After a relaxed morning we ask Jitu, what we can do for the afternoon and subsequently head out to the palace and then to Mandore Gardens.
The palace is an impressive sandstone building that the Jodhpur Royal family started building in 1929, completing in 1943, and was designed by Lancaster of London. After independence the local taxes went to the government rather than to the Maharajas and this is no doubt one of the reasons why this impressive palace now fulfils three functions: 1) A small museum about the creation of the building, 2) a 5* hotel run by the Taj group and 3) the home of the Maharaja and his family. There’s actually very little of the palace you can look around…I guess that’s left for the privilege of those happy to pay for the 5* hotel.
On to Mandore Gardens which in days gone by were the royal gardens of the wives of the Maharaja. The setting is beautiful with lots of park and flowers, but the temples and small fort are in a significant state of disrepair. Although there are signs of restoration, it is clear that there is no concerted effort to restore the gardens to their former glory. This is a shame. However, we manage to amuse ourselves by charging five rupees to every small child that comes along saying “photo, photo”!
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