Saturday, January 19, 2013

Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

Jodhpur, the blue city.
Blue houses traditionally denoted those of the Brahman caste but now it is thought that blue is both cooler in the hot sun and repels insects.

Mehrangarh Fort, the centerpiece of Jodhpur.
Crumbling walls around the fort.

When the maharaja died, his wives would leave their handprints here before throwing themselves onto the funeral pyre.

One of the many ornate palace rooms.

The blue city seen from the fort.

Bree listening to Wham as we walk through the ancient fort. I told her it wasn't appropriate. 

We took a painless train ride from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur. It was less than an hour late! The next morning we headed up to the fort that dominates the city. It was as impressive on the inside as it was on the outside. Afterward we walked down to the market and clock tower, before winding our way through narrow streets home. We went out to dinner back near the market with a young Brit, travelling India for a month on break from Uni. It was nice to hear a kid with well thought out opinions and the knowledge to back it up, assessing his time here.

As we lay in bed before falling asleep we felt a heavy weight on our feet. We switched on the flashlight to see that the hotel stray cat had climbed in through the open traditional style half balcony (there is no glass or door) and picked our bed for the night. He's pretty big, we're not kicking him out. I wonder if he shared the bed with Adrian Brody when he slept in this room. (this is the smallest, oldest, and dingiest room we've had, but it also has lots of character)