Standing outside our bolted guest house gates at 5am we had our first major "Oh cr*p" moment. We had arranged with the guest house to let us check-in after our very early arrival in Jodphur, and all seemed fine when the tuk tuk picked us up from the train station on time with a "Natalie Corp" sign in his hands. The driver darted through the maze of very narrow, dark and broken roads before dumping us outside the world's most uninviting guest house and driving off. After ringing the bell several times and getting no answer we started to panic, as there were no other places to stay nearby. About five stray dogs must've smelled the fear - growling as they edged towards us (perhaps we should've forked out for that rabies jab…) Then, just as it looked like they were about to pounce, the gate was opened and we rushed inside.

But things weren't much better there… Although we'd arranged an early check-in the staff unapologetically claimed to have no rooms, insisting we should sleep on a sofa until one became available. It was so dark that at the time we thought we were in some sort of staff quarters, and it was only when other guests began walking through for breakfast hours later that we realised we were in the main common area of the havelli - it was a bit embarrassing as we were sprawled across the sofa in our sleeping bag liners. We were eventually showed to our room at 11am but it did not quite match the picture from their web-site (so much for Lonely Planet's Top Pick).

Feeling a bit ropey from our time in the desert (yep, turns out cleaning pots with sand WILL make you sick - and Bret had the pleasure of enjoying his desert dinner in reverse just before we boarded our night train in Jaisalmer) we opted to take it easy for the day and stroll to Jaswant Tada - a white marble memorial building for the royal family of Jodpur. At least we thought it would be a nice easy stroll, but climbing a very long and steep hill when you're not feeling great is no easy task. When we finally reached the top we were pleased with our efforts as it was quite stunning. Set in a well maintained garden with great views of the Blue City of Jodphur way below, it was a perfect place to catch our breath and enjoy some peace - you take it wherever you can in India.

After a slow walk back down the hill we enjoyed watching the sun set behind the city from our guest house rooftop and heading to bed. With lots more to see though, we were up early the next day to go to Mehrangarh Fort. The guidebook said it's the most impressive fort in India, so it had a lot to live up to - although the same guide book had us staying in the most uninviting guesthouse…

Rising from a rocky hill, the muscular fort is still run by the Jodphur royal family. It was jam packed with stone latticed court yards and beautiful rooms displaying impressive collections of elephant hodahs and Jodphur's royal palanquin collection. Palanquins were made to carry women around - they're little seats in boxes with four long wooden poles attached to the outside for men to lift it by. The idea is to protect the privacy of women as they travelled, so men couldn't stare at them… Nat could do with one of these in India.

We spent three hours exploring inside before deciding that it quite possibly is the most impressive fort in India…

After that we headed down into the jumble of Brahmin-blue buildings in the old city below. Apparently blue signified the home of a Brahmin, but non-Brahmins have got in on the act too so the majority of the city really is painted blue and it looks pretty cool. We worked our way through the tangle of winding medieval streets which were scented by the usual fragrance of India: incense and sewers.

The old city centres around a clock tower in the main square. It's an odd sight to be honest - like a mini Big Ben in the middle of utter chaos, with cows, goats, tuk tuks, cycles, all rushing around between the bazaars. We wandered around the area ignoring the usual hassle of shop vendors before finding a tuk tuk to take us to Umaid Bawan Palace, about 3km out of the city.

The palace was built by a British architect and is one of the last in India. It was a work-relief project - providing work to thousands of Indian builders and constructors for 15 years. It's absolutely huge and we felt like we were wondering around a National Trust property because it had such a British feel about the place - especially in the gardens. The royal family still live there now, and some of the property is also used as a hotel with rooms at just £500 a night… We can only imagine what kind of luxury that buys you in India.

We decided we wanted to find tandoori chicken for dinner in a bid to avoid curry, and with most tandoori restaurants not opening until late we had some time to kill before heading to a restaurant from our guide book, so we asked a tuk tuk driver to take us to a city park. We had no idea what to expect, but with no other tourists about we were like celebrities there. The park was filled with hundreds of men huddled together in small groups of 4-8 on the ground playing a game that's like Ludo. They play for Rupees, and this for Indian men is the equivalent of going to the local pub after work. It was obvious that none of these men spoke English so there was no chance of learning how the game works though.

Eventually it was time to head for dinner and this time the Lonely Planet didn't disappoint. The restaurant was beautiful with a lovely view of the clock tower and even the dodgy square glistened below when it was all lit up.

Now we're on a six-hour day train to Ranthambore National Park (home of the tigers), and our rubbish guest house failed us again when it came to checking out early. We'd settled our bill the night before and asked them to book us a tuk tuk to go to the station at 5.30am. Surprise surprise, it didn't turn up, so we were left to walk through the maze… in the dark… with our backpacks…. for 40 minutes… and with no clear idea if we were going the right way. Thankfully a tuk tuk appeared as we were half way and turfed out his wife and kid to take us the remainder of the way. We didn't feel too bad though as we paid five times the amount we should have done for the fare - but it was either that or potentially miss our train!