Jodhpur to Delhi: Dust to Dustier

Thursday April 30

We arrived in Jodhpur at 6am from Jaipur. We had organised to stay with a couchsurfer family and Arvind had kindly offered for us to ring him when we got in, so we turned up at their house at like 6:30am. They live about 10 mins- by tuk tuk- from the centre of Jodhpur. So Arvind and his wife Needy (pronounced kind of like Neghi) and his son Lakshi (Lubby for short), met us with hot chai and warm smiles and it felt good to meet a fellow couchsurfer. Arvind totally has the whole spirit of couchsurfing- its about meeting people and learning about cultures- not just a place to stay. We slept for a couple of hours and then chatted more with Arvind and Needy before heading out for some sight seeing in Jodphur.

We had some lunch in town and lingered in the AC for as long as possible then headed out into the midday sun (47 degrees) to wander around the old town. It’s a really amazing place, there’s winding streets, markets and ancient buildings all crowding in together. Add in a few cows, tuk tuks and a few hundred people and you have a pretty interesting place.

(ahh the backstreets of Jodhpurs old city... Nick's face says it all)

After about two hours of wandering and stopping for tea in a spice shop, we started the long sweaty trek up the hill to Jodhpurs amazing fort. We stopped for a couple minutes in a quiet spot overlooking the old town and were joined by two billy goats who butted into us a few times and gave us a much needed laugh. Then they followed us for a while and showed off their climbing skills by jumping up and down the rock walls.

(Billy goats)

The Fort- "Meherangarh" was really amazing, and from up there were phenomenal views of the old 'blue' city below. It has this really peaceful feeling, everyone wanders around quietly listening to the audio guides and taking photos. It was much better looked after than Amber fort in Jaipur, and the audio tour was really good, when I commented this to the guy who gave them out he said they are produced in Sydney!

(Jodhpur's old blue city, in the background you can see the city walls)
This evening we headed out to a local resort/ bar/ restaurant with Arvind, Needy and Lakshi. It was really cool, they have folk music and shows scattered around this massive green lawn (which in itself is a sight in Rajasthan) and separate buildings for the bar and hotel and restaurant. We drank a couple Kingfishers then had the best Indian meal we’d had so far (probably cos we had help ordering)! Arvind, Needy and little Lakshi were really a joy to be around. They all have such a great sense of humour. Arvind was constantly telling jokes and telling us tall tales about Needy- it was only from the look on her face that we’d know he was joking. (all of us out to dinner)

Friday May 1

Today we hung around for the morning chatting to Arvind and Needy, and we were just leaving at 12 noon when Lakshi was getting home from school- so we had to wait a little longer and hang out with him for a while.

(Lakshi- he would talk constantly to us in Hindi and we would try to get the jist of what he was saying)

He is turning four in June and he is a whizz on his dads laptop, he’s learning English and Maths at school and seems very advanced for his age (we helped him with his homework- but he didn’t need help!) Needy said all the kids are pretty much doing the same work, they start them young here!

We headed into Jodhpur again and went up to Jaswant Thada, a memorial built for one of the Maharaja’s of Jodphur (see above). It was extremely peaceful and beautiful overlooking the whole of Jodphur.Then we headed over to Umaid Bhawan Palace which is just spectacular. It was started in the 1920’s (along with a dam) as a drought relief effort and gave jobs to 3000 Rajasthani’s. The Maharaja himself laid the cornerstone. In the 30's some Polish artist who had fled Poland because of the war did the art Deco interior decorations around the whole Palace- there had been a whole team of artists coming on a ship from Europe but their boat had been sunk by the Germans. Jodhpur has been the highlight of India so far.

(inside Jodhpur Palace- well the bit open to the public anyway)

We went back to Arvind's for a home cooked meal. Needy is an awesome cook. It beat out last night's meal for deliciousness... and we had a constant supply of hot fresh cooked Chappati being brought out. Finally we had to say good bye to Arvind and his family, after only two days and one night they already felt like great friends so once again we didn't really want to leave but we had a train to catch.

(Arvind, Lakshi and Nick)

Our last couple of hours in Jodphur there was a huge dust storm that hit town, like nothing we’ve ever seen, it was crazy. Driving in a tuk tuk to the train station we could barely see, there was dust everywhere- we had scarves wrapped around our heads and over our mouths and our sunnies on... but there was still dust getting in. (Dust- you can faintly make out a bus and a tuk tuk)

(Jodhpur train station- half these ppl were in our carriage)

Then we had to get on the train, we couldnt get a proper ticket so we went on the waiting list in cattle class which means you jump on the train and pray that you get a seat so you dont have to stand up for the next 12 hours. We did find seats but then the conductor moved us up and down the train and we got given a seat number, but when we got to the carriage it was packed and there were some old indian guys sitting in our seats, one dude was about 60 and obviously had serious head injuries (bloody bandages to the head) and was passed out across one bed. We sat on the floor and cursed the conductor for making us move but then these gun toting police showed up (they patrol a train- is there really a need for that massive gun slung over your shoulder?)
So then the gun toting police guys demand that head injury guy moves, he could barely sit up so people had to practically carry him across to a packed seat to sit up! We tried our best to convince them that the poor guy should stay they just kept yelling something in Hindi until we sat down, deciding it was best not to argue with the gun men.

The Indians sense of compassion is hard to figure out.

One of the old guys across from us explained that it was ok, they were getting off soon anyway- and we thought.. all the more reason to let him stay laying down?

Anyway, dust continued to pour in the windows all night and covered us in a fine silt while we slept. It was pointless to wipe it away because a second later it was back. The train was rocking so violently Karly kept sliding off the end of the sleeper berth.

Saturday May 2

Arriving in Delhi Nick enjoyed the beautiful dawn silhouttes of trees and local farms as the sun was rising... Then the sewerage treatment plants started and you would think the smell would wake anyone... well actually everyone in the carriage was up and ready to jump off the train except Karly who was still curled up asleep... much to everyone's amusment. As we moved in to the city we passed the railside slums and were greeted by a line up of penises welcoming us to their fair city as only Indians can... crouching for their morning toilet break.

We arrived into Old Delhi train station and we met by about 400 tuk tuks and their drivers all vying for our attention. We didn't care that we paid probably double what we should have we just want to get to our hotel as soon as possible to get de-dusted. Enroute we saw some pretty gross things on the streets of Old Delhi, I won't go into detail but lets just say I think I have now seen it all.

Our Hotel is in Paharganj, the backpacker/ traveller hotspot for New Delhi, dingy, dirty, dusty, but plenty to see and some interesting little cafes trying to be continental with pasta and pizza top of the menu. The hotels are all crammed into these little alleys off the 'main bazaar', you are lucky if you get a window- even luckier if it has actual sunlight coming in, ours just opens into an air shaft.

(our alleyway)

Next stop- India's favourite Hill Station "Shimla"