Friday 24th August – Jodhpur
I met my friend (and co-host of Travel Chats Podcast) Danielle, at the airport, not having seen her for a year or so. I’d come a few weeks earlier to attend a wedding in a luxurious palace a few hours away, called Khimsar Fort. Now the both of us were going to travel from Jodhpur and ‘do’ the golden triangle, in true backpacker fashion. Me with my cabin-sized wheelie case.
My family live in Jodhpur and gave us a brilliant welcome on the first night… we headed to my cousin Ankur’s engagement parties! We were treated as if special guests, our tali (plate) had everyone’s watchful eye, making sure it was never empty. To my detriment, as someone with a slight lactose intolerance and aversion to spice… this did not serve me well.
Indian outfits are bright, bold and beautiful. We made do with our measley backpacker belongings.
Saturday 25th August – Jodhpur
Mohit, another cousin, showed us around today. He took time away from work to be our guide for the entire day. I last met him when he was six, and now he was driving me around.
He took us to Mandore Gardens – I affectionately call it the monkey gardens. This park has beautiful structures with intricate carvings, reaching grand heights. The most stand-out feature of this public park is the monkeys. They were everywhere and came close to you. Small monkeys and bigger ones.
They hung off centopaths and the old temple. Two must-see monuments. Mandore Gardens is the old capital of Jodhpur bustling with people.
Another place to experience the authentic Rajasthan culture is at Sardar market, a serpentine like market with stalls crammed around a Clock Tower. Many blue houses are hidden in quiet alleys around the clock tower square, the direct opposite of quiet.
Gorgeous sparkly golden bangles from the market are our keepsake, we were both gifted a matching pair.
Sunday 26th August – Jodhpur
On Sunday we decided to check out Mehranghar Fort. I’d been here before as a child and seen it many times in an Indian Bollywood movie. I even created a travel piece about this Fort years ago at university. There’s so much history within these walls and a view over Jodhpur from certain points.
It is one of the few largest forts in India at an elevation of 410 feet above the city. Within Mehranghar there are a cluster of palaces and there are several gates with different meanings. Outside the palaces you can spot canons lined against a wall, the thick outer walls were built as solid long-lasting defences, which you can see, did their job well.
The Fort’s museum is expansive and one of the largest in Rajasthan; from clothing and jewels to war weaponry, you get a great representation of what life used to be like. Once you exit the fort, there’s another building opposite with beautiful doors (my obsession) and a tranquil courtyard.
The Kite Festival
Later that day I experienced one of my favourite moments in another country. I’d read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini when studying English and that story has an immense sense of place, but I only felt the true rush of the event on this day in a different country.
We were lucky to be there and lucky to be close to locals who had access to their rooftop. Forget ground level, everyone was on their concrete rooftop, kites flying high, the sun relentless until the very end and music beating from every angle, melding together from everyone’s boom box.
Laughter rose as the sun went down, the relief from the heat was shared while fireworks were let off from everywhere. The 360 degree view of Jodhpur was out of this world. You could see Mehranghar Fort in the distance on one side, Mandore Gardens on the other side and the spool was light in my hands as I tried unsuccessfully to control the kite.
We weren’t done. Afterwards my cousins Vinod, Naresh, Ankur and Montu took us out to the Stepwell (learn more about the heritage here). A massive plunging nothingness into the ground, which dependant on the weather was full to the very top.
When it was slightly drier you could see that it was considered a ditch plunging into the ground, made up of steps- thousands of steps reaching up to ground level. It was our last night and we sat in an outdoor rooftop bar, having a laugh and enjoying being in such great company. They were the best hosts and their kindness and hospitality made Jodhpur hard to leave.
