India. Jodhpur

Jodhpur was the first city on our journey through India. We spent three days here, acclimatizing after a long flight to a different climate and time zone. Known as the Blue City, many of Jodhpur's buildings are painted blue...

Map of the journey...

Our travel to the first accommodation in India - Jodhpur - lasted over 31 hours. Early Saturday morning, we took a bus from Kaunas to Vilnius Airport, then flew from Vilnius to Warsaw at 9:00 AM. After a seven-hour layover in Warsaw, we flew for 7.5 hours to Mumbai. Upon arrival at Mumbai Airport, we faced a long queue at passport control for visa checks. We had a long layover of over 6.5 hours before our next flight to Jodhpur, so we exchanged some money and checked in for our next flight, conveniently departing from the adjacent domestic terminal.

Since drones are not allowed in carry-on luggage in India, we had to check in our backpack with the drone, which dampened our spirits a bit. We arrived in Jodhpur at 1:00 PM Indian time (3.5 hours ahead of our time)...

After arriving at the guesthouse and checking in for three nights, we immediately went to sleep, as the travel fatigue and time zone change took their toll. The guesthouse was almost in the city center, near the main square. In the evening, we took a stroll through the colorful streets of the city, finally feeling that we were truly in India...

Pictures of the square and street food...

The main square during the day...

The most fascinating feature of Jodhpur is the blue and variously painted buildings, which, combined with tuk-tuks and Indian charm, create an unforgettable atmosphere...

Wandering through the streets of the Blue City and taking photos, the owner of one of the houses invited us in. The entire house was painted blue...

He treated us to masala chai and took some photos of us...

From the terrace of his house, the fort was beautifully visible...

During the photoshoot in the blue house, we realized that the owner would likely ask for money, so after the visit, we gave him 200 rupees for his efforts and continued our walk around the city...

At lunchtime, we visited a rooftop cafe and drank masala chai...

Mehrangarh Fort, situated on a rock overlooking the entire city, was home to the Maharajas of the Marwar region. Construction of the fort began in 1459, and its most impressive parts date back to the 17th century...

The fantastic stone carvings are breathtaking...

The former palace premises house small museums, one of which contains various palanquins used to carry rulers...

In another, the cradles of young maharajas - future princes...

There are plenty of guards and cleaners in the fort, with some of them meticulously cleaning the floors. Having a job in India is a significant advantage for many...

One of the meeting rooms...

The fort's scale can only be appreciated from a distance...

In the fort's gardens, we encountered many squirrels...

From the fort, it's clear why Jodhpur is called the Blue City...

Not far from the fort is The Jaswant Thada - a monumental building built in memory of one of the maharajas of the Rajput Marwar royal family, which now serves as a cremation site for the royal dynasty...

It's evident that the rulers of Indian regions loved investing in buildings for their deceased relatives...

A bit further from the city center is the Mahamandir Temple, built in 1812, with a very beautiful appearance...

The temple is supported by 84 columns...

Perhaps the most interesting part was that there were classrooms for children around the temple...

We chatted a bit with the teachers, and they showed us their classes...

Another charming and colorful feature of Jodhpur is the stepwell... Previously, it served as a water collection point in this arid region. The stepwell fills with groundwater and rainfall, which usually only occurs during the monsoon season...