Back in Bangalore to pack up before heading back to dear old Blighty. I'm very glad however that I managed a few days in Rajasthan. It was fascinating and interestingly different to southern India. The colourful clothes, the elaborate moustaches (and you should see the men...), camels, fairytale fortresses and friendly, friendly people were all wonderful to sample but I think I've left plenty for another trip.

I had very little time at all in Jaipur - one afternoon of proper exploring really. But I saw a lot, had the most delicious cup of chai and I had an interesting encounter with a local. As I was walking round I got talking to a guy called Ajey. We stopped and talked outside a temple for a while - can't remember what we talked about but on the evidence of every other conversation I had in Rajasthan at some point we must have talked about:

• being bald
• why I'm not married

Anyway Ajey showed me around and even guided me to the city view that my friend Glen had alerted me to. I managed to avoid buying any jewelry from his friend's store but in the end I did end up paying way over the odds for a picture back at his place. Apparently it's all for charity...

The next day I headed for Jodhpur. I took a Keynesian approach to the problem of having not much time and plenty to see, i.e. I threw money at it until the problem went away! I ended up getting a driver for a couple of days which felt terribly extravagant but it was well worth it. I think Jodhpur was the highlight of the trip. The extraordinary fort looming over the blue-washed houses is like something out of a dream.


The old town below the fort is the most fascinating network of alleys and interesting buildings. I just wish I wasn't so shy about taking photos of people and daily life because I've never seen anywhere quite as ripe for the photographical picking as the old town in Jodhpur: every corner seemed to have another arresting image around it.


People were also amazingly friendly. Everyone seemed to say hello as they passed and many people wanted to know where I was from and stop and talk. I had a chat with Jatinder below, owner of an electrical store. He wanted to know:

• what it's like being bald
• why I'm not married

On the way home I gave the dubious delights of Pushkar a miss and opted to visit the Islamic shrine in Ajmeer. The Khwaja Muin-ud-din Chishti Dargah (ask for it by name!) is apparently India's most sacred Islamic site and one of the most important in the world. It contains the tomb of a Sufi saint and I was disappointed to miss the marvellous qawwali music that goes on in the evenings. But it was a great place to visit and I'm glad I was able to add an Islamic shrine to the Jain, Hindu and Christian places I've seen on this trip (there's just never a Zoroastrian when you need one). Anyhow, it was great and the thing I'll always remember was the wonderful, delicate smell of rose petals that pervaded the atmosphere. Unlike the incense burning in Hindu temples the traditional offering here is a basket of rose petals and the smell was wonderfully pungent particularly inside the tomb itself. I was ushered into the press of people filing in, made a donation and was wrapped in the hem of the sacred cloth from the saint's tomb. It was heady stuff!


Again I got approached by a number of locals who wanted to find out where I was from. It's amazing what a well timed "asalaam aleikum" can do in such circumstances. Having done my bit for Anglo-Islamic relations I headed back to the car and back to Jaipur. Good times.