Jodhpur

The Mehrangarh Fort from the outside, walking up the road towards it.

The 'blue city' (the old part of Jodhpur) seen from inside the fort.

Near the gates into the inner part of the fort. There is a corner just behind us which is a 90 degree angle so that elephants can't get a run up and charge at a great speed. Also there are spikes on the gates.

Sophia and Johannes listening to the audio tour that they provided for us. It was really interesting and very well done.

Inside one of the many courtyards, looking up

The Maharaja's throne made of marble

Inside the "Pleasure Room", where they held poetry readings, music and dance performances.

We got a beautiful demo of traditional music from this guy and his brother. Here he is telling Jo about this instrument called something like 'the Sangar'

Pigeons hanging out.

Inside another one of the internal courtyards of the fort.

There is amazing lattice work like this all throughout the fort. Apparently each window has a different pattern, and enables viewers to look out without being seen themselves. Especially good for the wives who needed to know what was going on below without being gazed upon by unwanted eyes.

I think this is the room where law and courtly matters where dealt with.

Sophia relaxing after our long fort visit. (We were there for hours and hours without food and often in the hot sun, so this restaurant down in the old city was most welcomed).

Down by the markets another day...

Sarees being sold in the markets.

It feels like the end of an era almost, as today is the last spent in Jodhpur before leaving by train tomorrow morning for Agra where we will see the Taj, head to Delhi, and send Sophia off back to Australia.

We've been in this city of around a million (ahhh... we thought when we arrived. Nice and small) for five days now, it is almost becoming a sort of routine being here and we've been able to settle into long explorations of the old town's back streets filled with saree makers and spice sellers, cloth dyers and jewellery crafters. Walking through some of the quieter streets, you get glimpses into the tiny low rooms within the old blue or white stone buildings of scenes all different yet somehow similar: this intense concentration of men or boys gluing beads to the end of a staff with a matchstick end.... or the welding of metals together into some creation not visible to the eye, only the sparks hint to you what is being done. Sometimes eyes peer at you from these crevices and out into the road, other times the task is too absorbing to notice a bunch of foreigners wandering by.
Out in the market place it is all hawkers and beggars: you can't walk ten steps without getting inundated with "where you from?" "Hello!" "Yes......what you want?" shouted across from stalls, shops or boys who follow you talking, talking, trying to coax you into their "very good" shop just over there that is "very famous" even Axyl Rose has been there. True.
We are learning to say "no thank you" in a way that means people will piss off, and learning to ignore the gentle hands of small dirty children tugging at our arms and repeating a phrase over and over and over.... It makes me sad, and yet I've also heard all the stories about money being passed on to a leader-type person and about objects being sold back to the shops that sell them... We carry bananas or small things to eat and hand them out. Yet often the women with the crying babies won't take food and just keep asking for money. Do you really need food then? I think, and start to disbelieve all of them. Who to trust and who not to can be confusing at times.

On the other hand, what is a lot of money to these people is a few dollars to us, so it doesn't hurt to get ripped off a few times, although I feel much better when charged standard price for things.

 FOrgot to mention the stunning fort.... see for yourselves above in the pictures..... it's the biggest in Rajistan.