September 25, 2022
I had planned a trip around my birthday to Jodhpur, but I was and had been going through patches of apathy, despair and listlessness and was thinking twice about going on this trip. Standing to lose a large of sum of money if I didn’t, I decided to go anyway, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Our 2nd day in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, we decided to do the walking tour of the blue city away from the maddening crowds and tourist attractions. Up at the ripe hour of 6 a.m., we made our way to Rao Jodha Desert Park, Rajasthan. Entering Rao Jodha Desert Park, we are amazed by the oasis of serenity and green within the crowded streets of the city. Our young enthusiastic guide was waiting for us primed and ready to regale us with tales of the royal City. Sharing with us her experiences having grown up with Jodhpur, she started the walking tour telling us tales of the babulia (the plant which invaded Jodhpur on account of King Jodha’s misinformed attempts at making the city green) and the inception of the park. Making our way through rocky terrain and gullies of the park, we followed her footsteps through quiet well trodden paths with the magnificent walls of the Mehrangarh fort now in the distance. A surprisingly cool day for hot Jodhpur, the walk was pleasant. We crouched through a small gate less than 3 feet (which our guide sought special permission to access) taking us even closer to the lake which supplies water to Mehrangarh fort. Our guide extolled us with tales of the history of the Mehrangarh fort and fables of the infamous “bhang” (also known as Cannabis) of Jodhpur, and how in Rajasthan folklore, children were given microscopic quantities of bhang to quieten them down and sleep.
The fort even closer now, surrounded by the stepwells at the bottom of the fort now pulled us in. A local regaled us with stories of the infamous stepwells of Jodhpur, built to address the water scarcity in Jodhpur (fascinating for me who has never seen anything like this before). Crouching through a narrow gate in the larger fort gate, we made our way back through the colourful noisy streets of Jodhpur with the walls of the blue city now within touching distance. The walls are coated with limestone and blue paint to maintain the temperature of the house indoors at a minimum whilst the hot desert sun beats the roofs. Past winding narrow streets with locals going to their chores (but it being Sunday, it was relatively empty) we made our way to the highlight of the walking tour – breakfast at a local villager’s house within the throes of the blue city. Climbing up steps with the blue city houses surrounding us on all sides, we visited the house of a lady who used to be a tour guide in Mehrangarh fort. Climbing up several ladders to the roof of her house, a 360 view of the blue city with the Mehrangarh fort in the distance awaited us – clicking the mandatory photos and discussing the progress of women in Jodhpur with our passionate tour guide who champions women’s rights, we made our way back down to our host’s house for local delicacies – hot parathas, poha, and the highlight of course was the “gulab jamun ki sabji” (sweet and savoury it is a delight to the senses) washed down by hot cups of masala tea.
Our tour was now coming to an end, and leaving the blue city, we made our way to the now bustling Jodhpur streets, our tour ending with a temple visit, and watching the infamous ghewar and other delicacies being made in huge vats of oil.
Being within touching distance of the fort, we now decided it was time to explore the Mehrangarh fort – but the adrenaline junkie within me decided to try out the flying fox jodhpur before we wandered the bowels of the fort. Known to be one of the 6 flying foxes in India certified for having international standards of safety, I decided to confront my fears and give this a try. Fully suited up, with butterflies in my stomach, I did the trial flying fox in the Mehrangarh fort rounds, and still nervous, decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. It involved 6 lines with views of Chokelao garden of the fort (115 metres), Ranisar Lake (170 metres), Ravine crossing (70 metres), Rao Jodha Desert Park (270 metres), Mehrangarh fort view (160 metres), and views of the lake and arriving at the fort (300 metres). After the first zip line, my anxious mind took over and envisaged 1000 scenarios (including me plummeting to death because of a faulty zip line); then the adrenaline kicked in and I went for it all guns blazing. On two ziplines, I got stuck midway and had to rappel back (which is a common occurrence depending on wind conditions). Screaming through the air in delight into the empty voids as I started each zipline, I felt freer than I had in a really long time, and for that brief time, it felt things would be ok. The crew were extremely professional, well trained, and cajoled me when I felt I would give up. Finishing the last zipline sailing over the lakes and looking at the confluence of the fort, the lakes and the Rao Jodha Desert park was positively glorious, and believe me such a magnificent, unusual way to see Jodhpur city (away from the bustling crowds and tourist traps) and a delight to the senses (the magnificent view, the adrenaline surging through the body, the wind in your face). The walk from one zipline to the next was through the Rao Jodha desert park and positively delightful for someone like me who enjoys walking through rough terrain/ rocks and climbing, with no one in sight but two of us and our crew.
Drenched in sweat (which I am sure not too many of our fellow visitors to the fort would have liked), we made our way to explore the Mehrangarh fort. Unfortunately, being a Sunday, the fort was overrun with visitors, and we didn’t explore the fort as much as we would have like to; however, the architecture of the fort was magnificent as were the interiors.
Topping off the morning (it was around 1 p.m. by now) with the decadently stuffed, taste bud tingling samosas from Shahi Samosa (a small establishment with absolutely no place to sit but hordes of people thronging to buy samosas and eat) (which lived up to the hype), and Mishrilal’s Makhaniya lassi, exhausted but super happy, we made our way back to Daspan house (our home in Jodhpur).
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Chronicles of an overthinker 