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day something or other of our Rajasthan tour and a very exciting few days it has been. We left Bikaner and travelled for a good few hours to Jaisalmer where we checked into a nice hotel. We chilled in the evening and watched the hotel staff play cricket. All very idyllic.
The next day we were informed by our driver that the car had been impounded and we couldn't take the car out until the tour company paid their outstanding bill. Much perturbed by this and with numerous telephone calls we wandered off by ourselves into Jaisalmer. It has a wonderful fort (and we really need to start adding to our list of adjectives because India is taking its toll) and a beautiful but slightly smelly lake. On our arrival back at the hotel we discovered that the problem had still not been solved and we had a very pissed off driver and no real information from the guys in Delhi. After another tense phone call we were told to pack our bags and get the hell out of there as soon as possible and if they didn;t let us go to call the police. Needless to say we got the hell out of there and went to another hotel that had been arranged. And it was a lovely place, inside the fort walls overlooking the city. We ate marvellously and even had musicians to (almost) serenade us whilst we ate, although I have a feeling they are more likely to give you indigestion, Rajasthan music is something else.
We finally got the phone call from Delhi telling us that our driver and his car had been released and would be coming along in the morning. Problems solved on with the trip.
The next day we travelled to Jodhpur and had a 'world famous' lassi drink in the old town (nothing to do with the dog).
Our overnight stay in Jodhpur was disappointingly uneventful considering the last couple of days.
From Jodhpur we travelled to Ranakpur and saw the famous Jain temple with 1444 carved marble pillars - no two the same. We didn't actually count them all and we didn't check each one for differences but we would say the estimates are pretty good. We then travelled into the hills where it was greener and breezier. We stopped at a small resort where surprisingly the hotel manager wouldn't let us stay as the tour company had not paid their bills.
By now we were slightly annoyed at the guys in Delhi and told them in no uncertain terms that if this situation was not sorted out then we were coming back to Delhi and we would be bringing the police with us. We drove back to the resort and checked in. Its a marvellous part of Rajasthan, lots of wildlife and greenery and absolutely no car or lorry horns blaring away. Absolute bliss.
From Ranakpur we travelled to Udaipur, home of the famous Palace hotel in the middle of the lake from Octop**** fame (the movie is shown here every night in most bars and hotels!). We were shocked to discover that the tour cowboys (ironic!) in Delhi had phoned ahead and asked the hotel to give us one of their best rooms. And it is pretty flipping good as well. We are here for 2 nights and then moving onto Pushkar to see the Ghats. However, it is the Gangaur festival here in Udaipur and we can hear it coming down the street so we had better go and see the action.
Until next time .....
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