A day of Fort-itude

I had trouble sleeping this morning so I made a cup of tea and sat on our verandah in the dark, listening to the sounds of the morning - barking dogs, constant train whistles and the morning call to prayer. Relative to the chaos that is the day, it’s very quiet and peaceful. We had an excellent breakfast at the hotel, trying the Mung bean pancake (with coconut and honey), paratha with potato and paratha with paneer. Josh had pancakes and toast. The service is a little over the top, but very friendly and helpful.
We started the morning at the Mehrangarh Fort. First up was a zipline experience which was terrifying but spectacular. Campbell and I are both scared of heights and anything too sporty gives me performance anxiety. Of course I HAD to read the disclaimer form that I sign. After we harness up there was some waiting about, which gave me plenty of time to start imagining all the horrors listed in the disclaimer. The safety briefing and the practice session ramped my nerves up to fever pitch and I could barely breathe by the time we reached the first of six zip lines. I was rewarded for persevering - the scenery was spectacular and flying over the fort and the dam was exhilarating after the initial panic. Our group included the four of us and a young lawyer from Delhi. Since she was on her own we took photos on my camera for her, she took some good ones of us and we have swapped photos on What’s App. Her husband is in Australia right now covering the cricket and it was fun to make friends during our experience.
The pace ramped down a little with a tour of the fort afterwards. What a magnificent structure. It’s an architectural masterpiece, perched high up on the hill, following the cliff line with intricate carving and detail on every surface. The elephant howdahs and the palenquins were a highlight and a few of the ornate painted and decorated rooms (stained glass from Murano) were works of art. The boys flagged a bit as the tour was long with a LOT of detail but they politely listened and asked a few questions and did me proud.
We had a brief stop at the memorial where the cremated kings are housed. Our guide proudly explained that it is called the ‘Taj Mahal of Marwar’. It’s actually a small marble building, quite pretty, with photos of the kings. We were starving by now so our guide took us to an unpreposessing street frontage where we walked down a dark narrow passage way. I was dubious till we emerged into a lovely cool garden courtyard where we ate exceptional Indian for half the price of the hotel dinner last night. Josh was delighted to find chicken strips and chips on the menu. I can see these plus steamed rice will be his staple lunch and dinner diet for the next week.
After a brief downtime stop at the hotel, we ventured out for a walking tour of Jodhpur. Our guide had a stream of information to offer and would happily answer any question about any topic. It’s difficult to express in words the experience of this walk and the senses it engaged. The noise was dominant initially - the deafening sputter of the scooters and the Tuk Tuks, the yelled greetings and conversations that take place (no one seems to stand next to each other to chat) and the music that drifts out from houses and shops to provide a topnote. Next the visual - the colour of the saris and houses (havelli) is a backdrop to the most eclectic, fascinating place I have ever been. Narrow shops piled high with bags of spices; a dentist, providing services while sitting on the ground under a tree; tiny toddler girls with kohl outlined eyes; five older gentleman playing cards on a step with another six looking on and advising, and everywhere, curious but friendly smiles. There are hundreds of stray dogs - well fed and lazy. The physical aspects of the walk were tough. Firstly the ground is uneven and you have to watch where you step, which is difficult when there is so much to see. The main problem though is that both the narrow laneways and the wide squares are shared thoroughfares for walkers, scooters, Tuk tuks and cars. For me, who struggles to cross the road then there is no designated crossing, this was challenging. I winced and flinched and tucked my elbows in and prayed through the whole hour and a half. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world though. The shops in the market are for residents, not tourists so we couldn’t by so much as a postcard but I did manage to do some damage to my finances at a textile warehouse. We needed some downtime after our amazing day and ate at the hotel before an early night.