India - Day 8, Jodphur

This morning we are off to visit the blue city of Jodhpur.  This city has 1 1/2 million people and is situated on the Thar Desert, the 2nd largest in the world.  Today the temperature is in the low 30's, in the summer months it reaches the upper 40's.  In December and January the nights can dip as low as -5 degrees in the desert.  Stone mining is one of the top industries, red and pink sandstone and green emeralds.  They are also one of the top furtniture makers in the world, #1 in the country and #7 in the world.  It's a thriving community.  Tourism is also quite high on the list and today we will visit Meherangarh Fort, a world heritage site and the setting of Kipling's The Jungle Book. In 1972 this grand fort was put  into a trust and John Pual Ghetty gave money to the family for the restoration. Once the capital of the Marwar Dynasty, it was built on a low hill situated in the heart of the Thar Desert and surrounded by nearly 35,000 square miles of sand.  Today it is surrounded by a bustling city.  Just outside of the fort is a magnificent masoleum.  The beautiful white marble structure sits on a hill overlooking the fort. 
The grand fort is teeming with tourists, many are visiting from other regions in India as they are on vacation to celebrate the Diwali festival.  Our group of ladies seem to be a main attraction here.  Many people from smaller villages haven't seen white people from the Western world.  The onlookers non chalantly slide in beside us to take photos of us and many ask if they can have their family photos with us.  It's quite entertaining and the ladies are very obliging.  We all join in the fun of it all and snap photos of them taking photos of us.
The fort is an incredible structure, the walls are intricately carved and embelished with frescoes depicting life from that era.  The museum houses fine works of art and an incredible display of seats made of finely carved wood and silver which were used to carry the royal families. The view of the blue city is spectacular from the top of the fort and you can see the large royal palace off in the distance.  This palace is now the 5 star Umaid Bhawan hotel and spa.  A couple of the ladies will be visiting the spa tomorrow.

Our next stop is the old city of Jodhpur which we are entering by tuk tuks, a small three wheeled vehicle which comfortably holds 2 people.  The traffic is thick and there appear to be very little rules on the road.  |Our drivers wind through. the busy streets, horns honk constantly and the fumes and pollution are thick.  We exit the tuk tuks at the entrance to the old city and begin our walk through the market.  It's an interesting walk on these narrow streets and we share the road with many people shopping at the local stalls as well as bicycles, tuk tuks, cows, goats and dogs.  You must mind where you walk and keep to the side otherwise you might be knocked down by a tuk tuk.  Our eyes our wide as we take it all in.  We stop to visit a shop that supports the IRDP. This organization was founded by Indira Ghandi and offers ethnic arts made by women in the desert.  The building is filled from wall to wall, floor to ceiling with fine fabrics, rugs, pashminas, scarfs and more.  Our host treats us to a presentation of some of their finest pieces which are made for top designers and distributed to stores in London, Paris and other major cities.  Hermes, Roberto Cavalli, Louis Vitton, Kenzo, Yamamoto and  so on.  These top designers employ 8600 families to make their fashions.  The ladies enjoy an afternoon of shopping.   We head back to the tranquil setting of the Gateway hotel to relax and enjoy a wonderful dinner. The food in India is delicious and they offer a wide variety of local and international dishes.