After Udaipur (see Rajasthan part 1) it was on to Jodhpur via Ranakpur where there is the most sublime Jain temple in a wooded valley that seems a big surprise after the flat desert scrub typical of this area of Rajasthan... perfect balance, symmetry, light and air, enclosure and openness. And of course my entourage of young boys was never far behind... I couldnt sit quietly by myself in the temple for more than a minute before I was once again surrounded by 8 or so asking all sorts of questions about myself and what I liked and what sex was like. Still none of them can believe how old I am and they are always impressed by the size of my arms... I think all this attention is going to my head.
Jodhpur was only a brief stopover on the way to Jaisamer and the camel safari (of which Ive already written). Jaisalmer was more of a living museum inside the fort walls, which is most of what I saw. The fort and rocky hill on which it sits is a bit of a mirage as it towers over the flat desert. I could see how it must have been impressive on the trade route, but now its mostly clothing stalls and cows and touts and tourists. There were a few really impressive Havelis (wealthy merchant houses) carved out of the yellow gold sandstone but once again there always seemed to be a shop unavoidably positioned on the way out with a guard either directing you to this or offering tidbits of information about the place and then asking for a tip. There was an amazing warren of Jain temples strung together along some allyways, but these were open only from 8 until 12 and so literal busloads of tourists flooded the place with sandals and shoes tossed aside in front of the entrance in growing piles reminding of stinky feet. The afternoon was much quieter with most people having gorged themselves on temples in the morning and left nothing for the afternoon but a little shopping.
After Jaislamer it was back to Jodhpur, the blue city, for a real visit this time... one day. The big attraction here was the Meherangarh fort with an audio guide narrated by some academic sounding Brit and cut in with a few excerpts by the current Maharaja... yes, there is still a Maharaja whose foundation has actually made the fort and palaces very well kept. Apparently when they started the rennovations back 20 years ago there were a lot of bats living in the palace and so they sold the bat guanno off to local farmers for fertilizer as a way to raise some money... just something I learned on the audio tour. Oh, and I also learned that the practice of covering women from the sight of men was and is still in full use... when the Maharajas wife visited England back in the 30s she was completely covered the whole time and the British press being what it is was desperate for a picture. The tabloids managed to get one little snapshot of her ankle as she stepped from a car. The India government was so outraged that they bought up all the British papers in India before it could hit the streets.
On to Pushkar, a Hindu holy site, which apparently now means hundreds of real and fake priests offering to do a Puja for your friends and family on the lake ghats for hundreds of Rupees... they take a few flowers and some puffed rice, mutter a few words, toss the whole thing into the water, and all youre left with is a swipe of red on your forehead (and perhaps the knowledge that you have brought peace and wealth to everyone you know) - I didnt partake, no thank you. Dont worry, all is not lost for you my loved ones... I did my own puja with some flowers on a deserted ghat farther around the lake. The lake was actually man-made and completely surrounded by stone stepped ghats and was very picturesque at sunset when all the neo-ex-hippies came out of their gone-native dens to dance and frolick with the local beggar children, all looking for a free rupee or a pen.
Pushkar led to Agra and the Taj Mahal, but more on that later.
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