I am sitting in bed in room 24 at the hotel in Jodhpur. Yes it is the same spelling as the funny trousers which were developed right here for polo. It has been a long, tiring but also terrific day.

Our alarm on the iPhone woke us up at 4.45 am! I had been having pleasant dreams about the previous evening. We had all been invited to have a meal cooked by a local family in Jaisalmer. The head of the house took a shine to me, and told me all about his wedding 24 years ago. He plopped his photo albums on the bed, and we went threw them. There was no mistaking his enormous pride in his still very beautiful wife, and his capable daughters. His was an arranged marriage and like many, a perfectly happy one. His daughters are not likely to accept the same arrangement. Which he admits he is having trouble accepting. It is quite a process arranging a marriage, the head women of the family get together, an astrologer calculates the odds of a successful marriage, and considerations of caste are necessary. A women can go up a caste, a man never. Even love marriages are typically in the same caste. His wife and daughters cooked a magnificent meal, and afterwards offered to do henna art for anyone. Some of the younger ones in our group have had a go. It was a wonderful, warm, friendly evening and I imagine this outing will be one of the trips highlights.

I was rudely interrupted from these reveries, first by the alarm then by a cold shower, water is a commodity in short supply everywhere in Rajasthan, then a final pack, then down the stairs to meet in the lobby. When we were all there, we walked en masse down along the streets, descending through the now quiet gates of the fort, to prebooked taxis. We caught the train at Jasailmer station for Jodhpur. It is a six hour trip, we read, listened to music and so one, and the time passed quickly and enjoyably. My eyes would often wander from my iPad and out the window at the scrub and dry plains of Rajasthan, the acacias typically solitary, and stunted from the grey sand. Some of us played card games. At Jodhpur, we were whisked away to the hotel. The plan was to go to the fort at Jodhpur. However, it was really too late by the time we arrived at the gate so we visited the bazaar instead. Bursting with life, crowded, fast, and rich in cultures both Hindu and Muslim. The women in splendid colourful saris and the men wearing white or grey shirts and whizzing around on white motor scooters. The younger men, had bright shirts and expensive haircuts and used motorbikes instead. After looking at these colourful vendors, dodging the tuk tucks and motor bikes ( one came awful close, awful fast !)and taking some photos of the magnificent old clock in the centre of Sirdar square, many of us had a saffron Lhassi at a cafe nestled in one of the entrance gates to the square, a cafe which is justifiably famous for its product. Yummy! Motorbikes will travel at 50km per hour in these narrow, crowded streets. One sped by me as I was about to step forwards. Luckily though I had looked already, I looked again and as I did I felt the whoosh of too close a passage. For the first time I felt unsafe, my veneer of invulnerability fell away instantly. Such experiences are an unfortunate necessity whenever and wherever you travel.

We had a short walk, then met Api and the rest of the group to go to dinner. The ” the curry’s rooftop restaurant” is situated on the main drag ( mokrana mallaha) near the Hotel Roos. After entering we climbed three floors, then went outside to climb yet another flight of now external stairs to the rooftop. Sure it is a lot of climbing, but what a view and what a meal. Jennifer and I ordered three meals to share with Api and Ray. A chicken dish. A desert bean dish. A lentil dish. All of them excellent. We also ordered a bottle of wine, Sula from Maharashtra. Very nice. Wine ,unlike food, is at Australian prices. As we waited for dinner to be served, we watched the sunset drifting down behind the fort. The massive tall battlements ring a massive monolith of the same stone. When it was dark enough, floodlights placed around the city lit up the walls and bastions. In the foreground are the blue houses, many houses in old Jodhpur and especially those of Brahmans are painted bright blue. The scene resembles a scene of blue tinged buildings on the Aegean islands. After dinner we climbed aboard tuk Tuks for the journey back to the hotel.