Rajasthan- Land of Princes

Beautiful Jodhpur

The state of Rajasthan is perhaps the most toured place in India. So far on our trip we've had the mixed blessing of being low season travelers- cheaper hotel rooms, less tourists, but more desparate sellers and sometimes rainy weather. In Varanasi, we encountered our first full hotel, an odd experience for us! And in Rajasthan... August is the European holiday month, and a few of our Rajasthani trains seemed packed with Spanish couples on two week vacations! Rajasthan earned its reputation, though, as it is an amazingly beautiful state with an interesting history. Despite the number of popular stops on the tourist route, we only had time for two of the princely cities: Jaisalmer and Jodhpur.

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The fort at JaisalmerBordering Pakistan, the state of Rajasthan encompasses the Great Thar Desert and, until a few years after independence, was divided into kingdoms and ruled by princes. Thus, many of the cities have beautiful palaces and forts. We took a night train from Agra almost to the Pakastani border to Jaisalmer. Made of golden sandstone, this city and its fort look like a sand castle rising up from the Thar desert. Jaisalmer was made rich in medeival times by charging levies on camel caravans, and the fort has many stunning buildings.

A street in the fort. Unlike some, this fort isn't admission-only entry. Many people live in the narrow, winding streets behind the bastions.

Inside the fort, a series of 7 Jain temples were our favorite place. The sandstone construction and carvings were simply magnificent.

Built in the 12th to 15th centuries, the carvings are exquisite!

Like all good tourists to Jaisalmer, we spent a hot, dusty afternoon on a camel safari. Camels are amazing creatures, well-suited to their desert life but, man, are they smelly. (And they really do spit!) We went out for a few pleasant hours, enjoyed a lovely sunset on the dunes, ate a meal prepared by our camel drivers, and headed back to the city to catch a night train to Jodhpur. I uploaded a bunch of photos of this, so maybe I'll just let them do the talking. The first one is taken in a village we stopped at. Despite its popularity with tourists, Rajasthan is still one of the poorest states in the country and most of its population lives in small, dusty villages. Their homes usually include a number of small mud or brick structures built around a central courtyard.

This was my camel, Bella (or at least it sounded like bella). Josh on camel. Walking up to the sunset spot

Our next Rajasthani stop was Jodphur. The main attraction at Jodhpur is the stone fort that rises impressively from a blue-tinted city. The blue was originally a sign that the residents of that particular house were of the Brahmin caste, but that's not necessarily true anymore. They are pretty, regardless!

The fort as seen from our guest house roofOur guest house was a lovely place. We spent a lot of time here because Josh got sick! While he slept and slept and slept, I hung out in the curtained restaurant or explored the city. Poor guy... this was the only real sickness in our five months out!Josh made it out for the trip to the fort. Here he is with a beautiful view of the city. The headset is because India likes to charge its foreign visitors 10 times the fees for Indians but they sometimes include audio tours.The final of many gates to the fort includes these handprints. When a wealthy man died, his widows were expected to throw themselves on his funeral pyre to burn to death. The widows of a prince would put their stained handprints on this wall upon their final entry to the fort. This sad tradition is called sati.The palace carving was amazing. The screens are part of another tradition for females of wealthy families. In order to maintain their purity, women were kept in purdah or isolation. The screens allowed them to look out without being seen.The Rajasthanis are known for their colorful clothing. Colorful turbans were common with the colors often representing marriage status, social status or religion. The amazing view from the fort