Week 23: Jodhpur & Udaipur (posted by Eliza)

 

We drove from Pushkar to Jodhpur where we were met with many motorcycles and bajajis beeping at us, and a very pleasant view of the Mehrangarh Fort. The next day we got to visit the fort. We waited for a bit in the parking lot although you couldn't really call it waiting because we were always busy with people coming up to us and asking to take photos with us. When the gates opened, it was quite empty inside so we could take a while to look at the museum without the bustle of people around us. A government school was visiting the fort on a field trip and you could tell that they were bubbling, almost bursting out with curiosity about seeing an American family. Once they did burst, the middle schoolers took dozens of pictures with us.

We are now in Udaipur, which is about a four hour drive from Jodhpur. On the way here we visited a very big and intricate Jain temple. Udaipur is much quieter than the other parts of India we have been in, although every town has the old part with narrow streets and honking horns and people looking to scam tourists. Udaipur is famous for its several lakes, so we had to do a boat ride. 

One of the highlights for me in Udaipur was playing basketball with some kids my age. I was planning for it to be VERY awkward when I asked to play with the group at the park, but surprisingly it was not at all. I scored three baskets. Our team lost on the first game and won on the second. I was very surprised and very proud when that I was picked first to be on a team in the tournament.