[Nikhilb2008]

In the month of January, I had some work in Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. Knowing how much she loves travelling, I told my wife to pack her bags for a week long trip!




Drove from Delhi to Jaipur on 26th afternoon. Surprisingly smooth drive. Not too many diversions and hardly any traffic. Maybe because it was a national holiday, but I am not complaining.

Reached our hotel, the Umaid Bhawan Hotel, behind collectorate office around 7:00 pm.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I had work in Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur. So, no sightseeing as such.

Monday, we went to Chokhi Dhaani which is famous for giving guests a feel of a traditional Rajasthani village. I dont know how true it is, but it was enjoyable. The food was excellent but as it turns out, both my wife and I did not take to Rajasthani cuisine.

Some pictures.





























The shopping area within chokhi Dhaani. They promise that the goods you buy are original handicrafts and also give a price guarantee that you cannot find equal quality for a lower price.

[Nikhilb2008]

We then left for Udaipur on Tuesday morning and the drive was wonderful. One of the better drives of my life. Reached our hotel, Mahendra Prakash around 9:45 am after having left our Jaipur hotel at 4:30 exactly. We stopped for half an hour for a quick breakfast at some dhaba.

Couldnt do much sightseeing and left for Jodhpur the next morning. Reached Jodhpur and worked on Wednesday but we had kept Thursday as a free day for some sightseeing.

On Thursday, we started with the Mehrangarh Fort and did a little research before we reached. This is the fort that is seen in the background in The Dark Knight Rises when Bruce Wayne emerges from the Pit.

The history of this fort is fascinating and it has never been taken by force by any invading army. It has been built on a huge rock and that makes it impenetrable.

Some pictures of the Fort:


View of the fort from the parking lot.







Paintings near the main gate.





More views of the various sections of the fort.








The marks left by enemy cannon balls on the fort walls.




The fort wall extends far beyond what is traditionally called Mehrangarh Fort.



The fort's construction was started by Rao Jodha after whom the city is named. He shifted his capital from Mandore to this rock on which he started building his fort. The fort has been built and modified by various kings and very little of the original Rao Jodha fort is visible. This is one of the few points.




The intricate details is visible in this pic.



Just a view of another section of the palaces.



The stage made of marble and topped with a small marble throne where the coronation of the king takes place.

[Nikhilb2008]

A closer view of the jarokha. The intricate stone work is very detailed. It's amazing to think of the craftsmanship of those times and the beauty is that the delicacy has been preserved to this day. This is a testament to the quality of work while we live in a use-and-throw era.




The howdah used by the king when he was travelling on an elephant. The Mehrangarh fort has many museums which showcase hundreds of items from the lives of the Rajput kings. This was one museum devoted to elephant howdahs. The term "Maharaja" was given by Shah Jahan to the Rajput. Shah Jahan himself was 3/4th Rajput as Akbar and Jahangir had both married Rajputani princesses.


A palanquin used by the ladies of the palace to travel.






This special palanquin was used by the Queen Mother when she travelled to England. The English media was hounding her day and night but couldnt catch a glimpse of her at all. There was one picture that was captured that showed her ankles as she got out from the palanquin and into her Rolls Royce. This was scandalous enough for the Rajputs and they bought every copy of the paper and destroyed it so that the photo couldnt find it's way back to India.



This man was sitting and smoking opium.




Another view.



These two men were showcasing the Rajasthani turban. They stretched out a piece of cloth about 15 feet long and one of the men started tying it round his head while the other kept moving closer to him. By the end of it, the 15 feet long cloth had been tied around his head. The foreigners in the courtyard were blown away by this wizardry!

[Nikhilb2008]

The Royal Palanquin. It is spacious enough for the king to lie down and have a nap. Gilded frame too. Looks fantastic and had to be carried by 12 men.



The marble box used by the ladies of the palace to keep their jewellery.


The famous Gangaur doll of the Rajputs. This idol is very popular and sacred to the Rajputs. Invaders would always try to loot the idols because it would demoralise the Rajputs quite a bit.


A room decorated with mirrors and other sparkly stuff.



The Phool Mahal. This was the king's room of pleasure. Interpret it as you see fit!







Just a view from one of the rooms looking out over the city of Jodhpur. The fort walls encompassed the whole city. It was built by various kings to keep out invaders. Very similar to the Great Wall of China. It can be seen snaking it's way around the old city of Jodhpur.



This was another room where the king lived. Supposedly this was a room where one of the kings was killed by his son.


The Blue City of Jodhpur.




This is the room which acts as the museum for all the cradles used by the royal family.




The Moti Mahal. This was the King's durbar. He had audiences with selected people and his ministers here. This room had secret windows from where the queens could watch the proceedings.

[Nikhilb2008]

You can see the old wall protecting Jodhpur in the distance.






Some more pics of the palaces












The Jaswant Thada. This is the final resting place for the Rajput royal family. I dont think they are actual graves but some sort of memorials.










Some people call this as the Taj Mahal of the Marwar region. The marble used is the same Makarana Marble used in the construction of the Taj. Also, the marble used here is translucent and is very evident at certain times of the day.

What you see here is the sun shining brightly outside making the wall a beautiful painting.



















The imposing hulk of the Mehrangarh Fort looming over the city of Jodhpur as viewed from Jaswant Thada.

