a bit around rajasthan...

the last few days in pushkar were spent trying out different restaurants, sitting on the terrace and flying kites. our guest house owner took us for a ride outside the town and inside the barren landscape of rajasthan. we visited a baba, had some tea and saw a 500-year old banyan, a tree that grows roots out of its branches. people usually take scooters or bikes to go around the surrounding villages, but it was even better in a car, with all the dust and sand kept on the other side of the window. the evening was spiced up with a fire on the terrace (and additionally with a piece of dry cow shit we used as well), since it's been very cold lately.

in order to break up the daily pushkar routine a bit and float outside the pushkar bubble, we decided to go for a ride to jodhpur. we set of early in the morning (which would be something around eight), just after we met up with jenny in the it's-actually-named 'techno chaishop' on the main bazaar. the ride was great, since nitin (and us all) could enjoy the fancy new roads, another project of the indian government (thank you for the music). it took as around five hours to get there, but the ride was everything but boring. surviving multiple trucks-buses-tractors-bikes overtakings, trying to spot neel gayas (a type of deer or so) and checking out the bare landscape outside made the time pass by quite fast.

before we knew it, we could spot the 500-year old fort meherangarh in the distance and we started fighting our way into the city. although lonely planet (and some people) warned about the hassle in the city center, i've experienced much more hassle in mumbai, jaipur and some other places. i didn't want to jinx myself though, so i kept quite and enjoyed the (for now) peaceful walk around the bazaar. we spent most of the time sitting on the terrace enjoying the view (and a kind of millet bread) or walking around the bazaar. we also used to opportunity to grab a couple of beers (since alcohol's banned in pushkar) and we hit the sack after the dinner and a couple of mind games.

we were staying at an older couple's guest house with a fantastic view of the old fort, which we visited the next day. grabbing the set for the audio tour and shamelessly taking photos, i was determined to take advantage of all the options i got for the amount i had to pay to get in (not to mention the tourist vs. indian price ratio is more than 10:1). the fort was built on a 125 m high hill and is still run by the maharaja of jodhpur, showing the magnificent abilities and the influence of the rajas at that time (as well as now). the city was located on an important trading route, so it grew big and powerful and today it's one of the best-known spice meccas, famous for its saffron lassi (a drink similar to sour milk), supposedly the most refreshing of all drinks. the actual size (second thickest walls in the world, after the chinese wall) and the surreal appearance of the fort hit you as you start climbing towards it up the hill. turning around and looking over the whole city is even crazier.

jenny hit the road towards udaipur and we started back towards pushkar. we'll be heading for delhi, visiting some friends and settling business (in marina and nitin's case). the weekend after we'll be going off to corbett national tiger reserve, so keep those fingers crossed we spot some.

until the next update...