After the great wedding celebrations (of which I will post more photos later when Internet connection is more readily available) Katie and I met Sidd and we headed off to Jodhpur. Jodhpur is a fairly major city in central Rajasthan that is famous for the blue color of many of its homes as well as a very impressive fort.
This was one city I really was excited about having missed it on my last Rajasthani visit.
When we arrived, we were picked up at the airport by our hotel and taken to a nearby village. The hotel had more of a homestay feeling as there was only 1 other guest and we ate our meals in the family kitchen. The food was great and from what I could tell very traditional. Each meal had some type of bread made with a different flour, a curry, and a vegetable. Every meal we've had so far has been vegetarian and I love it. Katie, who is also cutting back in her meat intake as of late has been really enjoying the food. She's struggled some with the spicy dishes; but she is a trooper and hasn't complained at all.
On our first night with the family we took a walk to a local hill top to watch the sunset. A group of young boys were out and about as well. They came to hang out and practice their English. My guess is they were around 11-14 years old and all very excited to climb around and talk to the foreigners. Sidd, as always, did a marvelous job if translating when my 3 words of Hindi and their 10 words of English were not sufficient. The sunset was overcasted with clouds but the climb and trekking about was delightful.
The next day we (Katie, Sidd, Jules the English woman staying with us, and I) went on a village safari. The hotel took us around to some local places to see a traditional way of life and look for wildlife. We saw an opium ceremony (which I'll be honest, I didn't understand), a shepherd's home, and a potter's home. No trip would be complete without a stop at a textile factory where looking is always free. Looking always turns to buying it seems.
After the safari we headed back into Jodhpur city to another guest house. We spent the afternoon exploring the famous mehrangarh fort. Katie and I being foreigners received the audio tour as part of our entrance fee which proved to be pretty interesting and well done. The fort which belonged to many moguls was never taken by force. However, she showed many signs of the failed attempts.
It was a pretty long day, so we settled for some Rajasthani thali for dinner (by settled, I mean very eagerly dug right into) and headed back to the guest house.
A hot shower and a page or two of reading and we all were out like lights.
Now it is off to Ranakpur to scope out a Jain temple and make our way towards Udaipur. As always, no trip with Katie or Allison is complete without public transportation.
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