The route from Ranthambore to Jodhpur is not an easy one. We can wait an extra day and take a nine-hour train (and stay another night in Jungle Niwas!) or get a driver. Amazingly we chose a driver knowing full well this will be a long day and plan for a 6:30am exit.
Nine and a half hours later we arrive exhausted and dusty in Jodhpur. We arrive at Ratan Villas, our next hotel, and have our fingers, toes and legs crossed, praying that it will be better than Jungle Niwas (frying pan vs fire etc.).
We are greeted at the gate by our hotel manager, a delightful man called Jitu, and shown around this beautiful villa. We are over the moon. An old house / villa; opened to guests ten years ago and the family still run the business and live there. He shows us to our room. It’s huge, beautiful. The bathroom is fabulous with a big sunken marble bath and two showers. We almost hug Jitu we are so impressed and pleased, and I’m sure Jitu thinks we are the most excitable people ever! Quite apart from the fact that Jitu is impeccably smartly dressed and we look a fright.
After watching our first TV for over a week – Miss Congeneality – hilarious – we head downstairs to the beautifully laid out courtyard for dinner. The villa courtyard is more like something you would see in southern France or even Morocco and we are warmed by a lovely fire in the centre. Dinner is delicious and we have our first red wine since arriving in India. Indian red wine at that. It’s delicious and welcome!
Tonight, we sleep very well.
Pic 1: Traffic, India style. Pic 2: Our fabulous new hotel!
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