The Blue City
Trip Start
Oct 30, 2005
1
40
122
Trip End
Ongoing
Jodhpur,
India
Monday, January 23, 2006
We arrived in Jodhpur and started walking to find our accommodation. Our guesthouse had warned us that there was another place that had a similar name, but was not the same place. Wandering the street, we asked directions, only to be told different things each time we asked. After probably doing a few laps, and wasting about 1 hour, we were finally given good directions, but arriving, we weren't sure if this was the real, or the fake guesthouse
Afternoon Tea, Cosy Guesthouse
. Glenn quizzed them about their phone number and finally after seeing their business card we were relieved it was the right place. BUT, they didn't have our booking! What! After all that! We had rung the day before to organise it, but apparently nothing was written down. Of course more expensive rooms were available, but after a bit of patience and negotiation, the cheaper rooms were shown and we found a suitable room. What a start!We had quite a good view from the rooftop - the Old City where we were staying had many of the houses painted blue, and these surrounded a huge fort on top of a mountain nearby. It was quite an impressive sight, and although Jodhpur had sprawled into a large city, the old city still had a small town feel and we had a good feeling about this place.
That afternoon, we had a wander around the Old City to get our bearings and see some of the town. We wandered through the interesting bazaars around the central clock tower, watching the locals selling all sorts of goods and trying to get a few pictures. Some kids saw that we were trying to take photos and kept jumping in front of the lens, asking us to take their picture (for money). They were persistent and quite successful in getting at least fingertips in each shot we tried to take, so Glenn took a few of them as revenge
Bangles in Bazaar
. It was a bit of fun for the afternoon. In terms of tourist attractions, we had planned only to see the Fort, the other palaces and monuments didn't have the appeal after visiting so many previously. We had heard and read that the steep entry fee included a compulsory audio-guide which we normally despise, but from all reports this one was actually meant to be interesting.
So the next day we grabbed an auto-rickshaw and zipped up to the Fort. The Fort housed an old Palace which had been well preserved and had one of the best museum exhibits that we had seen. And yes, the audio guide was very entertaining and interesting. We were happily surprised that we really enjoyed the visit, and the views from the top over the 'Blue City' were impressive.
Our hotel had recommended walking down the other side of the fort through the oldest part of town and taking the view from 'Cosy Guesthouse' and then walking back through the old streets. So nearing sunset, we headed down the narrow streets following our noses with a little guidance from the locals. We found the guesthouse and the owner proceeded to show off his place in case we wanted to stay next time. It was really quite wonderful. We enjoyed afternoon tea on the roof terrace and watched the sun set over the fort and the bluest part of the city. A fitting end to the day... except we still had to get back to our hotel, and now it was dark. Wandering down, and trying to seek directions from locals who didn't speak English or couldn't work out our sign language, we found one guy who instead of pointing out the direction, decided to show us the way himself! We wondered if we would end up in a shop, or down a wrong alley, but he led us to the right street without any request of money. We thanked him graciously and were happy to find such kindness after the constant demands for money for the slightest bit of information. Still, tourists are loaded compared to the locals, so it is understandable, just not that enjoyable.
We walked the last leg bag to our hotel, quite tired but satisfied from a long day. Ready to kick the feet up and sleep, we instead got stuck into packing for another early morning start for the bus the next day!
