I arrived yesterday to Jodhpur from Jaisalmer by the way of car and driver that I hired. The drive was about four hours and the landscape mostly consisted of India military bases. One of the sights I passed was India’s nuclear testing facility. I am no stranger to crazy driving in other countries and know what to expect but yesterday I was almost in a head on collision. It was close enough that both the car I was in and the car that we almost hit left some rubber on the road and both came to a complete stop with both car bumpers ending about two feet from each other. We were traveling at about 60 Mph when the driver performed a typical car pass around a huge truck with oncoming traffic. I could see what was about to happen and gripped the dash board shouting “Oh FUCK!” The driver hardly flinched and after getting the car straight on the road turned to me and said, “Don’t worry, no problem.” All I could do was give him a raised eyebrow and respond with a, “Yeah, sure”. It took a good 30 minutes for my heart to return to normal and of course the constant passing of other trucks, dodging of goats, cows, and camels didn’t help either.
Upon arrival to Jodhpur it was apparent that I had left the chill vibe of Jaisalmer and was about to be introduced to the hustle and bustle of Jodhpur. The city is made up of a maze of houses and shops that seem to go on forever and a sea of people, motorbikes, and cows make the maze all the more challenging to navigate.
I am staying at Yogi’s Guest House and have a room facing the Mehrangarh Fort . Jodhpur is also referred to as the Blue City, due to the light blue color of the whitewashed houses surrounding the Mehrangarh Fort . Until I can post some photos of my own, here are some from the web.
After breakfast this morning I hiked up to the Mehrangarh Fort . About a 20 minute walk from Yogi’s. I had received a strong recommendation in Jaisalmer from a couple who had just come from Jodhpur not to miss the the audio tour at the fort. They were right. The audio tour was excellent. After the audio tour I walked around its perimeter and took photos of the Blue City below.
After visiting the fort I walked the maze of the city and easily got lost in its vast assortment of shops. Everything is for sale here and if for some reason they didn’t have it they will make it. In the most obscure alley I stumbled upon a hidden, little shop that had everything one could want for digital photography. I was simply amazed what this shop owner had in his tiny little box of a shop. As I was gazing at the empty boxes of available merchandise he had hanging he saw me with my camera and shouted out, “You need a BP-511?” My jaw hit the cow turd infested street and all I could do was laugh. A BP-511 is a battery that fits my Canon camera and the fact that he could tell what camera I had and the model number of its battery stunned me. I talked to the store owner briefly but the conversation quickley went nowhere since all he wanted to do was sell me something. As I walked away he shouted out a random array of things that I actually could use but already own.
Tomorrow morning I depart for Udaipur.