Mon, Nov 9: Jaisalmer to Jodhpur

The doors on our hotel room had interesting locks...padlocks.  Had them at a few other hotels as well.

We opted to leave Jaisalmer early so that we would have time to visit the fort in Jodhpur this afternoon.  

We stopped at an oasis of a hotel for a short break.  There were lovely grounds, 

some "paintings" on the plaza, 

and a couple of gentlemen with fantastic beards/mustaches.

Watch video in new large window

The first stop in Jodhpur was the cremation memorial that was built several generations ago in memory of the cremation of one of the Maharaja’s of the area.  It is used only for cremations of the royal family. 

It was made of white marble and was as decorated as the Taj Mahal.

The blocks of marble in the walls were quite thick but the sun could be seen through the walls.

Sunlight through the marble blocks.

We then moved on to the fort that is also still owned by the same family that dates back to the 1400’s.  

Like any good fort it was high on a hill with great views of the city.  

Much of the old wall remains and could be seen from many vantage points.  

Jodhpur is also known as the Blue City because the Brahman class used to paint their homes blue so that they could be easily identified.  Many of the homes are still painted blue and it gives the city an interesting look.

On a another hill in the distance is a huge palace, most of which is now a hotel, that our guide indicated you could only go to if you were staying at the hotel.  Too bad, it was a beautiful exterior.

We took a walking tour through the massive gates...

with massive doors with wicked spikes on them to keep the elephants from head butting them down.

The many buildings inside the fort were massively built...

and covered with delicate carvings.

The interior rooms were covered with marble and mosaics and beautiful fabrics and artwork.

There was also a museum of old maharaja treasurers.