Shopping in Jodhpur

On arrival in Jodhpur, I was taken straight to a clothing shop to purchase a gift for Tinu for her upcoming wedding. I loved the process of sitting on the floor and having all the beautiful fabrics spread in front of me.  The colours dancing in front of me, embellished with sequins and the like, were dazzling.  To say that I’m Indian at heart is an understatement – I have always loved the most outrageous over-the-top bling, so I was in heaven.

After choosing the Rajasthani dress I liked the most, I said goodbye to Bhiv and Bhanwar, and Vikram invited me to his home for lunch, and it was so great to see his wife and daughter again.  Such wonderful people and the food was delicious.

After lunch, Vikram took me to the Guesthouse that had been booked for me.  On the way, I saw a dog whose nail had curled up and grown back into the skin on top of the paw.  Anyone who has travelled in the Indian traffic will know, you just don’t stop, and a pedestrian better not get in the middle of it.  On reflection, the dog would probably have chewed my arm off, nevertheless, I was very upset.

This mood set me up badly for what was to come.  I wasn’t able to stay in the lovely place that I’d set my heart on, and the Guest House I landed up in was less than desirable.  What I should have done, was ask Vikram to find another place, and take a day or two to myself and rest, but alas, I didn’t.  The room I was given was on the main road (noise, noise, noise, and more noise), and there was a wall between me and reception.  I was in a foul mood and my strep throat was out of control, but I was in one of my favourite cities, and it has to be said that the young man who assisted me was really helpful, and made me a delicious cup of coffee.  I attempted to take a nap before Sandeep and Vishal came to fetch me. 

The Blue City

It was so great to see my friends.  I am amazed by how much they have grown up since I first met them.  Sandeep, Vishal, and Poonam are married and Vishal and Poonam are parents.  We had dinner at Sandeep’s house, where I got reacquainted with his wife, mom, granny, and dad, and Poonam and her daughter were visiting as well.  It was also decided that I would check out of the Guest House the following day, and stay at Sandeep’s home.  When I was dropped off at the Guesthouse late that night, I had a good giggle because, in true Indian style, the staff was sleeping on the floor around the reception desk.

Sandeep and his wife had left, but true to form, he had directed everyone as to their role in my entertainment.  After I had been fetched and settled into the Bhati house, I was taken to the Mehrangarh Fort by Vishal – pure joy. We went on his motorbike, and I was so happy to be in my favourite place in Jodhpur.  I feel really happy there, and when I watched the movie A Passage to India again recently, I shrieked with happiness when I saw the final scene was filmed there!

It was time to leave the fort again, and my next stop was Vishal’s house.  I was treated to some delicious cold coffee, supper and a cake and balloons in honour of Christmas.  Wow, what a fantastic surprise!  To be honest, I had forgotten about Christmas – this happens to me when I travel.  We finished off our visit by watching Vishal’s wedding video, and it was late by the time I got back to my new residence.  Poonam and I stood banging on the door for ages before her mom was roused to open the door.

The next day, Poonam’s uncle (grudgingly) gave me a prescription for antibiotics – I got 3 tablets which took the edge off the strep throat (it would take 2 intense courses on my return to SA, to get rid of it).  Poonam, her daughter, and I got a tuk-tuk into town.  We went to a restaurant for a yummy lunch and then went shopping.  It is never easy to shop with small children, and you can multiply your worst experience by 100 when imagining what it’s like in India.  After braving the shops, we took a load off and enjoyed some chai.  It was time to go home, so a tuk-tuk was waved down.  The rest of the day was spent chilling with friends and keeping the little one entertained.

My last day in Jodhpur had arrived.  Bhiv came to visit me which was so touching.  He sat and chatted for quite some time, and no doubt made sure I was well taken care of.  Vishal became the director of affairs and sent his younger brother to see to my entertainment for the day.  Himmat had also arrived to accompany me on the next leg of my journey – we were catching a midnight train to Jaisalmer.  So, we had a full day to fill and decided to visit the Mandore Gardens.  We had a really relaxing walk around, and then enjoyed a cold drink in the tea room.  It was here that I overheard another tourist say that she had lost all her holiday pictures because the SD card in her phone was corrupted.  My blood chilled in my veins…..seriously.  I cannot imagine getting to the end of my journey and discovering that all my photos are gone!

Movies

Next stop…..MOVIES…..we went to see Tiger Zinda Hai and no, there are no English sub titles, but I didn’t and never have had a problem following the story.  Everyone who goes into the movie house is searched, and I had my padkos confiscated…….too funny, but I got it back at the end of the show.

It was on this trip that I discovered how the Indian train system works, and it did not work in my favour this time round.  When you book a ticket on a sleeper train, your seat is not confirmed immediately.  The confirmation comes through later, and if you haven’t received a confirmation, you are “man with no seat/bed”.  Now if I were travelling during the day, I don’t think this would worry me, after all, I have a ticket booked and paid for.  After midnight however, it begins to pall.  Everyone with a bed is sleeping, and doesn’t take kindly to having the light put on, and the conductor has better things to do, and generally wants a bribe before he will allocate a seat.  Needless to say, I got really irate when I was told this, and was ready to deck someone.  Why is it that people are embarrassed when I say that something is wrong?  It’s infuriating!  I was told by the conductor that I wouldn’t be thrown off the train, because I’m a guest, and therefore a VIP.  That said, it still took forever to sort out the seat situation.  I got about an hours sleep before it was time to disembark in Jaisalmer.

Reminiscing, I realise how stupid I was.  The travelling I did with little to no sleep, and being sick was just silly.  I really should have spent at least 2 days on my own, doing very little besides sleep.  Himmat took my bad humour in the most mature way I have ever experienced, his contribution to it aside.