We left Deogarh reluctantly. It was a beautiful castle in an incredible terrain. We piled into the Traveller with absolute faith in our driver Dev. He started out on the same path we took for our train journey yesterday. However, we turned left at the school rather than right. Four hours later we had traversed the desert between Deogarh and Jodhpur. On the way, we got a little lost, but not too badly. There are no direction posts where we were going. I think everyone who travels these incredibly narrow roads already knows where they are going. Dev asked directions a couple of times and got conflicting advice. We have no idea if Dev has been to these parts before but we have to trust his ability to guide us well. He was great about showing us what was happening around us. We saw deer, Blackbuck antelope and camels in the wild. What an adventure! The scenery was somewhat bleak.
A face only a mother could love!
Black buck antelope (male & female)
The feeling of being dusty came through the car vents and we were all happy to arrive at the Taj hotel in Jodhpur.
We checked into our hotel, had lunch and then took off with a local guide to explore the city market in a Tonga (i.e., a horse drawn carriage).
Two of our modes of transport side by each~
The horses seemed to know what to do, but it was a little overwhelming to have so many motor vehicles beside our horses. The market was a dusty, colourful place. We walked through a number of side streets, investigated a textile warehouse and a spice market. We will share the various spice mixes we picked out with whoever visits us for dinner in the weeks after we return! We also picked up some nice tea blends. All of our purchases were wrapped in colourful cloth bags. India has passed a law banning plastic bags. Merchants give away colourful cloth bags that work great and are reusable.
We had a great meal and now are off for an early night before lots of sightseeing (i.e. more forts to explore) tomorrow.
travelswithannmarie 
