jodhpur

I arrived at the Pushkar bus station at 7am on Monday morning. The old white bus which waited for me didn't look like it was going to make it from the parking bay out onto the road let alone all the way to Jodhpur. Sceptically I boarded and squeezed myself into one of the seats near the back and braced myself. I had no need, it turned out to be a colourful and enjoyable ride. The bus was full with people dressed in wonderful, bright and distinctive Rajasthani colours, a few getting on and off every time we hit a new village or small town. About 20 minutes in a woman got on via the emergency exit at the rear and with the help of a child (her daughter I assume) loaded 10 live goats into the back of the bus. One of the goats sidled up to me and ended up resting its head on my knee. With animals on board, I was now part of the perfect stereotyped Asian bus journey. Thankfully the goats got off after about half an hour (and before the one by my knee bit me) and were replaced by a mother, her toddler, and the smallest baby I think I've ever seen in my life. The baby fell asleep on the mother and the toddler fell asleep on me, and on we rode to Jodhpur. The countryside we drove or - more accurately - bounced through was largely yellow dirt and sand with hills on the horizon. It looked like a tough environment to live in. At times we left the single lane tarmac road and proceeded along sandy dirt track to get in and out of various villages which I found very exciting. To my surprise we arrived on schedule at 12pm and I made my way without complications to the Sarvar Guesthouse. It's proved a good place to stay. They haven't been entirely competent in regard to my room but they have been faultless in their friendliness and kindness. That being said my room is like a bloody furnace, even with the ceiling fan on full blast.

Jodhpur has really impressed me. I thought it would be a paler version of Jaipur (Jaipur and Diet Jaipur?) but I much prefer it here now that I have arrived. Almost all the buildings in the old city are painted blue (done originally to signify the caste of the residents but also thought to help repel insects) and are towered over by yet another of the gigantic Rajput fort/palaces: Mehrangarh Fort. I've visited most of the main sights here over the last couple of days: the Jaswant Thada (the White Temple), Mehrangarh Fort, Mandore Gardens, and the Umaid Bhawan Palace (sometimes also known as Chittar Palace) which has been the home since the 1940s of the Maharaja of Jodhpur. In recent times part of the palace has been converted into a five star hotel and a museum (with exhibits concerning Jodhpur, the Royal Family, and the game of polo) which is what I went there to see.

I didn't realise it when I set out from Delhi and Agra but my journey around Rajasthan has really become a tour of the Maharaj palaces. I'm very happy about this - I love looking around them, and I've still got two more to come in Jaisalmer and Bikaner. Here the Mehrangarh Fort, which was built around 1459 on the advice of a saint, is striking partially because it sits on a vertical 125 metre high rock in the centre of the otherwise flat city, and also because it stretches kilometres in diameter and is full of ornately decorated function rooms, walkways and courtyards. During my visit, lots of Indians wanted to talk to me and some even to be photographed with me. Rajasthani gents made prayer signs as they walked by and I responded in kind. Mehrangarh Fort is one of the few Rajput forts to still be privately owned by a Maharaja (rather than by the government). The nearby Jaswant Thada was also stunning: a 19th Century royal cenotaph built in white marble in commemoration of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II and three other cenotaphs, stand nearby. Some call it the Taj Mahal of Jodhpur. I noted while I was there that I share a birthday with the now long dead Maharaja.

Of course, I'm not the only English person to visit Jodhpur recently. The Mehrangarh was closed a month or so ago when it was hired out by Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar who came here to hold one of their many (rather ostentatious if you ask me) wedding receptions. I've been trying to canvass local opinion on the marriage. Here's the word on the street: the caretaker's son at the Jaswant Thada said he welcomed the couple coming to get married in Jodhpur but did not believe it could ever be a valid Hindu marriage because Hurley has a child from a previous relationship and Arun Nayar has been divorced. At the Sarvar Guesthouse they felt it unimportant that Liz Hurley is a European but did think it a problem that she already has a child. My Tuk Tuk driver up to Mehrangarh said that locals were a bit annoyed that the fort was closed for two days, but otherwise weren't too bothered about the whole thing. A few others said more briefly, 'yes, big party.'

I've got the rest of the day to relax here in Jodhpur and will have a bit of a wander around the bazaars near the clocktower this afternoon. Tomorrow morning I'll be moving on - by bus again - to Jaisalmer, which will be the furthest west I will venture during my time in India.