Jan 15, blue Jodhpur and Ranakpur, Rajasthan

Protein depravation has us dreaming about Spicy Masala Cheese omelet and shortly before 10am we go rushing back to the Omelette Shop. The owner barely starts setting up his business and warming the hot plate when we descent like a couple of vultures, stomachs growling in anticipation. We feel like kicking ourselves when, after short rounds in the bazaar, we find the egg stand smothered by a big group of Japanese tourists, all waiting to order. Never before were we so determined to have eggs for breakfast. At last, thirty minutes later, we’re in heaven. A double order spiced with chili and red onion oozes cheese from all sides, permanently depositing aromas in our brains.

 Sebastian inching for a spot

 The Amazing Egg Man. Rumor has it the city wants to relocate his stand - apparently he's blocking the gate. I have a feeling his competition signed a petition.

 It really is THAT good.

Nourished, we walk the Old Town for about an hour to capture some of the Blue City in photos, then head over to Janta Sweet Shop to get our fix for a long drive to Ranakpur. A group of four teenage guys is very eager to help us with the selection of sweets, shoving one another they laugh and joke around amongst themselves behind the counter and Sebastian, unable to  understand a word of what they’re saying, just grins and stands really close beside me. Over the past few days he’s become ultra protective and sensitive about the attention we’re getting from men of all ages, staring them right in the face, blocking viewports with all his might and screening me with his body whenever we pass a group of them on the street.

It mostly seems pointless but makes him fell in control of the surrounding chaos, I guess.  

All really good, kind of spongy, one with edible silver leaf.

entry stoop

Jain Temple in Ranakpur is an amazing structure of intricately carved milky marble transformed into weightless lacework. Apparently the carvers were paid according to the amount of dust collected at the end of the day, making them create ever so detailed relieves.

As the lusciously green mountainous landscape stretches in the valley below we hold our breath, mostly in amazement but sometimes also in gratitude of driving on the inner side of the narrow and steep road, deep gorge to our far right. Views are truly dreamlike…and then a smell of burning rubber brings us back to reality - turns out there’s a leak in our cooling system. [Before our moms reading this get too worried I’d like to say there’s a happy ending to this story]

We stop to add water then drive to the nearest roadside snack stand where another driver stops by to help us out. The owner is really helpful, brings whatever he has that could possibly patch that hole in the cable and his young son wrestles with a huge bucket of water for us. Ignoring Sebastian’s suggestion to cut punctured section of the cable and reconnect what remains, Ajay and his friend simultaneously drink masala chai, smoke Gold Flakes and use our duct tape to secure a plastic bag grabbed from a roadside pile to wrap around the leaking conduit. All very reassuring.

The improvised fix-up lasts for about 3km, then we refill with more water several times until the engine shuts down in the middle of a pitch black road, only the glowing moon and emergency lights illuminating us for other drivers to see. A thought that we could possibly spend the night in the car stranded in the middle of nowhere crosses our mind…and then two young guys come to our rescue. They drive to the nearest restaurant and back to bring us water. Ajay goes with them while Sebastian and I stay in the car. We’re told it’s for our safety, although being inside of a semi-visible vehicle makes us feel anything but. As our heroes go out of their way to escort us to our destination we can’t help but think about how much they’ll want in return. Perhaps it sounds horrible to be doubting their heart of a Samaritan, nevertheless we’re left suspicious of their intentions until we reach Udaipur. We’re exhausted but relieved when 90km and 6 hours after leaving Ranakpur, a drive that should have lasted two hours at most, we finally arrive. Almost ready to jump out of the car and kiss the ground we come to a halt - big smeared poop stares us in the face.

The whole experience wasn’t without a big dose of adrenaline, but it reassured us in one thing - there will always be people, perfect strangers, who will drop everything to help us out whatever way they can. We discovered yet another heartwarming layer of India.