wandering through jodhpur like a lost beat poet

the sun here is a different kind of beast. not the polite, "hey i'm here to warm your face" kind. more like the "i will roast you alive if you step outside without a hat" kind. i just checked and it's 13.47°c there right now, feels like 11.81°c, so hope you like that kind of thing. i'm sitting in a tiny rooftop cafe, sweat pooling under my camera strap, trying to figure out if the blue city is judging me or just ignoring me completely.

"you think this is hot? you should've been here in june," the waiter says, rolling his eyes like i just complained about the price of water in the desert.

i'm not a photographer by trade, but i'm pretending to be one for this trip. freelance photographer vibes, you know? camera always out, squinting at light like i understand what i'm doing. the truth is, i just like how the blue walls look next to the golden hour glow. it's messy. it's imperfect. it's exactly why i came.

*mehrangarh fort is the kind of place that makes you feel small in the best way. not because it's huge, though it is, but because it's been standing there for centuries while you're just a blip. someone told me that the fort walls still have cannon ball marks from battles. i don't know if that's true, but i like believing it. makes the stones feel alive.

if you get bored, jaipur and udaipur are just a short drive away. but honestly, i don't know why you'd leave. the chaos here is the kind you want to get lost in. the kind that makes you forget what day it is.

i overheard a couple of backpackers at the hostel saying the clock tower market is overrated. "too many people," they said. "too loud." but that's exactly why i loved it. the smell of spices hitting you like a freight train, the way vendors shout prices like it's a competition, the way a kid tried to sell me a bracelet made of bottle caps. it's messy. it's loud. it's real.

"don't eat the street food unless you want to spend your trip in the bathroom," a local warned me. i ate it anyway. no regrets.

i'm staying in the navchokiya area, which is quieter than the touristy parts but still close enough to walk everywhere. the guesthouse owner keeps trying to sell me a "special rajasthani experience" that involves a camel and a sunset. i'm tempted, but also terrified of camels. they look like they know something i don't.

weather-wise, it's dry as hell. humidity is 36%, which sounds low, but trust me, the sun makes up for it. pressure is 1014, sea level is 1014, grnd level is 959. i don't know what any of that means, but it sounds important.

i keep thinking about how this city doesn't care if you're here or not. it's been blue for centuries, and it'll be blue long after i'm gone. there's something freeing about that. like, you can take your time, make your mistakes, get lost, and the city will still be here, unbothered, just being blue.

if you're into ancient forts, chaotic markets, and rooftop cafes with questionable hygiene, jodhpur is your place. just bring sunscreen. and maybe a hat. and probably some probiotics.

local tips:
- don't trust the first auto-rickshaw driver who offers you a ride. they'll quote you triple the price.
- the maharani bangles shop* is a trap. beautiful, but a trap.
- if someone offers you masala chai, say yes. always.

this isn't a polished travel guide. it's just me, sweating, taking bad photos, and loving every second of it. jodhpur doesn't need me to make it look good. it's already perfect in its chaos.

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