Jodhpur, The Blue City – A Fantasy Land

After a great week in Udaipur, we said goodbye to the Lake City and took a taxi to our next destination, Jodhpur. It is also known as the Blue City because of the blue colours that decorate many of the houses in the old part.

The drive to Jodhpur was an experience on its own. The two cities are just over 200 km apart but took us over four hours to arrive at our destination. We often had to slow down due to cows crossing, animals being herded by shepherds or just hitting some serious bumps/craters in the road. One cool thing was seeing a caravan of camels pass by which sadly I was too slow to catch on camera. But here’re some sheep for you 😉

 

Accommodation

We booked three nights at Singhvi Haveli just at the foot of the majestic Mehrangarh fort. Our Haveli was one of the most beautiful places we’ve had the pleasure of staying at.

 

Our first night was spent in a simple room due to everything being booked. It was tiny but made up for it by its charm and gorgeous tile work on the walls. We were moved to a suite for our last two nights. It was a stunning room  furnished with beautiful antique furniture and carved archways in the middle of the room separating it into sleeping and sitting areas.

 

The beauty didn’t stop there! The restaurant, common room and the rooftops, all were a feast for the eyes. We had a gorgeous view of the whole city and the powerful fort towering over us.

 

 

 

 

Mehrangarh Fort

If there is only one thing you do when visiting Jodhpur, let it be the fort. Mehrangarh is one of the largest forts in India. It was built in the 1460s and towers over the city at about 410 feet high, enclosed in an impressive thick wall. We spent an afternoon walking inside this impressive structure listening to The Maharaja Gaj Singh II, who beautifully narrates the history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know that Mehrangarh was used in the filming of the batman movie,  ‘Dark Knight Rises’ ? It’s where Batman was held a prisoner in the movie!

 

Streets of Jodhpur

One of the things we really enjoyed in Jodhpur was walking around the old town. The streets are narrow and lined with many shops. It’s incredibly busy in good old Indian fashion, shared amongst people, tuk-tuks and various animals. There are open sewers and garbage everywhere. We even saw a rat or two scurry into the sewers (it really freaked me out! )

You are probably thinking – “She isn’t painting a very pretty picture!”. You can’t help but fall in love with this town. There is an energy emanating from every little corner of this old town that somehow makes you forget about the filth and the pollution. There is beauty in the run-down beautifully carved buildings that house many shops and homes and everyone seems to be in such a good mood, smiling and chatting away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are planning a trip to Rajasthan, make sure you include Jodhpur in your itinerary. It is a magical place!