16th February: Jodhpur's Mehrangarh in the morning, then sunset in Jaisalmer

After breakfast, we loaded our bags in the car and drove uphill from the city to the entrance of the Mehrangarh. We arrived right at opening time, and we almost had the fort to ourselves, which was a lovely contrast to the hordes wandering around Amber Fort. We preferred to wander at our own pace so we left John's parents with the guide and went off by ourselves, accompanied only by two audio guides (we had read that they were excellent, and so they were).

The Mehrangarh in the morning sun

We walked through the first few gates to the fort, passing by the marks left by the cannon of the army of the Mahrajah of Jaipur, who beseiged the fort for six months in the 18th century. The two princes had quarrelled over a princess, of course. Carved into the cliff face and protected by high and thick walls, the fort had proven unassailable. Jayapol (Victory Gate) was built in celebration of Jodhpur's triumph. The fort was never conquered, and we could see why.  The small details mattered: for example, the gates were set at a right angle to the path approaching them, so that elephants could not build up pace when charging the gate.

Victory Gate, the entrance to the fort complex

Gazing up at the fort's unassailable walls from just through Jayapol

The walls of the Mehrangarh merge with the cliff face

The third huge gate through which you have to pass on your way up to the fort

Last huge gate, elephant-proofed

Construction of the fort started in the middle of the 15th century at the instigation of Rao Jodha, the fifteenth Rajput ruler of the Rathore clan. It was later expanded into a palace by Maharaja Jaswant Singh in the 17th century. The palace was one of the most beautiful we have seen in Rajasthan, and bore witness to the extraordinary wealth of the city's rulers. Jodhpur flourished thanks to its location on the Silk Route, the trade route between East and West on which many valuable goods travelled, not only silk but also opium, copper, spices, and coffee. The Marwar state, of which Jodhpur was the capital, also benefited in the 16th and 17th centuries from its close ties with the Mughal Empire.

View of the palace after passing through the last huge gate

Coronation throne of the Maharaja

The museum housed in the palace displayed a great collection of objects that had belonged to the royal family, including palanquins, armoury, and costumes. In the first courtyard an old man was sipping from a traditional opium pipe, from which opium was drunk as a tea (and not smoked as we would have thought; we had a quick sniff of the opium, which had a surprisingly gentle scent).

Showing off an old opium pipe

The splendid courtyard at the heart of the palace

The beauty of the palace derived from the fine carvings chiselled on top of the buildings around the courtyards, allowing women to see without being seen, as required by the tradition of Parda. One of the best features of the audio-guide were the testimonies from members of the royal family, including the Crown Prince who spoke with a very British accent.

Exquisitely carved palace facade

The rooms of the palace were richly decorated with bright colours and mirrors, a vivid testimony of its past grandeur. Another interesting room displayed beautiful miniature paintings, one of which portrayed a 17th century polo match.

Palace of Flowers

Another magnificently decorated room

The Pearl Palace, used as a hall of public audience...

...and the hidden window from which the Maharini would eavesdrop

Another fine courtyard

Before leaving the fort, we had a walk along the ramparts to have a look at the old cannon and enjoy the view over the city. We had been told that Jodhpur was called the "Blue City", and we could see why.

Looking down on the Blue City from the walls of the Mehrangarh

Small temple (to Shiva, judging from the trident) on the walls of the fort

After our visit to the fort, we stopped by the nearby Jaswant Thada, a white-marble mausoleum built for Maharaja Jaswant Singh in the 19th century. This stood at the centre of a rocky area set aside for the cremation grounds and tombs of the royal family.  An interesting detail of the Jaswant Tada was that some of the marble stones were translucent, glowing orange in the midday sun.

Jaswant Thada

Royal cremation grounds

We then headed towards our next destination: the Golden City of Jaisalmer. After a couple of hours' driving we stopped at a haveli with a peaceful courtyard for lunch. We all felt very lucky to have such a pleasant and helpful driver, in particular since he would stay with us for about 10 days in total, as far as Udaipur. The drive through the desert from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer took us only four hours, not seven as we had been told by the travel agency, which was a very pleasant surprise. We had the army to thank, because they improved the road after realising during the war with Pakistan that it was important to be able to get troops out to Jaisalmer quickly.

Having a rest by the side of the road

Driving through the desert

Even better, we arrived just in time for sunset and found out that that the rooftop of our hotel, Pleasant Haveli, offered a great view over the fort. We enjoyed a couple of bottles of Kingfisher with John's parents while we watched the late afternoon sun light up the golden stones of the fort, a majestic sight.

Jaisalmer fort, golden in the light of the setting sun

Close up of the fort's bastions

The fort turns red as the sun falls below the horizon

Once the sun had fallen below the dusty horizon we went for a brief walk "downtown" (i.e., the part of town that was not inside the fort). The narrow streets through which we wandered were full of shops, mostly aimed at tourists but not entirely. We stopped by the small office of "Trotters", the agency with which we'd booked our desert safari for the following day. There we met a friendly Indian man who introduced himself as Delboy and was rather partial to the phrase, "Lovely jubbly". Apparently Only Fools and Horses has made it out to the Thar desert.

For dinner we made our way up to the rooftop restaurant of a charming old haveli. Just as our food arrived a group of musicians arrived and seated themselves right at the foot of our table. The music was fun but extremely loud, not ideal for a relaxing dinner. Even though we were rather embarrassed to do so, we couldn't resist moving over to an empty table at the other end of the room. From that safe distance the music was much more palatable, a lively addition to the tent setting of the restaurant. The food was delicious and we had a very pleasant evening.