merangarh fort – Cherry Red Shoes

I am weird, I take pictures of doors because I find them beautiful.

”etc” because I don’t know what else to say! I was mesmerized by Jodhpur. There was something. The complicated streets, the people who kept saying hello and smiling and helping us when we got lost, the view from the merangarh fort, the doors…I can’t tell. We walked through the streets when I was tired from traveling and with an unhealthy lack of sleep. Mind you the smell of cow shit, chicken shit and rubbish was everywhere. You have to watch where you are stepping because cows shit a lot and they splatter AND motorcycles zoom straight through them.

Yet I turned corners, going wow, and kept announcing how much I liked this place.

There was something about Jodhpur and I don’t quite know what it was.

Let’s start with the doors 🙂

A peek beyond the door:

Their houses used to be painted blue as it symbolised a high status. That was then. Now they paint their house blue if they want to. Atop these rectangular blockish lego-like houses are flat rooftops. When you look closely you can see goats (yes!) running around, children playing, adults chatting, and general well-being all around.

There is a path that leads to the Merangarh Fort that sits high above everyone. There are signs and when the signs disappear, there are the people, who smile and smile and tell you where to go.

(they just wanted to say hello and show off their english. I’m not saying children don’t beg in India. They do. Heaps of them.)

The Merangarh Fort was more impressive from the outside to be honest. It cost 300 rs to enter because we are foreigners and foreigners pay 10 times more than locals. There is an extra charge if you want to use your camera. I refused to pay for it and used my camera anyway. No one jumped on me! There is an audio guide as well. The thing about audio guides for me…I listen and I forget. Unless it is an interesting detail like how the main entrance to the fort is at a 90 degree angle from the route leading up to it. This is to prevent charging elephants from being able to knock it down, as they will lose their momentum once they change direction! Interesting.