Rajasthan: My Epic Journey In The Land of Maharajas

Part Five of Five — Jodhpur and Udaipur

We were back on the road again and on the drive to Jodhpur as we passed a field where a few camels were corraled including a couple of babies that were only 1–2 weeks old. I got out and walked into the field to take a couple of photos as a mother encouraged her baby to stand. It’s moments like this, that make travel a magical experience.

Our first stop in Jodhpur was the Mehrangarh Palace. Construction began in the 15th century and was completed 200 years later, and there are some reminders of the region’s tragic past. As you enter the Iron Gate, you see red vermillion hand prints cast on the wall that reminded me of blood. They are handprints of the widows of Maharaja Man Singh, who put their marks there before throwing themselves onto his funeral pyre in 1843.

I wandered through the fort and palace, a little jaded after touring several already in India. This one was similar to the others, all very beautiful with exquisitely carved, latticed stonework, covering the windows all around the inner courtyard for the women (who must not be seen by men). The windows let them watch life going on around them through the stone curtains. While I have already seen a lot of evidence of a patriarchal society, on this day in Jodhpur, it all seemed to overwhelm me. India has made a lot of progress but still has a long way to go.

The fort has some spectacular views of the Blue City. Homes and buildings are painted various shades of blue. I learned it’s the color of the Brahman, the highest caste, but there’s also a practical reason. It seems the copper sulfate in the paint helps to keep bugs away.

We also stopped off at the nearby Jaswant Thado mausoleum, a memorial to the Maharaja Jaswant Singh ll, clad all in white marble, with spectacular views of the city below.

Before leaving town we had to visit the spectacular Umaid Bhawan Palace, one of the largest private residences in the world. The 347 rooms were built, starting in 1929 until 1945, as the principal residence for the Jodhpur Royal Family, and Maharaja Umaid Singh died shortly after it was built in 1947. Today the prestigious Taj Hotel group operates a 5-star luxury hotel with the most expensive suite going for more than $10,000 USD per night. It’s also where Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra got married in 2018. It’s reported that they paid more than $460 thousand just for the facilities to hold the wedding and their suites.

Photos of the original furnishings and some of the architectural elements reflect the art deco style, unusual for a palace. It’s also the only place I saw Jodhpur pants in Jodhpur.

As we headed to my final destination of Udaipur, we passed through spectacular mountains, valleys, and forests. We stopped at a massive Hindu/Jain temple with exquisite marble carvings and right next to it was another smaller temple devoted to Kama Sutra (the love god) with carvings of well-endowed women and men in suggestive poses.

Before we hit the highway again we stopped off at a small roadside stand next to the temple and Ram (my driver) bought a bunch of cookies that he started feeding to a group of monkeys that had gathered along with one stray dog.

A couple of elderly men drove up a few minutes later and did the same thing, but when the dog approached, one of the men hit the dog with his cane and it scampered away yelping. Unfortunately, that’s the plight of stray dogs in India, and there are many.

The forest around us is home to leopards, bears, and monkeys. As we drove around one curve there was another group of monkeys sitting on the side of the road, so we slowed down and Ram threw them a few cookies. Within seconds dozens of them started running down the hills, onto the road and jumping all over the car.

We started throwing more cookies at them and some would hang over the roof and hold their hand out in front of the window. They were very polite, gently taking the cookies from our hands but they were jumping all over the car vying for a treat. It took some coaxing to get them off so we could continue the journey, but one sat on the front hood refusing to leave.

As we eventually drove away, they ran after us but gave up when they realized there were no more cookies coming their way. It was another memorable experience in the wonderful region of Rajasthan.

As we drove along the road and evening approached I saw a bunch of “things” hanging in the trees. They looked like pods or packets of some kind and so of course I asked my driver what they were. It turns out they were bats getting ready to take flight once the sun went down.

Udaipur

The final stop on my tour through Rajasthan is the city of Udaipur, considered India’s most romantic city and I can understand why. While it still has all of the traffic congestion, crowded narrow streets, and extreme poverty, the area around the lake is spectacular.

Surrounded by mountains, it makes the most of its natural beauty. The views are among the best I’ve seen anywhere. On my first night in Udaipur, I had dinner at the hotel restaurant with a view looking down on the lake and the Lake Palace below.

As I dined, suddenly fireworks were set off over the palace, part of a marriage celebration. No sooner did that show finish than other fireworks were set off around the city, lighting up the night sky. This is wedding season in India and I’ve stopped jumping out of my seat at the booms that echo every evening.

The next morning I had breakfast and then went up one flight to the rooftop for more stunning views of the lake. Monkeys clambered up the buildings jumping onto trees below and women had gathered along the lake to do their washing or simply to have a bath or wash their hair.

I wandered over to the City Palace… yes another palace with more of the same extravagant architecture and furnishings, probably the strangest though was the Maharaja’s official “throne.” It’s also the location where 007’s Octopussy was filmed in 1983.

I met up with my driver and we headed to a local garden where the flowers were all in bloom. Even the big traffic circle (roundabout) features beautiful gardens and a massive water fountain.

I couldn’t leave Udaipur without a tour around the lake, so I boarded one of the water taxis that took our group of several passengers along the shoreline, around the Water Palace, and then over to Jag Mandir, a picture-perfect structure on the water that is the site for many weddings, especially in the spring, when I was there.

It was my last stop on this marathon trip but I would return to parts of Rajasthan just a few weeks later to show off some of my favorite discoveries to a good friend of mine. In the meantime, I had to board a train back to Mumbai, which was an adventure in itself.

To read more about Rajasthan, check out this story from Sandy Maximus, and make sure to read part 2 of her journey.

Or Sahana Singh’s two-part series on the struggle for rights in Rajasthan.

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