Monday 25 October Jodhpur The Blue City

Up really early, found our way to the rooftop restaurant via a narrow stairway with steep stone steps where the friendly waiter pointed out the landmarks, we could see that we were in a great spot in the centre of the old city, the views were marvelous, blue painted cube houses, lots of temples, the clock tower, and soaring above us the mighty Mehrangarh.



Off we went to explore the town. Having found our way to the market we decided to go to Haveli Tours and Travels which had been recommended, to book an a/c car to take us to Udaipur on Wednesday morning (2800rs). That out of the way we explored the market and bazaars, bought spices - always an enjoyable time the smells are so enticing, he was also trying to get us to buy aphrodisiacs but alas we refrained but did drink delicious chai.

Next we hired a rickshaw to take us to the Umaid Bhawan Palace (part extremely expensive luxury hotel) lived in by the Jodhpur royal family, also known as the Chittar Palace as it is built out of the local chittar stone and sits on the highest point in Jodhpur. It was started in 1929 and completed in 1943 so very different from the other palaces visited by us, so pristine clean.



The museum was extremely interesting we were taken on a very quick tour, so went around again on our own taking time to look at the things which really interested us, I specially liked the elegant rooms particularly the dining display which brought home how these immensely wealthy people lived. There was an astonishingly huge menu of drinks and smokes, displays of wonderful glass, crystal and china.

Everything had been transported from London but the ship carrying all these treasures was bombed by the Germans in 1942 so it all had to be found again I'm not sure how it was supplied. There is an excellent display explaining the construction of the palace which was built without using cement - the stones were all interlocking like a giant jigsaw puzzle and they used ice between the stones to slide them into place. We also admired the maharajas collection of classic cars in glass fronted garages on the front lawn.

Then back to the city for another of our late lunches this time at Pal Haveli up on the roof restaurant, from which there were some good views. Very friendly staff and nice food. Looked around and admired the haveli afterwards.



Returned to Shahi Guest House and our new room only to find an unwanted guest - a mouse - in the bathroom, it was quickly sent on its way and the entry point on the little balcony blocked up. Excellent room full of character it is long, the bathrooom at one end had a bath and a shower with very hot water, the doorway was very low and beside the loo a little shuttered window looked into the room, at the other end was a big aircooler and a low door with wooden shutters opening onto a very narrow balcony, looking straight into the house over the road and along to a temple. We were on the first floor just above the courtyard and the rooms where the family live.

That evening we went to Nirvana, another restaurant recommended by our daughters, a short walk through the busy streets for us to this haven, inside and up on the roof it was so quiet but the views of the flood lit fort and clock tower were great, the entry is through an interesting building with a temple on the ground floor. We were the only people up here and we enjoyed the excellent food and service supplied by the Nepalese waiter. They also have rooms it could be a nice place to stay.

On the way back met some youths who threw fireworks at us, one came and shouted into my face, which I think embarrassed his mates, not the usual behavior we have come across in this lovely country. When we returned to the Shahi our room was very hot and airless, we opened the shutters to the outside, had the fans on full blast as well as the very noisy air cooler, left the door to the house open and soon all was fine.