We slept in late again today, which was much needed. The heat of the day really takes a toll. The previous day had reached past 110 degrees and today seemed to be about the same. Jodhpur is much more of a desert than Jaipur had been and Jaisalmer, our next destination, would be even more so. We headed over to the palace in the morning and strolled through its museum and vintage car collection. The royal family still owns the palace though most of it has been turned into a five star hotel, which unfortunately we weren’t allowed to see, because from the pictures and descriptions in the museum it seemed extravagant and amazing. We relaxed in the shade at a restaurant in the gardens, quickly sipping ice-cold water before it turned hot.
We convinced an auto to take us to the Mandore Gardens about 12 km outside the city. From what we looked up online, it seemed that they were in a sad state of disrepair and to expect loads of garbage. Though there was definitely garbage (we are in India after all…) it actually seemed quite nice. It was almost reminiscent of central park. Families lounged in the shade of trees, sprawled out on the grass with their picnics. We happened upon a huge abandoned temple complex with beautiful stonework that seemed to be in pretty good condition, especially to some other temples we had visited. A few young girls stood framed in a window of one of the larger temples, waving to us below. As we climbed up to their perch, they asked for us to take photos of them, an unusual request as we were normally asked to be the subjects of photos. We welcomed the changed and snapped photos of them as they posed on the stairs.
After wandering the temples for a while we decided to get out of the heat and grab some lunch back in town. The restaurant, Nirvana Café, had been recommended on Lonely Planet so we decided to give it a try after a kind shop owner gestured directions to us. It was located inside a temple and had beautiful walls filled with intricate paintings and mirrors. The place was empty when we arrived and we had to search to find someone who worked there. We all split three dishes including a Rajasthani special of gram flour dumplings in a red yoghurt gravy. It was pretty good despite being incredibly oily. We hung out in the restaurant a bit after lunch chatting and bringing back childhood card games of go fish and old maid.
Once we though the heat had died down we headed back out to the markets. I found a lady selling saris, fabrics, and scarves, all in this beautiful sheer material with traditional dyed patterns. I bought a red scarf that I had seen trailing behind numerous women’s heads throughout the day. It wasn’t the nicest one as the ends were all fraying to the brink of unraveling but it was the best color/pattern she had. I paid too much for it, of course, but I didn’t feel like arguing with her knowing it was a necessary part of her livelihood and she wasn’t selling to tourists. We then passed by a spice shop that also sold incredible smelling teas in every variety you could think of and stacks and stacks of incense boxes. Lauren and Abby both bought incense and tea while the shopkeeper told us about how Jodhpur is most famous for its incredible textiles. He mentioned a shop, very near to the clock tower, that is world famous for its textiles. Numerous top designers world over sourced their materials and fabrics from this shop. We all decided we wanted to take a look inside.
It was a five story tall building full floor to ceiling and wall to wall with stacks of scarves, bed coverings, fabrics, and all sorts of textiles. The beautiful soft scarves right by the entrance were only Rs 500, a very reasonable price for such a high quality shop. The shopkeeper took us up a floor to show us amazing intricately designed bed coverings made by local women as well as the products world famous designers have ordered from him. As he laid out each idem we cooed over how beautiful they were and when he told us the prices they sell for in the US (since its mostly an export business) and the price he charges in the warehouse, our jaws dropped to the floor. An Armani bed covering that would go for 3,000 Euros was only $170 in the store. Lauren ended up buying one made by local women that looked similar to the ones he sells to Anthropology.
We grabbed lassis at the same café as the previous day before heading to dinner at a restaurant near the hostel. We left early for the train this time and were happy to find it already in the station, giving us plenty of time to find our car and get situated before it started clacking down the tracks. I slept on the side lower bench, which had an uncomfortable bump of metal in the middle and I spent the night hugging my passport to my chest and with my arm slung through my camera bag, just as a precaution, especially since this seat was more accessible to grab things from. Eventually I drifted to sleep as we sped off towards Jaisalmer, our final destination of our journey.
We convinced an auto to take us to the Mandore Gardens about 12 km outside the city. From what we looked up online, it seemed that they were in a sad state of disrepair and to expect loads of garbage. Though there was definitely garbage (we are in India after all…) it actually seemed quite nice. It was almost reminiscent of central park. Families lounged in the shade of trees, sprawled out on the grass with their picnics. We happened upon a huge abandoned temple complex with beautiful stonework that seemed to be in pretty good condition, especially to some other temples we had visited. A few young girls stood framed in a window of one of the larger temples, waving to us below. As we climbed up to their perch, they asked for us to take photos of them, an unusual request as we were normally asked to be the subjects of photos. We welcomed the changed and snapped photos of them as they posed on the stairs.
After wandering the temples for a while we decided to get out of the heat and grab some lunch back in town. The restaurant, Nirvana Café, had been recommended on Lonely Planet so we decided to give it a try after a kind shop owner gestured directions to us. It was located inside a temple and had beautiful walls filled with intricate paintings and mirrors. The place was empty when we arrived and we had to search to find someone who worked there. We all split three dishes including a Rajasthani special of gram flour dumplings in a red yoghurt gravy. It was pretty good despite being incredibly oily. We hung out in the restaurant a bit after lunch chatting and bringing back childhood card games of go fish and old maid.
Once we though the heat had died down we headed back out to the markets. I found a lady selling saris, fabrics, and scarves, all in this beautiful sheer material with traditional dyed patterns. I bought a red scarf that I had seen trailing behind numerous women’s heads throughout the day. It wasn’t the nicest one as the ends were all fraying to the brink of unraveling but it was the best color/pattern she had. I paid too much for it, of course, but I didn’t feel like arguing with her knowing it was a necessary part of her livelihood and she wasn’t selling to tourists. We then passed by a spice shop that also sold incredible smelling teas in every variety you could think of and stacks and stacks of incense boxes. Lauren and Abby both bought incense and tea while the shopkeeper told us about how Jodhpur is most famous for its incredible textiles. He mentioned a shop, very near to the clock tower, that is world famous for its textiles. Numerous top designers world over sourced their materials and fabrics from this shop. We all decided we wanted to take a look inside.
It was a five story tall building full floor to ceiling and wall to wall with stacks of scarves, bed coverings, fabrics, and all sorts of textiles. The beautiful soft scarves right by the entrance were only Rs 500, a very reasonable price for such a high quality shop. The shopkeeper took us up a floor to show us amazing intricately designed bed coverings made by local women as well as the products world famous designers have ordered from him. As he laid out each idem we cooed over how beautiful they were and when he told us the prices they sell for in the US (since its mostly an export business) and the price he charges in the warehouse, our jaws dropped to the floor. An Armani bed covering that would go for 3,000 Euros was only $170 in the store. Lauren ended up buying one made by local women that looked similar to the ones he sells to Anthropology.
We grabbed lassis at the same café as the previous day before heading to dinner at a restaurant near the hostel. We left early for the train this time and were happy to find it already in the station, giving us plenty of time to find our car and get situated before it started clacking down the tracks. I slept on the side lower bench, which had an uncomfortable bump of metal in the middle and I spent the night hugging my passport to my chest and with my arm slung through my camera bag, just as a precaution, especially since this seat was more accessible to grab things from. Eventually I drifted to sleep as we sped off towards Jaisalmer, our final destination of our journey.