We have been very busy! The ride from Udaipur to Jodhpur was very long! We left Udaipur around 4:00pm and arrived at 1:30am to Vivanta in Jodhpur, another amazing hotel, just too bad we didn't have much time to explore. I uploaded a few more photos, it takes so much time to upload that we need to be in our room for a few hours to be able to get time, but hopefully we will have more time today since we don't have as much planned...just crossing my fingers we get free wifi again. As I mentioned, the roads were so bad and we weren't sure our drivers knew where they were going, but we made it! It's quite funny, we come to a screeching halt quite often to avoid cars, people, motorbikes, cows, deer, etc., so it is difficult to sleep on the bus and honestly the ride is still exciting as we pass villages and temples all lit up with blinking LED lights (think Vegas lights on a temple) and crazy things along the way. Eva and I also play wheel of fortune which passes the time quickly :)
Jodhpur February 16th
Our first stop was Umaid Bahwan Palace, this is a fairly new palace that has been converted mostly into a posh hotel, small museum and still houses the Maharaja (king) when he visits. We seen a freaking locust outside by the vintage car museum. Eww! For those of you that know me, you would be proud, I didn't take off running in the opposite direction! Now if it had jumped or flew or whatever those things do I would have hightailed it out of there! After that we headed to Merherangarh Fort which is one of the largest forts in India. There were some amazing museum items in this fort and it overlooked the city which is called blue city. We seen many silk carpets and wall hangings and all sorts of elephant seats and baby cribs from the queens over the years as each queen had different ideas of what was good luck, etc so they all wanted different cribs for their princes and princesses to be in when they were born. There was beautifully decorated rooms and carvings all over. There is a picture of a metal spiral staircase, they used to take it out into the fields for hunting as they could take the bolts out and collapse it and then the women could sit up in a tree while the men hunted.
After the fort we headed out on our journey to Jaisalmer. The guide we had for the day assured us that there was tourist restaurants on our way, maybe 30 minutes from the fort, but alas, not unlike the many other fumbles along the way, there was nothing suitable. We didn't end up stopping until about 5pm when we reached a haveli garden restaurant and shop. We were all so famished and thankfully we had good and prompt service, so it was our silver lining. We have all learned to take advantage of our complementary breakfasts at the hotels and most provide doggy bags as apparently the Indians always take food anyway. My mom would be proud, we took some snacks and fruit for the road, LOL. The breakfasts are not like our crappy continental breakfasts at our hotels in Canada and USA, continental here means they have western food and Indian food and it is a buffet with stations for omelettes and a few other hot Indian foods made to order as well as fruit and yogurt and fresh juice, toast, etc. it's funny though as some places have better chefs than others, I got a croissant at one hotel but it was as heavy as a brick....not quite right LOL!
It is so funny, in towns they advertise for things they think tourists will like but they aren't quite right, such as English wine shops (English aren't really known for wine) and German bakeries (when the Germans aren't known for their baked goods). They also have some funny signs like the no smoking signs and some of the other shops.
We arrived at Jaisalmer around 9:30 pm and checked into our next fancy accommodations. The Suryagarh hotel is a small fort and absolutely beautiful! Jaisalmer is in the desert and it was very hot during the day (in summer it gets in the high 40-50's) but it was only the 30s for us, thank god it is winter! Apparently in the summer months it gets extremely windy, so they have wind farms all over, it seems so strange as they are fairly still now, but it gets very windy and the power companies installed them a few years ago. The hotel has beautiful golden retrievers and a puppy named Simba who is soooo adorable We visited Gadisar lake which is a man made lake that supported the area with clean drinking water and is also considered healing water. There is a gate that was constructed by one of the kings prostitutes as she wanted to be remembered. The queen was outraged and ordered it to be demolished as it was viewed as passing through her legs to walk through the gate, but the prostitute placed a Krishna on top and knowing that anything with the Krishna on it would never be destroyed, it still stands today. The lake also has catfish in it which people feed bread to for good karma. The catfish are HUGE and not ever eaten as they are considered somewhat sacred due to the history of the water. The lake is no longer clean enough to be used for consumable water so it is just a historical site now.
After the lake we went to Jaisalmer fort which is one of the older forts. It was a very dirty place as there are still 4000 people living within the fort and most of the fort has been converted to hotels and there is an active marketplace inside. Because it is one of the only tourist spots in jaisalmer the prices are very inflated and the shopkeepers take advantage of this - when asking the prices they ask how much you have and try to get you to come into their shops by saying let me help you spend your money, etc. we also seen a marijuana shop outside as it is legal here since many do not drink alcohol and opium is now illegal and used to be the drug of choice in the past. There were also to Jain temples (sorry not sure on spelling) of seven that are open to the public. The Jain people are extremists as they do not believe in taking the life of any living thing (bugs, animals,etc). So they don't farm, and only eat things grown above ground - no root vegetables, no meat, etc. they wear all white and even wear scarves to cover their mouths so they don't accidentally swallow a mosquito or fly. These are the women we seen walking in the countryside at one of the first temples we went to, they walk bare foot and sweep the path in front of them as they walk, they also camp along the road and carry enough food and water to get them to their next stop.
