Joys Of Jodhpur. Review on Jodhpur

I visited jodhpur with my husband in the month of march'07 .Our visit was for two days and one night. Jodhpur is an oasis land and the so called blue city has much in store for everybody!

We explored all major tourist destinations.We saw Osia temple which is located on the outskirts(45 mins journey by car).It's an ancient temple of Osia devi located in peaceful surroundings.The journey was pleasant which a view of rural rajasthan, chilly fields, peacocks etc.

We saw balsamand lake palace, there is a manmade lake(not very big) over there.The food served at their resturant is delicious(loved the spicy dish called Govind Gutta) but surprisingly the service was poor, perhaps lack of staff.

The best tourist site is The Fort- meharangarh fort, named after its builder is very breathtaking.It's located in the main city.I guess its one of the most well maintained Indian historic sites.The legend goes that a spiritual power - a devi had always protected this fort from many failed attempts of enemies over the ages.

She still keeps an eye over the fort in the form of eagles.(yes, we did spot large eagles hovering over it).The royal family has included eagle symbol in their royal flag as their tribute for this protection n the fort also houses the temple for the goddess.Fort houses a museum too which has royal clothes, paalkis, jewellery n arms.Many bollywood movies have been filmed there including hum saath saath hai, dor etc.

The uniqueness of the fort is that it has remained undefeated till date.It's majestic walls bear the round marks made by enemy's bombshell.It even has lift for people wanting to save their calories! One can see beautiful view of jodhpur from the fort top.Majority of houses around it are painted blue.

Umed bhawan place has three section, a hotel, a museum and the private chambers of royals.Its made up of local jodhpuri stone called chittar so its also called chittar palace.Museum houses various nick knacks used by royals- clocks, cutlery, pens, furniture etc and lots of photos.I came to know that Jubeidaa movie(starring karishma kapoor) is based on this royal family.However, the family photos do not include any picture of her, only the elder raani's(played by rekha) photos were displayed.

Umed bhawan has a resturant too.Jawant Thada is a place near the fort where the royals pay homage to their departed ones.Nothing much to see their except the few royal chattaries but the surrounding view was panaromic. There is a famous Shitalaa mata temple in the city but we could not visit it.

The climate was warm n dry .Cotton clothes work best there n keep urself hydrated by drinking lots of water while roaming around though one doesnot sweats because of low humidity.It unexpectedly rained on the day of our departure n weather became very pleasant.

The city's main market is congested but colorful.It flows with rajasthani bandhej, tie n die n lahriya work.Go to lucky silks near sojati gate for beautiful fabrics of all kind.I also bought few jodhpuri joothis in the same area though I dnt remember the shop's name.One may try the shop -rajshthan handloom for cotton kurtas.Go to nai sarak for variety of nick knacks.

About the food, rajasthani eatables are either spicy or sweet with loads of ghee but either way its very tasty! Try makania lassi n rabri at mishri lal(near clock tower) and janata sweets at nai sarak for mirchi vada and pyaz ke kachori.Jodpuri Dal baati is delicious n a must try.

Jodhpur has wide range of tourist accomodations for every pocket -from humble budget hotels to grand palaces.We stayed at a heritage bungalow hotel called karni bhawan.Its not very big but is peaceful and beautifully kept.But they dont have room service!.We made the mistake of not fully clarifying the hired car charges(arranged by the hotel) n they charged us double the amount for that in the end! So, beware of this while staying at any hotel in general.

We have good memories of our Jodhpur trip .