Jodhpur - Life in the Rajasthani Desert
Wednesday - December 31, 1997
New Year's Eve was a long day for us. The road trip was fascinating but tiring. We arrived in Jodhpur and were taken to a rather rustic hotel just outside Jodhpur. This place might have been a nice choice for a summer vacation but it was inappropriate for the unusually cold winter of 1997-98. There was no heat in the bungalows and there were lizards crawling on the walls and mosquitos coming into the room through holes in the screens. After attempting to cover the open screen with cardboard and duct tape (always bring duct tape when you travel), we finally decided that there must be better accommodations for us somewhere in Jodhpur. Armed with our trusty Cadogan travel guide book, we took a ride into town and found an adequate, if bland, hotel across from the train station. Next door was a simple vegetarian restaurant where we enjoyed our New Year's Eve complete with live music and two young boys dancing in traditional clothing. The waiter apologized for the fact that because it was New Year's Eve we would have to order at least 200 rupees worth of food. 200 rupees is roughly 5 U.S. Dollars. We rolled with the punches and ended up having a fun time and a reasonably comfortable hotel room. The next day, however, we found a lovely place to stay.
Thursday - January 1, 1998
In the morning we went in search of better accommodations. We found a lovely place called the Ajit Bhawan Palace. This hotel had lovely grounds, comfortable rooms, and great service. They even put a space heater in our room to help fend off the cold. The food at the hotel was fresh, especially the dairy products. As you can see from the picture above, the hotel maintained its own cows to ensure freshness.
After we checked in, we went about exploring Jodhpur on our own. The picture above is of the clock tower market where we found lovely textiles, spices, and produce. Kathleen took a panoramic shot of the market that you can view by clicking the button below.
I also have a panoramic shot of a wall hanging we purchased.
Late in the day, we took a tour of the monuments of Jodhpur including the Meherangarh Fort which is the finest fort in Rajasthan. By this time in the trip, however, we were getting fatigued visiting monuments. The Jaswant Thada pictured above, however, did capture our interest. This is a white marble cenotaph to Maharajah Jaswant Singh II. Built in 1899 of translucent white marble, this monument contains portraits of 12 rulers of old Mandore. Outside is the royal crematorium which is still used today to store the remains of the local royalty.
Our evening at the Ajit Bhawan Palace Hotel was fun. We had a lovely outdoor dinner and retired comfortably.
Friday - January 2, 1998
We spent the morning relaxing on the beautiful grounds of the hotel. Kathleen took advantage of the therapeutic massage services available near the hotel's lovely pool which we would have used had it been warmer. We also saw quite a number of swastika symbols on the walls and in clay sculptures and wood carvings. In our culture this symbol provokes immediate revulsion. In India it symbolizes a prayer for peace and prosperity. Indians are defiant in not allowing Hitler's heinous crimes to tarnish the significance of this ancient and beloved symbol. This symbol is more than 8000 years old and is found in the art and writings of many cultures including Sanskrit, Pali, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, Burmese, Sianese, Sinhalese, Roman, Greek, and Latin. Travel can be a real education. After a thorough tour of the grounds, I settled into the front porch of our bungalow to read my copy of David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. In the afternoon we caught a flight back to Delhi where we were once again welcomed by the modern rooms and friendly service at the Connaught Hotel.