Travelogue Continues...
No apologies required gd bhaisaab, it was NOT a tongue-lashing.
Fort palace, the guide explains that the king was often funded by rich jain businessmen in town and the treasury was often empty. That also explains why the havelis are grander than this palace.
View of the town
Gadisar Lake
It is 5pm when we get back to our hotel. It is brimming with European guests, at least 2 or 3 tours groups seem to be here. The hotel has put on a festive atmosphere with Christmas lights all around. We had to wait a while for dinner table since tour groups book their dinner in advance. The staff was very polite and apologetic about it; we didn’t mind it at all. Their food was good too. We really enjoyed our stay at Rang Mahal.
Feb 12th Jaisalmer – Jodhpur
We set off for Jodhpur. One little problem, the AC in the tavera had stopped working on the way to Sam dunes from Bikaner. The driver said something broke in the compressor and the gas has escaped. Jaisalmer was too small a place, I doubt if Freon was available there. So, we were without AC since yesterday morning. Yesterday it was fine, since our drives were short.
Today it was bad, at noon as we were nearing Jodhpur it was terrible. The minute we reached our hotel, I instructed our driver to inform his tour company and get it fixed the same day. He said he would drop us at the fort and go to the dealership, he was confident that it would be fixed at Jodhpur.
We check into hotel Mapple Abhay. They are an international chain? Then I’m missing something. We had opted for 4-star accommodation throughout the trip, this doesn't get even 1-star from me.
The corridor outside our room was dark, there was no window at our end, so we request them to switch on the corridor lights. They would switch on only on request, and promptly switch it off within 5 minutes. This happened atleast three times, they simply would not keep it on until after 6PM
The carpeting in our room was old and dirty. Housekeeping staff gets the extra bed and wants to put it on the floor. I ask for a folding cot, guy pretends he has never heard of it. Only when I raise my voice,and he realizes I am not buying , he says “ek hai, dektha hoon” and gets it. The two guys were unbelievably clumsy at making the bed. Usually it is a pleasure to watch the crisp manner in which they do it.
When we returned from our tour, we find the bathroom dirty. I call room service, they send someone to clean. And he says their drains are clogged so they are having this problem. What a relief!
Our room was got getting cooled, we kept AC at max, but since it is central AC, I think the temperature was kept high at the central control. Only at 8PM the AC started working normally, but somewhere in the middle of the night 1AM maybe, they again start their cost-cutting tactic.
There was no hot water at night. Another call to room service, they say keep the tap open for 10 minutes. Fine, I keep the tap open for 20 minutes, still no hot water. Again I call, they send someone, he keeps the tap open for a long while, there is slight warm water. He said hot water is coming and disappeared. So, did the dream of a bath.
I was tired from the drive and tour, tried of calling room service and front desk umpteen times. I resisted the urge to blown up while checking out the next day. Even left with a smile, after all I am never ever going to come to this hotel again.
It just happened to be a lousy day, with some bright spots.
Jaswant Thada , the cremation ground of Jodhpur rulers
These graves belong to other members of the royal family, like the king’s brothers, uncles etc.
Meherangarh fort
To Be Continued...