Jodhpur, India: June 25-28

June 25

We arrived in Udaipur last night. The bus ride from Jodhpur was pretty uneventful, just long. What should’ve been a 3-hour trip took 7 because of the road. The road, although often travelled, is not maintained very well. Also, it’s only a little bigger than 1 lane, so we had to constantly pull over for oncoming traffic. And if we got stuck behind a tractor, we would have to wait to pass until the oncoming side was clear. All in all, it just made me appreciate the roads in the cities more.

At the rest stop, we saw some piglets running around in the filth and a new building under construction. It was interesting to see the assembly line process in place. There were about 15 people, males and females, working. Some were pouring sand into a mixer, some were pouring cement in, and some were adding water. Then, on the other side, as the cement came out, it was passed along through the building and up to the roof where it was being used at that particular time. I was surprised to see females working alongside the males, but I guess in the smaller villages and more remote areas, helping hands are helping hands, no matter what the gender.

Today was chock full of “stuff!” The day began with a rooftop breakfast of muesli with yogurt and fruit. Then, Sarah, Linda, and I hit the City Palace and museums for a guided tour. Talk about some amazing paintings and carvings! Some shopping and a cold mango drink followed. Next was a boat ride around Lake Pichola with a stop on Jag Mandir. Jag Mandir was built in 1622 and is supposed to be the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. After disembarking, we jumped in a rickshaw to Lake Fateh Sagar for lunch with Sukie. The Monsoon Palace was coming up and we all needed some energy and calories! The rickshaw dropped us at the bottom of the mountain and we began the 4km hike up to the palace and to Sajjangarth Fort. At the top we found they were filming a Bollywood movie. The views from up here were absolutely incredible! After losing track of time, we hopped in a rickshaw to a Havelli (forgot the name) for a cultural dance program. The highlight of which was a lady dancing with 9 pots on her head. These pots were used to carry water from the river to the villages before irrigation systems were set up. In some villages, this practice continues, as there are no irrigation systems. After a lakeside non-veg (Yay!) dinner, we took a quick night tour of Jagdish Temple and then went searching for some mithi pan.

June 26

This morning, the plan is for an early breakfast and then a day trip to Jagdish Temple for some pictures and then a cable ride up to the top of another mountain for some more views of Udaipur.

Udaipur is much cleaner and 10 degrees cooler than Jodhpur. The people here are very trash conscious and there are actually trashcans everywhere. In Jodhpur, finding a trashcan is like finding buried treasure! The cooler weather and sheer number of cultural attractions make Udaipur a destination for lots of American and European backpackers as well as Indian families/tourists. We saw a lot of both throughout the city and at each spot we visited.

We decided that since we had already seen the views from Monsoon Palace, we would skip the cable ride and do something else. So, we walked around the city exploring and visiting different temples. There is an interesting difference between Jain and Hindu temples. The Jain temples tend to be more colorful and use a lot of color tiles or glass, whereas the Hindu temples rely on marble carvings for their elegance. I don’t think either is better, but they were both very beautiful and wonderful to experience.

The last stop of the day before lunch was a visit to Shilpgram Village. The Village hosts many different tribal groups that visit on a rotating basis. There are dancers, performers, handloom operators, painters, etc showcasing their goods and entertaining the crowds. The other attraction here is the recreation of traditional tribal homes from all over India.

June 28

Had an awesome day at Unnati! Met Swapni for the first time. She’s so inspiring! We discussed what my focus will be for this week and what she needs from me. Then we’ll move into the field next week or the week after to take a look and see what’s what! Reading reports all day can be a little monotonous, but need the background info in order to do the exciting stuff next week! I don’t want to just assume things work a certain way or something that may work back home would work here. The key to a successful intervention is sustainability.

Will be leaving here in a few hours, rush home, change, and head to Vinod’s gym to catch a workout and maybe even do some sparring! So excited to hit the heavy bag after so long!

Vinod’s was phenomenal! Didn’t get to spar, but jump roped for a while and then worked the heavy bag. The highlight was when all the kids began gathering around and asking questions about boxing. I got to show them some basics that the guys at Knuckle Up Fitness had taught me. I’m supposed to go back tomorrow night… and every night till I leave Jodhpur!

Piglets between Jodhpur and Udaipur.

Construction

Trash collection in Udaipur. There was 1 lady in front and 1 lady behind. They had 6-8 donkeys between them. I actually saw them several times throughout our trip in Udaipur.

Sarah, me, and Linda in front of the City Palace main gate.

Notice the fake trunk on the horse. By disguising the horses in this fashion, the enemies' elephants would think these were baby elephants and not harm them, allowing the kind and his soldiers to get in close to the enemy lines and do damage. The enemies had trained their elephants to hold swords in their trunks and hack at the king and his horses.