Jolly good - Jodhpur

Next stop was a city called Jodhpur – home of the funny trousers…and a magnificent fort. Jodhpur turned out to be a really good place and a great experience. Also named the Blue City for the once compulsory blue colour of all the flats and houses surrounding the great Meherangah fort...a spectacular site! It looks pretty spectacular!












We found a place that the lonely planet recommended for Omelette's called the Omelette Shop. The guy there has been working there for 30 years and they go through 1200 eggs a day. They did a fantastic cheese masala omelette for about 40pence that came in 2 slices of lightly toasted bread. Most of the best food we've had in India we've found to be the cheapest street food.















We also visited some tribes in the desert. They were part of the Bishnoi tribe and it was a great experience to meet them. The Bishnoi's believe that every living being is sacred, so wont squash bugs or cut down trees and stuff like that. It's customary for the head of the family (we went to visit) to mix up some opium as a welcome. He mixed it up with some water and them pours it into his hand which you have to drink from (not the cleanest by the way) and it tasted awful.

Then we went to visit another family in a nearby village who made us a simple lunch of chapattis in a floor oven, after the woman makes them she throws them onto the cow dung floor before being put onto our plates. Although the meal was again delicious! They also dressed us up...

Next stop on this village safari was a very famous dhurri (rugs) maker in the middle of the desert. Amazingly his designs come straight out of his head and he doesn't even draw them first. It can then take both him and his wife working together between 3 weeks to 4 months to complete them. We bought 2! They're winging their way to Oz as we speak. Felt a bit special as he's the official Dhurri maker for the Maharaja of Jodphur and has also made some for Richard Gere and Greg Chappell (The Indian cricket coach).

Finally whilst in Jodhpur it was Vanessa's birthday...thanks for all the bday emails by the way! Andy got me some Marmite as I'd been craving it for a few weeks, and then the owner of the guesthouse got me a surprise birthday cake, really sweet. They were really friendly throughout and kept referring to us as Maharani and Maharaja.

We were also here for the Hindu festival of Diwali and the Muslim festival of Id and the sounds and lights of the fireworks, candles and string lights as we ate on the rooftop restaurant above our guesthouse were awesome! There wasn't an organised display it was just constant random fireworks flying up from the streets below.