December 1, 2014. More Jaisalmer

We strolled around the market and had lunch at various food stalls.  Our guide promised us that we would not get "Delhi Belly"!  

Really tasty.  Fried balls of various things, like potatoes, lentils, chilis

December 1, 2014. Jaisalmer, part 2

This town is called the Golden City, due to the color of the buildings.

A custom in this town is to paint a mural indicating the wedding of their children.  The elephant is a sign of good luck, as our guide is pointing out.

Puppet-making is famous here.

Beautiful architecture.

Then, we went to the fort.  Unlike forts in other towns, this one is still in use, with shops, restaurants and hotels.

December 1, 2014. Wonderful Jaisalmer

Our guide picked us up for a tour of the city.  First we went to a holy lake.  People feed the catfish, as they are a reincarnation from a god.

Then, our guide walked us around the backstreets if the city, which is a heritage site.  This man is making a popular Indian sweet.

This is a typical street, with beautiful architecture, and cows.

Here is the milkman delivering milk to a housewife.

November 30, 2014. On to desert city of Jalismer

We had another great breakfast outdoors at the old-style villa.

Then, we drove about 6 hours southwest to Jaisalmer through the desert.  It was sparsely populated ...mostly just cows, camels and goats.  

We arrived at another luxurious hotel.  This one was built to replicate a historic fort.

This is in front of our room

George is pretending to take an outdoor shower.

Then, we had a drink at the pool.

We are really in the lap of luxury,

November 29, 2014. Jodphur, part 3

The 3-wheeler guy owns a spice shop, too.  Recently, he had the good idea of offering cooking classes to teach the foreigners how to use the spices they bought.  This is the wall on his home's rooftop.

The wife had each of us make a chipatti (kind of like a tortilla)...even George

We enjoyed the feast sitting on the rooftop floor.

Then, Meredith cooked a pasta dish for them.

We talked with their 2 children, then met the parents and brother's family, who live downstairs.

Nice evening.  Then, we rode home on the 3-wheeler, even more thrilling in the dark!

November 29, 2014. Part 2 in Jodphur

We grabbed a 3-wheeler and went back to the downtown market.  We 3 fit just right....can't imagine how they squeeze 15 into one!

.  

We are going to the 3-wheeler's house this evening for a cooking lesson.  Meredith will prepare a dish for them, too.  So, we went shopping in the market for some veg.  Here she is selecting tomatoes.

The cooking class was fun.  It was amazing how much the wife could prepare in her tiny kitchen

See next post for more pictures.

November 29, 2014. Jodhpur

We had a beautiful al fresco breakfast, then went with our van and driver to see the sights.  We went to the historic fort.  Jodphur is called the Blue City.  From the top of the castle, we could see the city below.  In olden days, the upper caste people painted their homes blue, so they would be recognized.  Now, anyone can paint their homes blue.  You can also see the huge, long wall that surrounds the old town and castle.

I asked about the word Jodphur that we use in English for the name of polo pants.  Our guide told us the story.....years ago, one of the maharaji traveled to England.  The ship sank on the way, and his trunk with all his clothes was lost.  He was wearing his Jodphur pants.    He went to a tailor to get them repaired.  The tailor asked what kind of pants they were.  He was tired and just yelled, "Jodphur", so the style of pants became known as jodhpurs.

The fort and museum were very interesting.  We saw pictures and items from the time of the maharaja....the chairs they used on top of the elephants, their weapons, and the palanquins used to carry the royalty

Back at the parking lot, our ride awaited us......

(Not really)

Then we went to the market in the old part of town.  Lots of stuff, including beautiful fruits and  vegetables, lentils, snacks, clothing, pots and pans, spices, and just about anything else you can imagine.... 

 

We stopped at a spice shop, famous here, and Meredith bought some spice mixes.

We returned to the hotel to rest.  George luxuriated next to the pool....