After the fort some of us went to the local market, but this market catered mainly to tourists, there were not many locals shopping which was strange for us. There were lots of yucky smells too, I imagine due to the lack of water available to rinse the streets from the animal waste. We went to a prime ministers house that has also become a shop for camel-bone items (since ivory is no longer a legal and marketable product and they have many camels in the desert). We then went to a patchwork shop which is a co-operative for the women that used to sell their products around India, when Pakistan separated from India it made it difficult for these women to sell their items and now this co-op was created for them. The prices were super high and they refused to barter so many of us didn't buy anything. We all think our tour guide was wheeling and dealing with these shops and receives a cut from what we purchase, as that is the way things work here (everyone is in someone else's pocket). After the market we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed out for our evening of camel riding and entertainment. Eva and I shared a camel and OMG it was terrifying! Camels are not graceful and when they stand up they lift their front legs partially, then back legs go all the way up and then front goes all the way up, so you lean all the way back and forward to try not to fall off! Our camel driver was not great and didn't warn us that the camel was getting up so we were still holding our cameras and not knowing where to hold on. He then rode in the cart we had a few people riding in and when we got off he didn't warn us again and I gripped the saddle weird and bent one of my fingernails back so far it was bleeding and really hurt. It was so funny though as we were getting off he camel and he was helping me, he told me I was "very strong", had "thick legs" and said "you eat good" LMFAO - then from the look on my face he laughed and said "no no, it's good, it's good!" LOL Tia tells me it was a compliment, but I think she is just being kind, oh well LOL.
After the camel rides we sat up on a sand dune and watched the sunset which was beautiful. Eva and I decided not to get back on our camels and to walk to the desert camp instead LOL - there were a few of us that didn't want to get back on, and a few that went for a fast ride where the camels run, I must say seeing so many camels made me think of the movie Starwars LOL. At the desert camp they have luxury tents for people to stay in and a stage with chairs all the way around for the performance. They played music and had some dancers and then got everyone up and dancing and teaching us some moves. We then had a buffet dinner that we ate outside while they continued to play for us. It was a lovely time! Food wasn't very good and since many are vegetarian the chicken always seems undercooked - and yes you people that know I like my chicken very well done (some people say chicken dust) even Eva and others who like dark and juicy meat felt it was undercooked. We have found at many restaurants this is the case, some is cooked but not all...yuck!
We all had to be on the bus for 8am this morning so we headed up to our room when we got back around 9:30. Many of the group were up until 2am chatting and drinking but we have been tired and wanting some down time, so we went up to bed. We are now on our way to Bikaner for the afternoon and then off the day after to Jaipur (the pink city). Bikaner is known for their trade market and they provide the majority of the camels in India.
Jodhpur February 16th
Our first stop was Umaid Bahwan Palace, this is a fairly new palace that has been converted mostly into a posh hotel, small museum and still houses the Maharaja (king) when he visits. We seen a freaking locust outside by the vintage car museum. Eww! For those of you that know me, you would be proud, I didn't take off running in the opposite direction! Now if it had jumped or flew or whatever those things do I would have hightailed it out of there! After that we headed to Merherangarh Fort which is one of the largest forts in India. There were some amazing museum items in this fort and it overlooked the city which is called blue city. We seen many silk carpets and wall hangings and all sorts of elephant seats and baby cribs from the queens over the years as each queen had different ideas of what was good luck, etc so they all wanted different cribs for their princes and princesses to be in when they were born. There was beautifully decorated rooms and carvings all over. There is a picture of a metal spiral staircase, they used to take it out into the fields for hunting as they could take the bolts out and collapse it and then the women could sit up in a tree while the men hunted.
After the fort we headed out on our journey to Jaisalmer. The guide we had for the day assured us that there was tourist restaurants on our way, maybe 30 minutes from the fort, but alas, not unlike the many other fumbles along the way, there was nothing suitable. We didn't end up stopping until about 5pm when we reached a haveli garden restaurant and shop. We were all so famished and thankfully we had good and prompt service, so it was our silver lining. We have all learned to take advantage of our complementary breakfasts at the hotels and most provide doggy bags as apparently the Indians always take food anyway. My mom would be proud, we took some snacks and fruit for the road, LOL. The breakfasts are not like our crappy continental breakfasts at our hotels in Canada and USA, continental here means they have western food and Indian food and it is a buffet with stations for omelettes and a few other hot Indian foods made to order as well as fruit and yogurt and fresh juice, toast, etc. it's funny though as some places have better chefs than others, I got a croissant at one hotel but it was as heavy as a brick....not quite right LOL!
It is so funny, in towns they advertise for things they think tourists will like but they aren't quite right, such as English wine shops (English aren't really known for wine) and German bakeries (when the Germans aren't known for their baked goods). They also have some funny signs like the no smoking signs and some of the other shops.
