In any tourist guide, the first three must to visit places in Jodhpur are Mehrangarh Fort, Jaswant Thada and Umeid Bhawan Palace. The palace has been turned into a hotel and it’s waste to go to visit inside even after paying a meagre 15 bucks since they just show you two rooms with some antique items which probably they couldn’t use even for hotel interior decor. If your budget permits, better have a visit to their restaurant or stay there(the latter is quite a budget!) to really see something worthwhile.
The fort is one of the very well maintained ones however, many parts of it are just remains of a foregone era. There is a museum also inside which houses the weaponry, and other antique articles used by kings and queens. The fort walls are beautifully carved, however, not as good carving as in Jaisalmer(Read about it in my Jaisalmer review). A few rooms are well preserved, though.
The real thing and about which I would like to talk a bit more is Mandore. This was the capital of state before Jodhpur. However, now it is a victim of government’s apathy and poor maintenance. The famous Mandore Gardens is free to visit, even for Langoors. If you visit the place, you can easily make out the difference what it could have been and what it has become. Probably it is not in foreign tourists’ map and so government hasn’t cared for it as well as it cares for monuments in jodhpur. And I really wonder why it is not in foreign tourists’ map if that’s really the case.
Mandore gardens has chhatris which have been buit in memory of certain kings. It’s a really beautiful place and despite the neglect, it towers the Fort and Palace in my memory. Obviously, since it’s free it’s crowded on most of the days still if you can find some lonely corner and stare at those monuments, it’s worth going there. And believe me, if you are least interested in architecture or historical monuments, you can keep your eyes on them for quite a while.( a couple of photos attached)
Jodhpur city is like any other 2 tier city and you will have to dig hard to find any glimpse of rich heritage. Except that all the houses and buildings are made of stone and exteriors are almost uniform throughout. However, it’s called blue city and you can see the old city from the fort which mainly comprises of houses painted blue.
I had the famous’Makhania Lassi’ too. It’s distinctly different from the kind of lassi that Punjabi and UP people refer to. It’s very thick and not meant for people on strict diet or whose stomach can’t accomodate enough.:-) However, the shop(Mishrilal’s) really needs renovation. Especially so when the shop has become kind of tourist place where even foreigners just come and take a seat and the service boys just bring the lassi glasses without even waiting for them to order.
All in all, an okay place but I assign’good’ rating because of Mandore only.