Udaipur to Jodhpur

Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

A whole six hours sleep without earplugs! That's impressive! Thank you Udaipur!

We got on the road by 8am, despite Big Red having a flat battery and requiring a kick start. With me as navigator we made it out of Udaipur with surprisingly little hassle and onto an uncrowded, nicely sealed road. It took us through landslide-prone gaps that had been carved into mountains and all I could do was imagine the poor people who had to load that stone into trucks by carrying it in buckets on their heads.

We stopped for breakfast and got some chai along with some ridiculously spicy samosas. No, we did not need the extra chilli they served with them.

The road took us winding through a valley which, during monsoon season, we imagined must resemble the hills of Sri Lanka. Boulders lined a would-be river and crevasses in the mountains suggested watererfalls. There were monkeys aplenty too, hanging by the roadside in their family groups.

We found a spot under a beautiful big old tree to consume some snacks that would keep us going until Jodhpur. The chocolate pie that was left over from last night's birthday celebrations was especially delicious.

We came across a large herd of camels as we continued and enjoyed watching them gracefully move around eating leaves from the highest trees.

We took one wrong turn, again thanks to my keen ability as a navigator, and ended up riding a kilometre or two down a dead end road. Normal people would go back and find the correct road. Not us though. Chris found a dirt track heading in the general direction that we wanted to go. We dodged bushes with massive thorns and road through sandy, slippery, dried up river beds until coming to a railway crossing. This crossing had dirt tracks either side and was seemingly in the middle of nowhere. There were no actual roads. No people. There was no train coming. But, the gates were down and there were three guys manning the crossing. After getting some directions from the friendly men they opened the railway gate for us using a hand-wound system and off we went again towards Jodhpur.

Old city, Jodhpur

Old city, Jodhpur

Coming into Jodhpur, one could be tricked into thinking the roads would be uncongested and with lanes. But, as we approached the old city, the truth came out. Narrow roads were clogged with markets, Tuk Tuks, motorbikes, people, touts and more. We wove through the streets hoping we were moving at least in the general direction of the accommodation districts as the famous fort towered above us. Jodhpur was hectic. It was loud, crowded and overwhelming. The Tuk Tuk drivers, who are renowned for working on commission here, grabbed at Chris' arm as we rode through the streets and I was tempted, not for the first time in India, to give someone a good whack. I restrained myself and we continued on.

Old city, Jodhpur

We stumbled upon Heaven Guesthouse and I checked it out, but we thought we would try and find somewhere a little quieter. After the relative peace of the rooftops in Udaipur the noise was getting to us. Again we took to the streets. After a few minutes though, and knowing we were only here for one night, we went back to our first choice, as we always end up doing, figuring that surely it would quieten down come night. We failed to take into consideration though the fact that Heaven Guesthouse is located where there is a slight kink in the road. Anywhere else this would this would not be a problem but in India, and in particular in Jodhpur, people beep as they approach a corner often as a substitute for slowing down so the beeping would be consistent throughout the evening.

Old city, Jodpur

Despite originally deciding on the 700 rupee room, we just couldn't say no to the more expensive room a few floors higher that managed to block out at least some of the many noises coming from the streets below.

After showers we went out to explore the old city of Jodhpur on foot. We didn't get far. We bought and enjoyed some overpriced samosas (damn having been charged local prices elsewhere and therefore being aware when we're being overcharged) then went for a very short wander before retreating to the rooftop of Heaven Guesthouse to relax with views of Mehrangarh Fort away from the beeping.

Mehrangarh in Jodhpur, the blue city

We sat for a few hours, doing our good deed for the day and charging a lady's iPad for her as she had checked out already and was just waiting around for a train. Deciding we liked the rooftop (Udaipur must have got into our blood) we stayed put for dinner. We noticed that, like the samosas, the food was overpriced but we figured that the servings would be large. They weren't. We ate the standard veg biriyani, paneer butter masala and chapati. Luckily it was yummy or they would have copped some passive aggressive comments from a hungry Lauren and Chris. We retreated to our room to attempt sleep while the beeping continued outside.

Mehrangarh by night from Heaven Guesthouse

Miscellaneous Observations:

The women's outfits have definitely changed as we've progressed through Rajasthan. The colours have become more vibrant, the nose rings have increased in size and saris are now more skirts and scarves than one full piece of material.