Hey that wasn’t so bad!   Finally we’re starting to leave our North American Values (from hereon our NAVs) behind because the train left 15 mins late and we arrived only 35 mins behind schedule.   It’s like when we go to our doctor’s office and if he sees us within 45 minutes of our appointment time we think he’s on time.   This train ride was great and of course it was during the day so we did get to see a little of the countryside and once again met a few interesting people. Jodhpur is Rajasthan’s second largest city, population over a million, and is set in the Thar Dessert.    It is often referred to as the Sun City because of the sunny weather it enjoys all year round and sometimes the Blue City because of the blue colors decorating many of the houses in the old city which is bound by walls and gates.  Here handicrafts is the biggest industry with textiles, glass bangles, cutlery, carpets and marble products being part of a vibrant cottage industry.  This is followed closely by tourism.  Jodhpur lies about 250 kms from the Pakistan border so it is also here that you will find the Indian army, Indian Air Force and Border Security.  Unfortunately our hotel, Hotel Madhuram Royal(not that royal) is out of the main city which is both a curse and a treat.   It’s quiet at night for sleeping but is a half hour tuktuk ride into the old city and onc again crazy traffic as you get close to the city.

Jodhpur clock tower and massive market

Although Jim would probably disagree I don’t really enjoy shopping much, but really like to browse and check things out.   In India that is a nightmare!  As soon as you stop to look at something several vendors descend on you and if you happen to touch anything then vendors come from adjoining stalls to pull you into theirs.   No way do they take “no thank you” for an answer and keep saying “make me happy mam”, “good price for you mam”, “cheapest in India mam”,  “my family make this man” and so on.   At first it’s a little humorous but wears thin very quickly.  However there are a few things I do want to purchase so am looking occasionally and trying to be patient and enjoy the experience.    Also wandering the streets makes you hungry as there’s so much street food that we have been avoiding every day…………except today that is!   Delicious it was and hopefully we won’t pay a price for that later.

Today we decided to visit Jodhpur’s famous Mehrangarh Fort, 1459 A.D.   At first my thought was “Oh God, not another Fort” but I didn’t say this out loud and glad I didn’t because it was the best one yet.  Once again I won’t bore you with lots of details as I know how you like to google, but basically the foundation for this Fort was laid in 1459 by Rao Jodha and became one of the mightiest forts of all time.   It was magnificent as the pictures below probably won’t show and we wandered around for over three hours.

Jim showing us all how to take a selfie!

The two pictures following Jim’s selfie demonstration were taken inside the fort.  The picture of the two young men was taken after we took a little time out of our crazy day to do a music meditation, which was wonderful, and the bottom picture shows why Jodhpur is called the blue city.

Rather than go back to our out of town hotel we decided to go for an early supper at one of the very well recognized rooftop restaurants in Jodphur called Indique……and so glad we did.   We started with beer and appetizers of course as by the time we got there we had been on our feet for six hours and had not eaten much.   Our waiter was in no rush to hurry us through as we were early and the place was not busy.  This was followed by lamb and chicken curries, always with rice and naan, and we all agreed it was the best we’ve had since coming to India.  From here we were able to take a picture of the sunset.

Sun setting over Jodhpur

Following sunset and a short walk we returned by Tuktuk to our hotel where there was an Indian wedding taking place the following day.   But on this day it was the bride’s party and the place was all decorated for the party and the wedding.   Given that we were the only people in the hotel who were not there for the wedding and who stood out like a sore thumb we were quickly put on the invitation list. We had to refuse not only because we had just eaten dinner but also because we once again had an early morning train.  Oh yeah, slow learners we are!  We had learned through our browsing through the stores that they don’t take NO for an answer very easily and the same is true when you’re invited to a wedding celebration.   So off the four of us go to the downstairs party where the bride was being presented with her many saris, money and gifts.   The groom and family do not come to this event and all were to arrive the following day.  The bride’s cousin was the young woman who invited us, stayed with us and ensured we had a drink – mineral water/no booze and tried to get us to attend the dinner and dance which we refused after much pressure.  She was an absolute delight as were the others who were interested in our joy at witnessing the celebration.  A few pictures to show the fun!  The young woman sitting next to Dawn in the pictures is the “bride’s sister’s cousin” which would make her the bride’s cousin we thought, but she kept referring to herself as “the bride’s sister’s cousin”  so we were a little confused – what else is new as we’re in India after all!

Dawn and Yves at the bride’s party the night before the wedding

Bride’s sister’s cousin!

Next stop, Jaisalmer,  and hoping our train is on time tomorrow!