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On the left hand side, behind the white drapes is the bedroom, through the entrance on the right is a hall with the entrance to the bath room and to a tower room
The condition of the roads we took was amazingly good, especially compared to the pot hole covered and speed bump littered roads in and around Bangalore. The first part of the trip was nice and scenic, with mountains, rivers and families of monkeys crossing the roads, but the largest part was on a main road that was supposed to be 4 lanes and got reduced to two lanes because of road works. The majority of the traffic were trucks and buses filling up the small lanes (one lane per direction) and in between were the cars weaving in and out with drivers risking their lives just to squeeze in between the next two trucks. I can tell you I have held my breath for most of the trip and said many prayers to keep us safe (and muttered many comments about the idiots that can't estimate distances and speed racing right at us and signalling us to get out of the way... going where? you *****!). How can India have a billion people with traffic like this? Our driver stopped at a temple along the road, to say a prayer, combined with my endless prayers for survival that might have been what saved us.
We made it to Jodhpur and had a nice surprise when we got upgraded to a suite, WITH an interconnecting room. We always request interconnecting rooms when we book a hotel, but seldom get them, so this was a double bonus.
The next day we went to see the highlights of Jodhpur: a cremation memorial site and a fort (the boys vetoed the local market).
Jaswant Thada is a white marble memorial to Maharajah Jaswant Singh II. The cenotaph was built in 1899 by order of Jaswant's wife, who wanted to see a memorial on the place where her beloved husband was cremated every time she looked out of her window from the palace in the fort.
There are several cenotaphs and a temple-like building with portraits of the Maharajahs that ruled Jodhpur.
Jaswant Thada (1906 AD)
The memorial on the cremation site of Jaswant (1873 - 1895)
Main building, with Hindu, Muslim and British architecture combined, where the portraits of the Maharajahs are displayed.
The fort looks very impressive, towering over the city.
Jodhpur is known as the blue city. We noticed that only this part of it still seems to do justice to that name. In the olden days the Brahmans were the only ones that were allowed to paint their houses blue, but a new law stated that there are no fixed colours anymore, so everyone is free to colour their house any shade they like.
The very bling entertainment room in the palace
The room where the Maharajah would meet with his ministers.
The small areas on the right hand side, with the rolled up curtains, were for the women. They were not allowed to be seen and not allowed to speak to the Maharajah. They had to say whatever they wanted to say to him, to a specially appointed women, who would tell a clerk, who would tell a minister, who would tell the Maharajah. Talking of Chinese whispers....
The last day of our holiday was spent doing nothing. We slept in, had a nice break fast, relaxed in our room(s) and lounged by the pool. We could have filled the day with lots more sight seeing, but my men felt they really needed some time off. Especially since Adriaan had to leave for Singapore and Jakarta for a week, the day after we arrived back home.
I was bored out of my skull halfway through the morning already...but I had had 'my way' several times during the trip (that's the good thing about organising the bookings), so I couldn't complain (still did, ha).
It was a great way to spend our Easter break. Now it is back to normal. Joshua has got exams coming up in May, so no more travelling till we go to NL this summer.
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