Jodhpur Sights, Sounds and Smells

We took a long walk from our hotel to the Clock Tower and Sardar Market, which is in the Old City of Jodhpur. It was only 2 kilometers away from our hotel in almost a straight line but we took every wrong turn we could find, each shopkeeper pointing us in a different direction. We made it there in 45 minutes. To our excuse all the streets looked the same: merchants selling fruit, sweets, tea, water, spices, knickknacks, children (just kidding), etc. Then you have people constantly asking “where you are from”, “where are you going”, “what is your name”, etc. On top of that, you are trying not to be run over by rickshaws, buses, cars, motorcycles, cows/bulls, goats, sheep, people, etc. So there are a few distractions…oh wait I forgot to mention all the smells bombarding you at every turn: imagine candy/sweets, Indian food, carbon monoxide, spices, tea, body odor, and poo. It’s a sensory overload. We wish we could pack it up and send it home ;).


Too keep a long story short we decided to take a rickshaw (rather than relying on our navigation skills) to another hotel we were thinking of booking. The hotel is in a 500 year old blue house on a quiet little street near the fort. We had a small bite to eat and booked our room for the next two days ($11 a night). After making small talk with the owner we walked to the Meherangarh Fort, which is about 5 minutes away. The fort was quite incredible, it is the largest fort in Rajasthan and all building materials were chiseled from the rock on which it stands. Its about 125 meters above the city giving unreal views of the blue city below.


As we walked up to the fort groups of people would stop and say hello (“Allo”), especially the children. We would meet one person and they would gather the rest of their family so we could all shake hands and say “allo”. Then there would be groups of kids who would want to have their picture taken, climbing the fort walls and posing together.
















Matt wasn’t feeling 100% so we only spent a few hours at the fort. Tomorrow we plan on waking up early (about 10 am), have a long brunch and then walk back to the fort. Have a good day at work. Wait what day of the week is it? :)