Luck was on my side this morning as I tried my ATM card this morning and the machine dispersed rupees within a few seconds. I breathed a sigh of relief. My day was starting off well.
I made a quick decision to stay in Jodhpur one more day. I cancelled my bus ticket to Jaipur and enquired about a ticket to Jaisalmer tomorrow. Back I went to my original plan of visiting Jaisalmer before heading east.
After an annoying experience at the post office, I went to the tourist reception area for some guidance but the office didn’t open for another hour. So I ventured down to the Sadar Market. Since it was still very early in the morning, the crowds were sparse and merchants were just setting up. I walked through the market with little bother. I drank a mango lassi and looked for breakfast.
Left of the market entrance is Sanhi Samosas. This little hole in the wall is very popular with locals. When I was in the market the day before, there was a never ending queue. The owner of my guesthouse told me people line up for hours but I should go there because the samosas are the best in Jodhpur.
I waited my turn and chowed down on an awesome samosa. The local customers looked confused to see a foreigner eating a samosa next to them on the street. When I finished eating I snapped some pictures of the owner which led to having my picture taking and others wanting their pictures taken. Simple as this was it was a moment to make me forget about all the hassles to date.
Taking a wrong turn, I found myself in the zoo, not the national museum like I planned. I heard Indian zoos were horrible but since I was there I went in. All I saw were birds and ducks. The lay out of the zoo was too annoying to follow. Apparently there were lions and tigers but they were hiding in the shade so I couldn’t see anything but their shadow. The conditions inside the cages were too disgusting to mention. There were many construction workers preparing cages and building new ones. Hopefully that’s a sign that they are trying to improve the living conditions.
I found the National Museum and cooled down in the fan conditioned rooms. The attendant was really kind when I told him I needed water. He went out and got me some filtered water and made sure I drank some before and after I left the museum. He also gave me some good sightseeing advice. Another happy moment.
I went to the Umaid Bhawan Palace and museum and the Jaswant Thada to finish up my tours for the day. I met Miriam and Mike who were staying at my guesthouse at Jaswant Thada so the three off us went out to dinner at a pure veg place near the train station. We then relaxed back at the guesthouse talking and trading traveling advice.