Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur, India.
Viewed from Meherangarh Fort,
part of Jodhpur, also known as
"the blue city" .
Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
At 3:30pm 28 November we took a “CC” class rail chair car from Jaisalmer to
Jodhpur for our total fare of 478 rupees (US$11).  Our car, with only about a
dozen passengers, had comfortable recliner seats, but needed a good
cleaning.  When we arrived at the Jodhpur station around 10:00pm we went
by motorickshaw taxi to the Ratan Vilas Hotel which had been listed in a guide
book, but found it dark and totally deserted.  We then asked the taxi driver
to take us to the Durjan Niwas Hotel but the driver claimed that he could not
or would not do so (we could not understand the reason) and insisted on
taking us to a hotel he was recommending, a total dump which we rejected..  
We then insisted he take us to our third hotel choice, the Abhay Days Hotel, a
western-style hotel and part of the Days Inn chain; 1400 rupees (US$31) per
night,  including a bad breakfast.  
28 November to 1 December 2003
After lunch at the Meherangarh Fort we took a motororickshaw to the nearby Jawant
Thada Royal Memorial Hall; unfortunately the building was closed  but we could enjoy
its highly decorated exterior.
There is no direct rail service from Jodhpur to Udaipur, so our plan was to go by air.
After several failed attempts to phone the airlines regarding flights from Jodhpur to
Udaipur I walked a few blocks to Poly Travels Agency, intending to buy the air tickets
from them.  Following a discussion with the owner, Mr. Surendre Gehlot, we changed our
minds about flying to Udaipur;  instead we arranged to stay two nights at his “Mandore
Guest House” in the village of Mandore, about 9 km (6 miles) from Jodhpur for 500
rupees ($11) per night and then take his taxi to Udaipur for 2350 rupees (US$52).

In Jodhpur we greatly enjoyed our visit to the huge and impressive
Meherangarh Fort.   This really is a top-class fortress/palace/museum.  
Imposing Fort Meherangarh is on a high plateau overlooking the city of Jodhpur.  
The beautiful palace halls have been converted into a great museum;  beautifully
furnished, with excellent historic displays, and well maintained.  The museum
staff is uniformed in traditional palatial Rajastani  attire.  The museum provides
an excellent audio tour in a choice of several languages.   An experience not to
be missed!
From Meherangarh Fort a partial view of Jodhpur, the "Blue City".
Below are a few small parts of the exterior of the palace.
Now a look at some of the palatial interior walls and doorways.
Three displays representative of the hundreds (maybe thousands) in the Museum.
We then continued to the Umaid Bhawan Palace & Museum.  This very large palace with
more than 300 rooms is now shared by the Maharajah’s current residence, a luxury hotel,
and a small museum.  Built in the 1930's, this was the last major palace built in India.  It is
enormous and grandiose but lacks the charm of other palaces we visited.
Jawant Thada Royal Memorial Hall, Jodhpur.