveli (a different and longer route than our walk to the Fort), and it only cost $1.50!
As Janice still had to post her box of paper crafted items (for her shop), Sanjeev drove us to the Post office and to where she could have her box packaged ready to send overseas to Aus. Because of the weight, she had to have the boxed items repackaged into 2 smaller boxes. The whole process took a few hours. Before you can send anything overseas that's larger than what can fit in an A4 envelope, and over 2 kgs, you need to have it wrapped tightly in white or a light cream cloth and all seams sewn up (by hand). This can be done by a packaging tailor/assistant referred to by the post office, or any tailor (which is cheaper). Then the parcel is sealed by stamping hot red melted wax at 7.5 cm (3") or an index finger long intervals which must bear the same 'imprint' or design (like an old coin) along all the seams. Then the paper work has to be filled out and the parcel registered (if over 4 kgs) and you must write (print) with a waterproof marker the name and address of where the parcel is going to, and all other relevant info before taking it to where you can post the parcel. Having someone around who can speak English is a big advantage, (even if you have to pay them something) as the post office system can be a little daunting, and time consuming.
Waiting around wasn't a big problem, the tea stall was next door, and it was interesting watching the 'traffic' (all sorts- motorised or not, including animals and carts) and the many differently decorative tuk-tuks and trucks passing by amazed me!
Even had a little walk and the Sewing Machine/Electrics Shop across the road sells lots of new and refurbished 'like new' black Singer Sewing machines (and other similar German and European ones like from yesteryear!), with the same or similar pedal mechanisms that were used in the late 1800's! Obviously, they're a tough, hard-wearing simplistic machine, (none of the gadgetry needed) and we noticed alot of tailors using them.
Soon after, we headed to the Sadar markets and the M.V. Spices shop (a few similar named ones were nearby to fool the tourists), which is owned by the sisters, whose father had passed away last year. This shop is renowned for their quality, quantity and variety of spices (I bought a 250g bag of Marsala Chai tea mix 'powder' for $7.20) and is the original - the first spice shop (family business) in Jodhpur and is recommended in Lonely Planet and other Indian guide books for good reason. The Manageress, Oosha, is lovely and genuine, and gave us a Chai tea each (one of the best chais I've had!). She is concerned that their business is not doing so well now, because of too much business competition in the same area with very similar names (and big signage) and are closer to the entrances of the lane way and selling almost the same spices.
We also had a delicious bite(s) to eat at the market food stalls, and then had a good look around at the markets, including an area that sells second hand clothing (incl. Saris) on mats on the ground in the open, and bargains are a plenty, and I found my Salwar Kameez, and only paid about $3 for the outfit (minus a matching scarf, which I found later, new, and at a great price too!).
Sanjeev joined us later to take us to have dinner at 'On The Rocks', a restaurant and 'cave' bar amongst and surrounded by rocky boulders, tropical like plants, a stream with waterfall and bridges, with pathways leading to a pebbly sandy area where the out-door dining area is, complete with fires burning in large metal bowls placed randomly to help us diners keep warm. Prices for the meals, which were good, were reasonable for a 'touristy' type of place.
After dinner, we made our way unhurriedly to Jodhpur's railway station, as Janice and I had booked an overnight train trip departing Jodhpur at 11:25 pm to Jaisalmere. This way, we had more daylight hours to explore Jaisalmere, rather than most of the day traveling, with sleeping on the train in bunk beds overnight, and Sanjeev could take his time driving to Jaisalmere and we'd meet up later that evening or the next morning, depending on where Sanjeev was staying.
The train trip is around 6 hours long (approx. 305 kms) and even though the trains often leave the station on time, their arrival time is often 15 mins - 1 and a half hours late! (depending how many stops it makes and deliveries it takes along the way)
Well, we boarded the train in plenty of time, joining 3 Indian men (who kept to themselves) and 1 uni grad 'down to Earth' American guy, (who we chatted with named Dustin) who were all sharing our 'compartment' containing (once the seats were set in position) 6 bunks! This 3 tiered 'compartment' was clean and had a table below the curtained window, reading lights + 2 ceiling lights, hooks and luggage rack, partitions (curtained/half walled) from the other 'compartments' in the carriage, and A/C (which was off for winter). Thankfully, it was comfortablely warm and the train attendant handed each of us pillows, a sheet and a blanket (all clean). Toilets are located at each end of the carriage (Western and Indian styles) and were reasonably clean - just stank a bit. On our e-tickets, (3A class was the only one available at time of booking) our seat/bunk allocation was Janice on the lower bunk with me on the middle bunk opposite. I, actually, had a good 5 hours sleep, though Janice drifted in and out of sleep thanks to Mr 'Snorealot' sleeping across from her (below me). We arrived in Jaisalmere 1 hour late at 6:40 the next morning.
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Comments:
When researching about India and the customs etc... prior to our trip, we read that children like to receive pens (any colour, though blue is the standard colour that is issued to the schools for children, who are able to afford to attend, and are at least 10 years old). In the big towns and the cities, children do have pens or something to write with, so really gifts of pens are more appreciated in poorer outer areas of cities, or poor rural areas and small villages.
Janice made an unintentional mistake, of giving out pens to three smiling children who asked in Jodhpur, which in less than half a minute, errupted to more than 10 children all competing around us, and yelling for pens, and trying to put their hands into Janice's bag - just chaos! Sanjeev spoke sternly to them and made them line up as best he could. Hence to say we decided to leave handing out pens to kids till we sighted little rural villages or a poor, small community school.
Tips & Advice:
If you want to have really authentic Indian food, then try vegetarian foods cooked/fried at the market stalls (meat can be risky), as it is freshly cooked and tastes great, though it can be spicey! Also try the Indian sweets such as barfi (variety of flavours) - simply divine (my favourite) and can last up to 3 weeks in a sealed bag or container. It is made from milk (sweetened) that has been cooked slowly and reduced to a fudge like consistency and can be flavoured with saffron, vanilla, coconut, pistacios, almonds, rose water...and is served as squares/diamonds (biscuit size).
Regarding the trains - usually, with smaller overnight train journeys, (like ours) you don't have a choice of sharing 'compartments' with women only, whether it's 1A class, 2A class or 3A class; the long distance trains may offer that option and you'd probably have to book months in advance. We never had a problem with any men being rude or suggestive, (on any of the train journeys we'd been on) and the train attendants are close by, patrol up and down the carriage, and will carry a large flask of chai and cups, for those that want to buy a cuppa before bed time and throughout the daylight hours. Also, it's a good idea to have your money, passport and camera with you on your bunk (best in a bag either: put under your sheet, worn on you, or near your pillow, if you're at all worried about your gear being taken while you're sleeping).
Price Guide:
* Accommodation at the Krishna Prakash Heritage Haveli - from $20. AUD a room per night. Average price is $38 per night.
* Mehrangarh Fort Entry: $7.50 AUD
* Train travel: Jodhpur - Jaisalmere 3A class (booked online) was 410 INR ($12. AUD)
Useful Links:
http://www.kpheritage.com/aboutus.htm All info, photo gallery and reservations form for the Krishna Prakash Heritage Haveli Hotel.
http://www.indiamike.com/india/indian-railways-f10/train-information-t1750/ Lots of info on Indian Railways related topics, incl the train services, train classes, train carriage layouts, etc...and links to the official Indian Railways Government Site.
