Jodhpur: The Blue City

It’s back on the road today. An incredibly long, but only 295 km (183 miles) drive from Jaipur, brings us to Jodhpur, the Blue City. The further you get from Jaipur the more arid and extreme the landscape becomes. Goats and oxen are replaced by camels, fields of crops by sand and dunes, only an occasional wind torn, sun baked tree remnant breaks the vast horizon. This is Rajasthan at its cruelest. This is also Rajasthan at is coolest. You can just imagine the Maharajah’s armies in full battle regalia, a regiment of camels’ hooves thundering across the parched land trailed by a billowing whirlwind of dust and sand. If you have an extra couple of days think about possible side trips to Ranthambore Tiger Preserve or Jaisalmer –the Gold City- extremely close the Pakistani border. We, however, deferred wildlife and adventure travel for more pressing concerns –shopping!

Jodhpur is known as the shopping Mecca of Rajasthan. Everyone who shops in India eventually finds himself or herself here. Importers, exporters, transporters, all other sorts of –orters call this place home. This is the reason we initially decided to come to India. This was the city that was the secret weapon of all the dealers, this was it, and IT didn’t disappoint.

Tomorrow I will start to describe some of the incredible finds, and the wild and wonderful shopping experiences we had. Tonight I will leave you with some pictures of probably the most visually impressive hotel I have ever seen. This is the place Elizabeth Hurley married Arun Nayar. Even if you don’t stay here, you need to have a coffee, cup of tea, or dinner on the terrace. The rooms are gigantic, the hotel is gigantic, even the view is gigantic. In the evening with a crystal clear sky, a hundred million glistening stars, an incredibly calming warm breeze against your face, peering up towards the lighted fort upon the cliffs in the distance, you can only think of one word – magical. This place is truly magical.