From Jaipur to Jodphur we had some difficult days of riding, including one spectacularly awful day where we struggled through about 15 miles of construction, punctuated by deep sand, dirt and potholes, and jagged rocks that rattled our brains and bikes. Once again, we are surprised we haven't bounced the bikes apart! These roads can overall be far rougher than almost anything we encountered in SE Asia on the Bamboo Road. After the first few days out of Delhi, where we were on smooth but extremely busy main highways, I feel like we haven't had a full day of smooth riding. And we have to always be on the watch for sheep, goats suddenly jumping out of the bushes to cross in front of us, herds of camels, local busses, trucks, and women walking along with huge things on their heads! At one point we saw 4 camels being walked along the road, 2 mamas with 2 babies. One of the babies was so new that it was having trouble walking, and at one point when it's mama nudged it, it fell over! Mama and human helped it back up and they continued on their way, the 2 mamas humming in a deep throated and oddly pleasing way.
At another point we passed a large walled in field filled with camels. Greg and I and several others stopped for pictures, and later we heard from another group who were behind us that we missed the camels mating! Apparently the racket was quite awful. No end of entertainment on the road!
Jodphur is known as the "Blue City", equivalent to the Pink City of Jaipur. The beautiful bright blue was originally for use by the Brahmins, but has now been adopted more universally. Jodphur has one of the most beautifully preserved forts that we have seen, called Meherangarh. It stands majestically above the city and seems to arise out of the rocks organically. We toured the fort, visiting the lavish rooms for dancing, receiving official visitors, bedrooms, the inevitable women's area, including their secluded walkway, and several museum type rooms. We saw exquisite detailed paintings, Rajput weapons that looked painfully lethal yet were beautifully decorated, a collection of baby beds, fabrics, and other trappings of royalty.
The fort overlooked the new part of the city from one area, and the old city from another area. Both have a preponderance for blue-painted buildings, although there are more in the old part of the city.
After touring the fort we wandered around the vibrant Sardar Market, where the explosion of color is an assault to the eyes! The markets are wonderful places, and it is hard not to buy everything we see! Everything is artfully displayed. Even pieces of crispy bread were arranged in a pleasing circular pattern on a hand cart.
From Jodphur to Udaipur the terrain changed from the flat and dusty desert edge to dry hilly land, and we had our first significant climb, only about 7 K (just over 4 miles), but a long stretch of 11% plus grade. Greg and I are not in the best shape, and there was some cross-training going on (walking)! This hilly country has been very pretty. We pass through remote villages where the women are washing clothes in the reservoir and generally working hard all day long, while the men seem to sit around and drink chai, smoke, and talk.
Of course, this is not planting or harvesting season. The hillsides are snaked with beautifully made stone walls, and dotted with conical thatch huts that hold grain and hay for the animals. The fields are terraced, and some are bare, while others have something bright green growing, although we haven't been able to find out what it is.
Riding through these villages and struggling up a hill has made us both ponder our life, which affords us the opportunity to pursue something that must seem so frivolous and pointless to these hard-working people whose worldview barely expands beyond the small perimeter of their village. It is hard to feel proud of myself for making it up a hill when the people we pass can surely not understand what on earth we are doing. I'm even finding it hard to take pictures sometimes because it feels exploitive. On the other hand, we are often asked to have our pictures taken with people, and if we stop and engage, it is usually a positive interaction. At one point a woman was walking along the road on the other side and when she saw me taking a picture, she crossed over, I got a better shot, and she said "thank you" as she passed by.
We have had some unusual and interesting accommodations on this section of the trip, staying in several old forts. That usually means large rooms with marble floors, unusual furniture, and odd bathrooms with uncertain hot water, but really amazing buildings.
Now for the bad news. Greg was forced off the road by a car yesterday, and fell pretty hard. When I came up over the rise and saw him lying in the middle of the road yelling in pain, my heart went into my throat! Thankfully, we has only a very sore shoulder, not a broken collar bone. He has been checked by the TDA doctor and by a rider who is an emergency room doctor and both agree. The van came and got him and took him to the hotel, today is a rest day, and he'll probably take tomorrow off also, then we'll see. He is not in too much pain at this point so we think he'll recover quickly. It was quite a scare, though. Thankfully, he is strong! The section of road where it happened was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one vehicle, with a steep drop off where the black top was broken away. Many of us dived for the edge at the last minute but it was a dicey proposition because of the condition of the edge. It was an unusual section of road with abnormally aggressive drivers, very unlike our experience in the rest of India. The car that almost hit Greg was coming towards him, and could have gone off the other edge of the road a little, but it didn't.
We are enjoying a true rest day in Udaipur! Hope all is well with everybody! We are eating well, drinking beer, and probably gaining weight!
Diane Taylor
2019-02-11
Such an incredible journey. We wish Greg a speedy and complete recovery. Hope he doesn't push himself too hard. And Eve- you are doing a fantastic job. Your travel log lets me see the journey. Safe travels!
Sally k
2019-02-11
Hope Greg has a full recovery and minimal pain. You two are more brave than I. Stay safe.
Cat
2019-02-11
Heal up well Greg, sorry for the mishap...ouch! Your unique travels are inspiring and you describe them perfectly:-). Be safe out there and watch out for crazy camels
Yvonne
2019-02-11
I would have thought the road would be finished by now!! Give a hug to Greg
Rod R
2019-02-11
Glad to hear that Greg was ok. Sounds like you're having a very exotic adventure on the other side of the World! Have fun and be careful.
Debbie
2019-02-11
Sorry to hear about your fall Greg. Get better soon. Wayne and I very much enjoying reading your travel log. I agree with your friend who said you are a great travel writer and should publish a book on your adventures!
Yes, a book! Pictures and descri
2019-02-12
Bye bye
Barb
2019-02-12
Really, really glad Greg is just sore. It seems congestion and the rules on the road haven't changed much from when Sally and I were in India. On narrow roads the rule seemed to me to be the biggest vehicle gets the blacktop - what little there was, and the rest of the vehicles and walkers get the dirt. Stay safe.
Cousin Bill
2019-02-13
Sorry to hear about your fall, Gregg. Just remember Lawson Craddock. He broke his shoulder on the first day of last year‘s Tour de France, but still managed to finish the race!
Patty
2019-02-13
Wow! What a crazy, fantastic journey. Hope the healing goes well, Greg. I love the thought of staying in old forts. Truly different. The pictures are fantastic. It feels like we're right there with you.