Day 9 Pushkar to Jodhpur

Salim drives us along country roads, which he knows we enjoy more than the highways.  We stop off at a car wash, where a coach is being thoroughly cleaned, so Salim can oil the squeaky hinges on his car doors.
Drive on through farms, where the chocolatey coloured goats look really pretty, especially the ones with leopard spot markings.
The road quality is extremely variable.  In some places, flood water has carried away the road surface completely, resulting in huge pot holes, which the car does not absorb too well.
We pass through toll gates, one with a long barrier, operated by a length of string.  It is heavily counter-weighted at one end and the string is held at the other end by a man who is laid back with his foot on the window sill.
Salim relates a tale of when he was caught speeding while taking guests to a wedding.  He pretended to be a police officer, and fortunately, it worked and they let him off.
En-route, he decides to change our hotel reservation to a place he thinks we will prefer.  He suggests I speak to the office and say that the suggestion was made to us by another traveller, but in the end, he shouts the office junior into submission, and looks very pleased with himself.
We arrive in time for lunch at our palatial-style hotel.  It is rather church like inside, with a roof top restaurant.  Quick eat and out to the hill top fort with amazing views across the Blue City.
We queue at the entrance for tickets and both H and I get our bums felt in the crowd.
We are given an audio presentation to take round with us.  It is a little long winded here and there, but at least we can fast forward the pompous bits.
The indian tourists are an exhuberant and lively bunch and it seems we are of as much interest to some of them as the palace itself.  The fort is high and impressive and the tour takes us right up to the top, finishing with a walk across the battlements, where a family ask us to be in a photo with them, and we all hold hands.
Salim picks us up and takes us to an art shop, where H and I agree we will not allow each other to buy anything, but as ever, it goes awry.  I end up purchasing an exquisite hand-painted tableau pf elephants and feel twice as guilty because H manages to keep his nerve and not buy a silk velvet picture of camels.
At the side of the road though, H is lucky to spot and engine lamp on a bric a brac stall.  He buys it for 555R.  Bargain!
Salim then tries to take us to an antique emporium, but I am too frightened for the state of my bank balance and beg for clemency.  Instead we go to a spice shop, where we are given a variety of samples to smell and of course, cannot resist making a few purchases.
Time for dinner and Salim takes us to his favourite thali restaurant.  There are so many servers bringing food to our table, the whole performance is positively theatrical.  We enjoy the drama of seeing each colourful contribution added to our trays.  It is a fun and colourful meal in a lively atmosphere - and if that weren't enough, we can see the happenings in the traffic outside!
Back outside, we dice with death crossing the road.  Night traffic is really scary, because many cars and bikes don't bother with lights.  What with that and the odd cow lying peacefully in the shadows....
Back to the hotel for a much needed shower and early night!