From Blue to Pink

More train adventures but this time by day bring us to Jodphur, the Blue City, a labyrinth of stone walls and painted blue houses rising up to another impressive fort.  Jodphur has been a fave of mine, exploring mazes of houses in the old city to spectacular views up at the citadel with plenty of snack stops inbetween.  It is here where we discover the many varieties of lassis available, a deliciously refreshing cold yougurt drink and enjoy a few evenings rooftop listening to the evening call to prayer surrounding us from all directions and echoing off the walls.  The sky is full of kites by day and fireworks by night as it is wedding season giving the air an amazing aroma filled with firework smoke, spices and incense.

The morning we decide to leave this blue city we wake early and attempt to purchase train tickets on our own.  Until now we have relied on booking through our hotel but yesterday have been assured 'you can do, no problem'.  The train is cancelled.  I push my way from one line to the enquiry line where I then am jostled and finally reach the front of the line, yes the train in cancelled but there is one at 8 am.  Cool.  The girls wait with the packs and I go back to the original line which by the way says women only but has had several men push past me to buy tickets.  I get to the front and am told 8 am is local train only but there is a 9:45 train.  It begs the question why he couldn't have told me this in the first place?  I bite my tongue and ask for three tickets.  He says no, women only or reservation, go back to window  beside enquiry later.  Ok then.  Outside I admit my failure and we retreat back to the hotel where we slip back into our room which is exactly as we left it.  Hours later we hire a car to Jaipur.

The car is like a carnival ride.  Weaving in and out of traffic, large trucks carrying rock, decorated and painted elaborately, tractors blaring music and camels pulling carts.  I joke that it feels like a carnival ride and then it gets dark out and we drive faster inbetween twice as many large trucks flashing our lights and honking our horn at the now lit up trucks.  I take it back, now it feels like a carnival ride.  One that perhaps I would like to get off now.

Reaching our hotel safe and sound the girls make plans for the next days excursion, Jaipur is very well known for being the Pink City (actually red but I'm not going to tell anyone) from the reddish paint on the old city walls and for its silver jewellery.  I think we should hit an ATM.  The next morning after a very colonial rooftop breakfast we hop in a motorized rickshaw and head to the monkey temple cause I like monkeys you see.  There are monkeys, pigs and cows galore at the base of the temple.  Feeding them brings good karma so many locals are there feeding them everything from bananas to tomatoes to peanuts.  As we trek up to the temple a lady at the side of the road pulls the lid off her basket and before see anything Kim has yelled and is running straight back to the bottom.  I look closer at the lady and see in her basket is a large cobra flared moving back and forth.  Not the first time my wife has abandoned me at the sign of a snake.  We retreat.  No monkey temple for me, I know there is no point in trying to coax Kim up.  Damn cobra lady.  On to silver!

Our silver hunt is quite successful, some beautiful pieces are purchased, delicious masala tea purchased from a young chai guy and some amazing fresh samosas found in the middle of kite street where you can buy kite string with bits of glass in it to cut through other kite strings and claim that kite during the kite festival everyone is gearing up for in the next couple of days.

The state Rajasthan came out of twenty-two feudal kingdoms and with all the fortresses one can only imagine the sultans and princes battling with their swords over land and princesses.  Sure I've probably romaticized it but that's what this place makes me do.