[Nikhilb2008]

The Umaid Bhawan Palace is something that cannot be described by words. It exceeds all the superlatives normally used to describe something like this.

It was built by the King of Jodhpur Umaid Singh to help his people during a drought. The massive construction project was a simple application of Keynesian Economics. This palace was designed by some British firm and the architect was one of the candidates to build New Delhi (that project was finally given to Edwin Lutyens). This is probably why the architecture and design of this palace resembles some of the buildings in New Delhi.



This is one of the world's largest residences and is the last great palace to be built in India. It has 347 rooms. It cost Rs. 94 lakhs in 1944 and took 15 years to build. The museum also houses an exotic car collection with a couple of Rolls Royces, a Mercedes Cadillac, Humber and many others. Photography is allowed but due to the fact that the cars are behind a pane of glass, I didnt bother with my camera.



The scale of everything inside is monumental. As of now, most of the palace is a hotel run by the Taj group. A small portion is the museum and a substantial portion is the private residence of the royal family.







The below pic is of the main porch of the hotel where some employees are waiting for a busload of well heeled foreign tourists to arrive.



The museum is open to the public and is well worth a visit. You get a very clear idea of the lavishness with which the kings and the royal family used to live. They have displays of the crockery used by the royal family, sample menus and other "mundane" items from everyday life which gives a fascinating glimpse into the extravagance of their lives.


After the museum, we went to a hotel called Pal Haveli which is in the heart of the old city and has a fantastic view of the fort. The fort when lit up at night looks beautiful and we went early to take pics of the fort at different points during sunset and later.









After having a yummy Indian dinner, we headed back to sleep and drove to Jaipur the next day.

Thus ended our one day of hectic fun in Jodhpur. Definitely a must visit if you are in the nearby area. I wish I had the time to visit Jaisalmer but maybe next time!

[parrys]

Excellent set of pictures Nikhilb2008, especially the very first one

One thing I like about travelogues, you can travel to places from your computer screen.

The fort really looks amazing when lit up at night.

Why not a single picture of your ride?

[Nikhilb2008]

No picture of my car as it was FILTHY! And I just didnt bother when I had so many other beautiful places to photograph!

[Shreyans_Jain]

Some amazing photography there. Especially the ones showing the translucence of the marble.

I didn't know this fort was the backdrop in the Dark Knight Rises scene. Way to go!!

How is the condition of the road from Delhi to Jodhpur?

[raghubhaskar]

Beautiful pics Nikhil..!! It's been one of my dreams to visit Rajasthan, not got the time to do it yet.

When is the best time to visit the place? I don't like it when it's too hot.

[swiftnfurious]

Beautiful pics. Just getting a feel of the craftsmanship of that era. Can't believe those were done in stones. I was actually thinking it would be a wood work.

[Nikhilb2008]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Some amazing photography there. Especially the ones showing the translucence of the marble.

I didn't know this fort was the backdrop in the Dark Knight Rises scene. Way to go!!

How is the condition of the road from Delhi to Jodhpur?

I wish I could upload full resolution pics on TBHP. The glory of these monuments is compressed badly because of the 1 MB limit.

Delhi to Jodhpur is via Jaipur and the road condition is ok.

Delhi to Jaipur is normal. Depends a lot on what time you leave.

Jaipur to Jodhpur is just fantastic. Uptil Beawar, the road is like an expressway. From Beawar, it is a 2-lane road most of the way but the surface is fantastic.

Originally Posted by raghubhaskar

Beautiful pics Nikhil..!! It's been one of my dreams to visit Rajasthan, not got the time to do it yet.

When is the best time to visit the place? I don't like it when it's too hot.

Best place is December and January. Even when we were there it was quite warm! Had to sleep with the fan on in Jaipur on the last day of the trip. We could feel it getting progressively warmer over the 6 days.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Beautiful pics. Just getting a feel of the craftsmanship of that era. Can't believe those were done in stones. I was actually thinking it would be a wood work.

Exactly, that is the beauty of these structures. And what is amazing is that even today, 400 or 500 years later, the condition is very good.

[debmum]

Amazing photography and description Nikhil. I had always thought of going to Rajasthan, but for some reason it is not materialising. This time however I am resolute on visiting this beautiful state after reading your travelogue. I plan to drive from Mumbai, and hope it would not be such a big hassle. Will do some reaserch on driving from Mumbai to Jaipur, Udaipur etc. How was the hotels that you have mentioned?

[Ameya_G]

Hi Nikhil,

I was in Rajasthan in the last week of November for my 2nd anniversary and had visited all these places along with Jaisalmer and Udaipur. Felt like I was reliving my trip. Mehrangarh fort is really awe inspiring and I was left wondering all the time about how the people there would have built this mammoth fort in those days, without the help of limited technology. The intricate designs on the jharokas truly make you feel proud of Indian craftsmanship. Umaid Palace is another work of fascination and is beyond words!!

You should definitely visit Jaisalmer for its desert safari. Surely worth spending a couple of days.

[TaureanBull]

Amazing photographs and very informative.

1. Would love to see some photographs from the drive if possible.

2. The architecture in Rajasthan is just fantastic. I have been to Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Pokhran, Kota and Bundi. Yet to see the biggies like Jodhpur and Jaipur.

3. The lighting is also similar in Jaisalmer. Almost similar kind of appearance.