Jodhpur

When planning and drafting up an India itinerary, I was heavily swaying towards flying to the majority of places I wanted to visit. If I'm being honest the idea of boarding the trains in India terrified me. You've seen the pictures: hundreds of people hanging off the train, sitting on the roof, crammed into a disgusting carriage with no AC. As well as this, over 100,000 railway deaths in India occurred from 2017-2021 (over 70% of these are from either falling off the trains or being run over). That's a horrifying number. Although I wasn't keen on using the railway system, I knew that it was all part of the experience.

Finding my train from Mumbai central station, at the peak afternoon time, was a completely otherworldly experience. From getting out of the Uber and walking into the station, I found crowds of people queuing for a ticket. When I say they were queuing, I mean they were charging at the ticket desk waving cash. I noticed this seemed to be the tactic all over India. Even at the airport when I was checking in my luggage, a small Indian man stood beside me and began talking over the airline worker who was weighing my bag. He ended up getting told to step back but I don't actually know if he understood why. It's as if personal space and patience are not part of their everyday life. Not that it's a bad thing, but it is another minor difference in culture you become accustomed to.

Luckily, I had booked my train online (through an app called 12Go) which removed the stress of having to weave my way through the masses of people. I ended up not having a clue on how to find my platform and I had to ask multiple workers and policemen on where to go, but it still took a good 45 minutes to do it. I only later found out that Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is the third largest station in the whole of the country, and during peak hours it was near enough hell. It also turns out 3 million people per day pass through this station, which is now a World Heritage site, and it doesn't surprise me. When I was en route to the platform, drenched in sweat and stressed I might miss the train, a good 10 different locals approached me attempting to stop me and have a conversation. I knew that scammers were prominent in the railway stations and they made sure to make themselves known. The first scammer spotted me wandering around aimlessly which was my first mistake, acting confident about where I was going and ignoring any attempt from someone talking to me is key. I had people spotting me from across the walkway and making sure to walk in the same direction so I'd cross the same path as them. Another walked quickly beside me, started tugging on my clothes telling me I had to stop, but I knew instantly I would be swarmed by more. I had read a lot about train station scammers instructing you that your train has been cancelled and that they could drive you to your destination, which I think is hilarious considering I was travelling almost 1000km. After walking a kilometer to finally find my platform, I now had no idea which carriage my bed was in for the journey. I ended up walking the entire length of the platform to realise it was back at the beginning of the train. The train started moving, and I knew that I had to at least jump on and find it from there. Walking through the crowd of people in the lower classes, where there was no air conditioning and little seating, was a reminder of how the majority of Indians travel on a daily basis. I found my bed, got comfortable and attempted to relax for the next 16 hours of the journey.

Jodhpur is renowned for its blue buildings (nicknamed the blue city) and forts that overlook the city. I was told by multiple tuktuk drivers that Uber didn't work in this city, but when I showed them that my driver was on their way, they would look at me blankly in disbelief. I even had one taxi driver follow me and speak to my driver aggressively in Hindi.

The hostel wasn't the best (Zostel Clock tower) with no real working aircon in the almost 50 degree heat. Next door was Sam's Art Cafe which is where I tried my first Lassi (a sweet yoghurt drink famous in the Punjabi region) which was a solid 10/10. The funny thing about this cafe was the one of the workers handed me his phone randomly with somebody wanting to speak to me on a call. He tried persuading me that he was the best taxi driver in Jodhpur and he would take me around all of the best sites in the city. It turned out he had taken a picture of me and sent it to this random driver which kind of spooked me, so I refused. Again, I knew it was only a difference in culture but the lack of respect became really frustrating.

I spent two nights in Jodhpur which was enough time to see the everything I had planned. I was only there to walk through the Blue City and climb the Mehrangarh Fort, which both were amazing to witness. Climbing the fort was a mission itself while being blasted by the 47 degree heat. I must have went through about 3/4 litres of water in a few hours and sweating it all out. I was surprised to only see Indian tourists, and again not a westerner in site. There was a temple at the tip of the fort with steps leading to it, and, if you didn’t know, you have to enter temples barefoot. One of my most embarrassing moments was when I couldn't climb the steps because the soles of my feet were blistering from the heat of the ground. Imagine that however you want, but shit it was like walking on fire so I gave in.

The view from the top was something medieval, but mostly blue because of the buildings. I couldn't find a set answer on why the majority of the city was blue, but what I found was it is due to attempting to repel termites; the buildings are covered with copper sulphate which turns blue in hot conditions? I also heard that the colour blue is meant to keep the inside of a house much cooler than any other colour? Couldn't tell you honestly.

Walking through the streets and alleyways at night was something I didn't plan on doing, but in my attempt to find a restaurant (which didn't exist) I almost got attacked by a street dog. The street dogs differ each city I went to. In Jodhpur, I'm pretty sure its the Indian Pariah dog which roam the streets. I love dogs but these things fight among themselves and guard a lot of the alleyways, and it's these dogs which are known for giving people rabies, so fuck that.

Overall, Jodhpur is a good place to stop off for a day or two if you are heading towards the golden triangle from the south. Other than the blue city and the fort, there is honestly not much else going on. It is more a city that allows you to experience how Rajasthani people live, but a couple of nights is enough.

From: 25th May 2024

Until: 27th May 2024