Jodhpur is a beautiful bustling city. The fort is quite big but not habited or as beautiful as Jaiselmer however, the city itself is something else. A big shock awaits you as you enter the city where everything is concentrated near the clocktower. The market area is huge and specialises in all sorts of things. It is fantastic and so colourful and rich and vibrant. You can really feel the pulse of the city just by walking here. We sampled the Makhania Lassi, a local speciality made from creamy milk and flavoured with saffron. It was delicious and very rich. The shops which sell colourful indian material and tie & dye (a speciality of the area) were a sight and my camera got a bit heated as I was taking so many photos.
Dinner was near Pal Haveli (as recommended by my cousin Sheetal) and it was good but by this time we were suffering from tiredness and colds etc so didn't enjoy it as much.
Off to Mt Abu the next day and we visited the Delwara Jain temples which are the most magnificent Jain temples in the world. The carvings on white marble are just fantastic. The crafters were paid in gold for the amount of the marble dust that they generated from their carvings. To think they did some intricate 3D marble carvings so many years ago (between the 11th and 13th centuries AD) is incredible. Has to be seen to be believed.
En route from Mt Abu we also visited Ranakpur Jain Temples which are equally fantastic. 1440 marble pillars and no two pillars with the same carvings!! Again has to be seen to be believed.
