Date: 28th November 2006
My first trip to Rajasthan was in 2005, for a friend’s wedding in Jaipur. This year, another friend got married – in Rajasthan. And although his wedding was taking place in Jaipur, this time I used the opportunity to see the Princely state’s other major cities, first being Jodhpur.
It was a chilly morning
It was suggested we get to Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur’s biggest attraction, at the earliest. Plus we needed to finish our sight-seeing by lunch time as we were going to drive to Udaipur later in the day.
We arrived at Mehrangarh Fort at around 10am
I had to split this panorama into two
I could see a massive palace in the distance
We went in
It was calm and very cool from where I was standing
The fort was built in the 1600s
We were now entering the main palace
This is the panoramic view from 400 feet above the city of Jodhpur
Mehrangarh Fort offers quite a view of the famous "Blue City"
There were birds soaring high up in the blue sky
Vultures
Jodhpur earned its nickname "Blue city" because of all the houses painted blue. It's either blue paint, or white paint made from crushed limestone. It's a local alternative which when painted appears white, but turns a bluish hue when exposed to sunlight.
Cannon from the olde days
Probably made of iron
This guy was awesome
He was a Japanese artist just sketching what he was seeing
We went inside
Mehrangarh Fort houses a museum
Royal palanquins
Old battle artifacts
Imagine what the battlefields were like with these weapons
These stairs looked like a new addition
This was some lavish room
Glitzy - as though this was how they used to disco back in the olden days 
Royal baby cribs
We left Mehrangarh Fort by 1pm
Our driver took us down to this spot
Jaswant Thada mausoleum, a white marble memorial built in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh II
We didn't have the time (or the inclination) to go check it out
One parting shot of Mehrangarh fort
Before leaving Jodhpur, we quickly dropped by Umaid Bhavan Palace
... which is also a hotel
The hotel is off limits to public, but there is a gallery open to public
They had a menu from 1936 on display. Amazing to know just how old some brands are.
There was some restoration work going on, which were off-limits as well
After that, we left Jodhpur to head to our next city
We stopped at this dhaba to have sumptuous vegetarian lunch. I had all sorts of rotis!
See you in Udaipur!
Also check out: First trip to Rajasthan – Amer Fort, Jantar Mantar and other sights in Jaipur city
 |
Tags: canon powershot a95, India, jodhpur, mehrangarh fort, palace, Rajasthan, umaid bhavan palace
