Woke up early for a cuppa and then had the luxury of a swim before breakfast. Apart from the pigeon feathers, it was a real treat, the water was cool by Indian standards, but just right for us.
Back to the room and to complete our packing to make life easier as the trip today ends up in an auto rickshaw to transfer to our hotel. We were first in for breakfast, despite having warned the staff that we may be the last in. We refused any egg choice as we wished to enjoy the Indian elements.
Are samosas arrived with extra spice and we had plain and chickpea pancakes, the chickpea having diced tomato, onion and coriander, served with yogurt. No rice dish this morning. We enjoyed picking a fresh pomegranate into yogurt and avoiding the juice getting on our clothes.
Our costumes were put outside to dry in the sun. Internet is currently down so we may not be able to post yesterday’s blog until we get to Jodhpur, but we will continue to try.
We left on time with a blessing from the turbaned concierge and, judging by our journey, it was certainly needed! We retraced our route to the nearby town of Bijaynagar, stopped at a cash point ATM, but could not get it to work, so went to a Bank of India ATM nearby, but that was not working either, so we will have to wait until Jodhpur to top up the coffers.
Our driver seemed to have difficulty with the route as he stopped once or twice to check his google maps, more likely the problem is that there is so much road construction happening that it is not clear which roads are open and which are closed.
Accordingly, the route was a combination of very bumpy sections skirting the roadworks and very smooth sections of new surfacing. Having gone through the hills, we stopped for a short break at 1pm with about 120km to go at Megh Malhar, Khinawari, which was a glampingMegh Malhar,tent and hut resort with lovely gardens, plenty of birds and butterflies.
We arrived at the outskirts of Jodphur, and once again the driver needed to consult his Google maps to find the route. Our Audley bible said that we would be met at the clock tower and transported by tuk-tuk, but the driver pressed on through the ever narrower streets, even scaling a scatter on the way, and took us right to the door, just a little shaken!
We were immediately calmed by a welcoming drink of spiced lemon tea and met by the Audley rep, who confirmed that only larger vehicles are met and that cars have to make the journey themselves.
Great news, the swimming pool is open 24 hours, as are the restaurants and the hotel is totally non-plastic, with glass water bottles and jute slippers. We are booked at the rooftop restaurant for 8 pm, so that we can dine by the lights of the Fort.
Our room is modern, clean and spacious with a private courtyard, full sized bath and large bed with a view right up to the fort. We have been promised a trip up to the fort tomorrow at 9:00 am followed by a long or short walk as we prefer. Our guide will also take us to a (working) ATM and help us if we still have difficulty obtaining any funds.
