The Desert State of Rajasthan - Jodhpur

Journey from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur took roughly 4 - 5 hours, depending on how fast one drives the car. So we arrived Jodhpur at 1 pm and spend a little too much time looking for a cheap accommodation. Well, we managed to find one and it was rather a house-like hotel. And that house is not made of bricks, but made of stone. And no wonder it was stifling hot and stuffy. Our room was actually at the rooftop but none of us was willing to go out during the soaring heat mid day.

We just rearrange our stuff and rest, before went out to visit the attractions in Jodhpur. We had lunch in our room and it was good enough to get our tummy filled with proper food. At least we had sufficient energy to do the walking and so-called exploring

The weather was a little cloudy and grayish so we didn't have to worry much about getting another layer of sun-burnt skin cells. The first point of interest visited was Jaswant Thada. It consissts of several cenotaphs which was built by Maharaja Sardar Singh for his late father, Maharaja Jaswant Singh. The whole structure is made of white marble. The carvings on the marble were done by the brilliant sculptors. In the main cenotaphs, there were pictures of the maharaja and other religious artifacts. The

And  by the way, entrance fee is Rps 30 and each camera is charged Rps25. Pfftttt...

A charming place with a relaxed atmosphere

The main mausoleum

The inner of one of the cenotaph with he paintings of the maharaja

From Jaswant Thada, it was a mere 1 kilometer walk to the hilltop Mehrangarh fort. Th view of the fort was really stunning and even better with proper sun rays and clear sky.

View of Mehrangarh Fort from Jaswant Thada 

Later, o Mehrangarh Fort we went. I did not expect that the entrance fee would be that expensive, Rps 400 per person. However, this fee includes the audio-guide which is quite useful. But due to time constrain, we have to rush a bit as the fort will be closed at 5 pm.

Like Jaisalmer fort, not all section is accessible to visitors. From this fort, one can see most of the houses below were painted in blue, especially on the northern side which is actually the city of Brahmpuri, where many Brahmins live there. I was also told that the houses painted in blue, which is the colour of copper sulphate salt, as prevention from the termite attacks. I'm not so sure which is which but both reasons seem logical and acceptable.

Heading to the entrance

This view got my neck stiffed

Impact of the canon balls on the walls

Blue City of Brahmpuri

Looks cool and cooling this way

The last section accessible in Mehrangarh fort

Nicely carved structure but still Jaisalmer has the best haveli

Nice one...

This is obviously not the blue city

After spending 1 hour in this fort, we headed to city of Jodhpur. I was a little exhausted but my buddy insisted to visit the clock tower. We have to walk a bit at traffic was not so good for our car to enter that area. It was worth visiting the clock tower though, which is located in the Sardar market. People scattered here and there as this market sells cheap items. But none of the sold items caught our attention.

It was almost dawn and we returned to our hotel, and had dinner there and spend our time at the rooftop enjoying the cooling night air.

The next day, it was time to head to Ranakpur.