I planned to drive on toll roads (free for two-wheelers) for most of the 250 km to Jodhpur. That is more boring, but the risk of material damage (due to bad roads or heavy traffic) is a lot less and if I arrive early at the destination I still have time to see something.
The owner of the hotel knows a much better route. Completely new and not busy, he assures me. Well, that is true for the first 100 km, but after that the road gets so bad that an average of 50 km per hour is the maximum achievable. It is a nice route though. Lots of arable farming in the otherwise very dry landscape and the occasional small village with unpaved roads.
When I arrive in Jodhpur, the famous Mehrangarh Fort towers far above the city. My hotel is right next to it, but the narrow streets, where no car can fit, make it difficult to maneuver and navigate. After asking a few times I am on top of a hill, at the bottom of the fort, at the Hill View guesthouse.
The ladies who run the place fall from one joke to the next and it is immediately pleasant to enter. This time the shower is warm, although it shouldn't be at 28 degrees, and an hour later I'm sitting on the roof terrace enjoying the view.
When I walk around the clock tower in the bazaar, I have trouble with the crowds and the dirt. Imagine walking around the Jumbo on a busy Saturday afternoon where it hasn't been swept for a year and that all shopping carts are scooters and tuk-tuks that drive through the store with a loud horn and insist on passing by. I can't get used to it.
The Mehrangarh Fort, on the other hand, is spick and span. The fort dates back to 1460 and is one of the largest in India. A large part is set up as a museum and that makes it easy to imagine what life in the fort looked like in the past. The city is nicknamed ‘blue city’ because of the indigo walls of the houses in the old town and is also called ‘sunny city’ named because of it desert climate.
In the late afternoon I leave the city for what it is and enjoy a beer on the roof terrace.
