Jodhpur 31st Jan- 2nd Feb
It was a very civilised start from Pushkar in an Ambassador, a car which looks as if it comes from a 1940's movie. The driver claimed to be 20 but looked no more than 14!
We arrived at the station with hours to spare which was fortunate as every sign we could see was in Hindi unlike at previous stations where the English translation was in evidence. After squeezing ourselves onto the packed platform we settled down to wait for our train. Our first hurdle was working out which train to board, the first to arrive at the platform was not ours and 20 minutes later another pulled in. This time there was no guard or station personnel in sight so we accosted other helpful passengers, some of whom told us this was our train and others who insisted it wasn't. We eventually found our names on the list and located our carriage which was quite empty. Hurrah! We settled down to a comfortable journey. Jo conquered her demons and visited the facilities without any trauma!
Coming out of the station we were greeted by many rickshaw drivers wanting our business. One pursued us for over 10 minutes while we insisted we were waiting for our guesthouse to collect us. Eventually it materialised that he was from the guesthouse so we piled into his rickshaw and headed off down a maze of narrow alleys in the Old City weaving in and out of a other tuk tuks, cows, motorbikes and a numerous pedestrians, before arriving at our haveli. We checked into a beautifully decorated but simple room; all facilities included for about £8.50 a night between us.
After a rather noisy night we breakfasted on the roof terrace and the amazing view showed us that we were within a stones throw of the famous Merangarh Fort. We made the five minute climb to the fort's outer walls and were stunned by the size, scale and beauty of this incredibly well maintained historical building. The amusing Anglo/Indian audio guide entertained us on our tour. Although a short stop for us, Jodhpur is a must in Rajasthan.