Journey to Jodhpur-City of forts
Day 0::
It has been a busy time since i joined my job. So at the end of my first month here at Delhi,we got a long weekend to travel to two beautiful places of Rajasthan-Jodhpur & Jaisalmer. There was no plan initially on where to go and what to see. Just before 2 days prior to the journey we managed to get 3 train tickets to jodhpur. It is around 600 kms away from Delhi and it takes 11 hrs to reach Jodhpur. We also booked a dorm in Jodhpur ZOSTEL 2 days before the journey bagan.
So it was saturday evening we decided to start from Delhi. We came back from office and packed bags immediately with lot of excitement. Even Though we were very tired, that amazing feeling kept us energetic. We rushed to local metro station to catch train from Delhi at 10:20 pm. We reached station 20 min before the train departure time. Thanks to Indian Railways,train arrived on time. We boarded the train and slept immediately because we had a big day panned the next day.
Day 1::
We reached Jodhpur around 9 am in the morning. We took auto to our ZOSTEL which is around 2.5 kms away from railway station. We arrived at zostel within 15 minutes and came to know that actual check-in time is 12 pm and check out time is 10 am the next day. So we got 2 hours more before we could actually check in. Zostel people were so generous and suggested some good nearby places to check out within next 2 hours. They also allowed us to check in one hour earlier than the usual time.
Upon suggestion we went to nearby street market and clock tower. The market has some pretty good traditional handicrafts depicting Rajasthan culture and also has cheap and delicious food.
Clock Tower
Jodhpur Railway Station
Lake nearby Clock tower: It never runs out of water however weather conditions may be
ZOSTEL JODHPUR & ZOSTEL LIFE::
We came back to ZOSTEL at around 10:30 am and checked in. Jodhpur Zostel has a cafeteria with amazing rooftop view. Jodhpur Mehrangarh Fort looks stunning in the background from the rooftop.I absolutely loved that view. It feels great to sit in cafeteria with such great view. We went directly to Cafeteria to have our morning breakfast. Breakfast was delicious but very expensive. But you obviously feel worth for your bucks you pay because of the feeling that view gives.
Actually I travelled with 2 of my friends and one of them have been to many Zostels before. He explained me the whole concept of Zostels because this is my first time. And I'm very pleased with the facilities and ambience it offered. Our dorm was a mixed dorm as it offers bookings irrespective of gender. By the time we entered the dorm, there were 3-4 friends already checked in and some of them were staying at that zostel from a long time. There are foreigners too. Once again I was surprised by the diversity it offered. There was a guy who was travelling since last 6 months all across India and he shared all his zostel and travelling experience with us. Soon he became a good friend of us. These were some of the pictures that I took from the ZOSTEL .
ZOSTEL common room images
ZOSTEL Roof Top
Soon we took bath and went out to see the nearby Mehrangarh Fort. It has a museum too which contains royal candles,costumes, palanquins, furniture and paintings,musical instruments, arms, There is lot of history behind the fort but we do not know much. We tried to hire a guide but it is beyond our budget.These are some of the pictures from the Mehrangarh Fort.
Images from Mehrangarh Fort
Umaid bhavan Palace
Mandore Gardens
We had a wonderful day roaming all over Jodhpur and having fun. Also don't forget to have Rajasthan NAMKIN(snacks) , Rajasthani Thali and Dhaal Baati when you guys visit this place. These are breakdown of the expenses for the entire day right from Delhi to Jodhpur:
Metro train to Delhi-1.5$
Train Ticket from Delhi to Jodhpur(600 kms)-6.4$
Zostel booking-5.45
Night Dinner-2$
Auto to Zostel-20 cents
Breakfast-3$
cab booking for entire day-3$
Water bottles,juices and Evening dinner at Zostel-4$
Total Expenses for the Day0 and Day1-25.55$
These are the links to the places that we visited::
1.Mandore Gardens::
http://www.transindiatravels.com/rajasthan/jodhpur/mandore-gardens/
https://theculturetrip.com/asia/india/articles/the-story-behind-jodhpurs-abandoned-mandore-gardens/
2.Mehangarh Fort::
https://www.tourmyindia.com/states/rajasthan/mehrangarh-fort-jodhpur.html
3.Umaid Bhawan Palace::
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umaid_Bhawan_Palace
4.Want to know more about Zostel?? Check out the links below...
https://www.zostel.com/
https://www.zostel.com/zostel/jodhpur/
Next week I will take you guys through my Jaisalmer and sand dunes of SAM Journey. Until then keep steeming and keep actifying!