We arrived at Jaisalmer around 9:30 pm and checked into our next fancy accommodations. The Suryagarh hotel is a small fort and absolutely beautiful! Jaisalmer is in the desert and it was very hot during the day (in summer it gets in the high 40-50's) but it was only the 30s for us, thank god it is winter! Apparently in the summer months it gets extremely windy, so they have wind farms all over, it seems so strange as they are fairly still now, but it gets very windy and the power companies installed them a few years ago. The hotel has beautiful golden retrievers and a puppy named Simba who is soooo adorable We visited Gadisar lake which is a man made lake that supported the area with clean drinking water and is also considered healing water. There is a gate that was constructed by one of the kings prostitutes as she wanted to be remembered. The queen was outraged and ordered it to be demolished as it was viewed as passing through her legs to walk through the gate, but the prostitute placed a Krishna on top and knowing that anything with the Krishna on it would never be destroyed, it still stands today. The lake also has catfish in it which people feed bread to for good karma. The catfish are HUGE and not ever eaten as they are considered somewhat sacred due to the history of the water. The lake is no longer clean enough to be used for consumable water so it is just a historical site now.
After the lake we went to Jaisalmer fort which is one of the older forts. It was a very dirty place as there are still 4000 people living within the fort and most of the fort has been converted to hotels and there is an active marketplace inside. Because it is one of the only tourist spots in jaisalmer the prices are very inflated and the shopkeepers take advantage of this - when asking the prices they ask how much you have and try to get you to come into their shops by saying let me help you spend your money, etc. we also seen a marijuana shop outside as it is legal here since many do not drink alcohol and opium is now illegal and used to be the drug of choice in the past. There were also to Jain temples (sorry not sure on spelling) of seven that are open to the public. The Jain people are extremists as they do not believe in taking the life of any living thing (bugs, animals,etc). So they don't farm, and only eat things grown above ground - no root vegetables, no meat, etc. they wear all white and even wear scarves to cover their mouths so they don't accidentally swallow a mosquito or fly. These are the women we seen walking in the countryside at one of the first temples we went to, they walk bare foot and sweep the path in front of them as they walk, they also camp along the road and carry enough food and water to get them to their next stop.
After the fort some of us went to the local market, but this market catered mainly to tourists, there were not many locals shopping which was strange for us. There were lots of yucky smells too, I imagine due to the lack of water available to rinse the streets from the animal waste. We went to a prime ministers house that has also become a shop for camel-bone items (since ivory is no longer a legal and marketable product and they have many camels in the desert). We then went to a patchwork shop which is a co-operative for the women that used to sell their products around India, when Pakistan separated from India it made it difficult for these women to sell their items and now this co-op was created for them. The prices were super high and they refused to barter so many of us didn't buy anything. We all think our tour guide was wheeling and dealing with these shops and receives a cut from what we purchase, as that is the way things work here (everyone is in someone else's pocket). After the market we headed back to the hotel to freshen up and then headed out for our evening of camel riding and entertainment. Eva and I shared a camel and OMG it was terrifying! Camels are not graceful and when they stand up they lift their front legs partially, then back legs go all the way up and then front goes all the way up, so you lean all the way back and forward to try not to fall off! Our camel driver was not great and didn't warn us that the camel was getting up so we were still holding our cameras and not knowing where to hold on. He then rode in the cart we had a few people riding in and when we got off he didn't warn us again and I gripped the saddle weird and bent one of my fingernails back so far it was bleeding and really hurt. It was so funny though as we were getting off he camel and he was helping me, he told me I was "very strong", had "thick legs" and said "you eat good" LMFAO - then from the look on my face he laughed and said "no no, it's good, it's good!" LOL Tia tells me it was a compliment, but I think she is just being kind, oh well LOL.
After the camel rides we sat up on a sand dune and watched the sunset which was beautiful. Eva and I decided not to get back on our camels and to walk to the desert camp instead LOL - there were a few of us that didn't want to get back on, and a few that went for a fast ride where the camels run, I must say seeing so many camels made me think of the movie Starwars LOL. At the desert camp they have luxury tents for people to stay in and a stage with chairs all the way around for the performance. They played music and had some dancers and then got everyone up and dancing and teaching us some moves. We then had a buffet dinner that we ate outside while they continued to play for us. It was a lovely time! Food wasn't very good and since many are vegetarian the chicken always seems undercooked - and yes you people that know I like my chicken very well done (some people say chicken dust) even Eva and others who like dark and juicy meat felt it was undercooked. We have found at many restaurants this is the case, some is cooked but not all...yuck!
We all had to be on the bus for 8am this morning so we headed up to our room when we got back around 9:30. Many of the group were up until 2am chatting and drinking but we have been tired and wanting some down time, so we went up to bed. We are now on our way to Bikaner for the afternoon and then off the day after to Jaipur (the pink city). Bikaner is known for their trade market and they provide the majority of the camels in India.
OMFG I think the man would have lost his mind if I was there to as we would be two large "strong" woman rotflmao. Glad you are finding humor. I so would not have gotten on the camel....I'd rather walk.LOL I found a treasury of old stuff from when you were a kid, LOL I was looking for immunization papers, anyways, you will have to see one day.
ReplyDeleteLeah