…got my SIM card situation all sorted out. I am the proud new owner of a 19 digit Indian cell phone number, I’ll probably be back in the States before I figure out how to dial. I headed to find ‘old Jodhpur’ and ended up walking for over an hour only to reach the end of the road and a ‘lake’ at the foot of the backside of the fort. On my way back towards the center of town I was stopped by three brothers who wanted to chat. My enthusiasm for sitting and talking to strangers around every corner is dwindling but I sat and talked with them. I’m finding myself being asked the same questions over and over again.
What country you from? Married? Not married? Girlfriend? No girlfriend? Where are you staying? How much is your room? What is your occupation? No girlfriend? How much money you make? Have pen? How do you get visa?
After a long day walking and walking and walking through dirty, dusty, dog/cow/goat/human shit filled streets there isn’t anything better than sitting on the roof of one of the hundreds of havelis (private mansion turned into a hotel/restaurant), having something to eat and watching the sunset over the city…
…On my last night in Jodhpur I met another traveler and we took in the night scene on the streets of Jodhpur together. Having not seen another westerner since London it was nice to talk to someone, especially someone who’d been traveling for the last year and a half. Quite funny to hear she was bombarded with similar questions and noticed the same intricacies of Indian culture. A sudden downpour caught us and we ended up sitting it out on the roof of another haveli having beers until they kicked us out. On the way back to our guesthouse we met a family of cows blocking our way. Got some great shots with the cows and met their owner, finding out they are owned by someone and that members of the community feed them for good karma.
