Jodhpur is blue, it's true. The
Brahmin caste traditionally paint their homes this colour, and some non-Brahmins have clearly got in on the act too. As fascinating and pretty as that is, Jodhpur's highlight is the not-at-all blue
Mehrangarh Fort which sits imposingly on, and almost blends into, a rocky hill high above the city's (blue) skyline.
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| Mehrangarh Fort |
We whiled away a fascinating few hours with our new-found traveller friends Marine and Romain exploring inside its history-and-legend-entrenched walls, courtyards and palaces, engrossed by tales of male bravado, honour, and the odd bit of stupidity.
And as if strolling around inside the fort wasn't enough, you're also able to fly around its ramparts like Batman on its
Boris Johnson endorsed zip-line tour. You'll be sad to hear that Boris didn't get stuck on this particular zip line. Neither did Jo. As for me...
well watch for yourselves here.
Next stop was the
Golden City of Jaisalmer... you'll have noticed by now that they (or the tourist industry at least) love to twin Rajasthan's cities with colours. And I, the mug that I am, have copied them for this blog. In this case its tag comes from the golden-honey sandstone that the fort, and much of the old city surrounding it, has been built from.
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| Jaisalmer Fort |
By now we've seen quite a few forts in India, but this one stands apart as it rises from the sandy desert like a giant sandcastle (analogy nicked from the Lonely Planet, with thanks) and is still very much inhabited. We stayed three nights inside its narrow twisting lanes at the friendly
Desert Boys Guest House, enjoying spectacular sun-set views from high atop the fort's walls.
Of particular note were its interconnecting collection of intricately-carved
Jain Temples.
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| Strike a pose! |
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| Spot the Gargoyle? |
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| Fortunately Jo didn't have the painters in |
Also, purely by
bonne chance we bumped into Marine and Romain again here (6 times now, and counting...)
While in Jaisalmer we also went on an overnight Camel Safari and spent time living in cow dung huts in a remote village in the desert. As you do. We'll save those stories for the next blog post though...
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