ZIPLINING EXPERIENCE AT MEHRANGARH FORT IN JODHPUR, INDIA:-
A very boring 7.5-hour bus journey from Pushkar to Jodhpur suddenly turned into an incredible local experience in India, when I met Deepak and ended up being invited for a wedding.
Read here about this unique experience and the action thrill of zip lining in Jodhpur.
Connecting with the locals/meeting Deepak, 24 from India
The full experience was going along very well when a young Indian guy – sitting next to me on the bus from Ajmer to Delhi (ca. xx USD / 188 Rupees) – started a conversation. His name is Deepak, age 24, currently working in Ajmer and on a business trip to Jodhpur.
We had a very good discussion about his life and work, about which I wasn’t shy at all to ask some pretty personal questions about his salary and intentions for his earnings. He has an MBA and is working in an office 9-6 every day, giving him a total of about $400/month. Since he lives with his aunt, he doesn’t have any costs, and his company reimburses all the money he spends on food.
In answer to my question about what he does with his earnings, he replied, “I send it all back to my parents because they have done enough for me until now!” I really liked this reply.
I then told him about my travels, my intention/purpose in life; and I think I inspired him in a way.
Arriving in Jodhpur and shared a room with a stranger
Around 8:00 pm, we finally arrived in Jodhpur; and since he already booked his hotel, Deepak offered me to come and check it out, and even offered me to share the room and costs. The room was 500 Rupees /night.
When we arrived at the hotel, one of the guys wasn’t so nice to me, so I was unsure whether to stay or not at this point. I checked out the rooms, but before I decided if I wanted to stay, I left my backpack in his room and we went for dinner.
When we returned to the hotel, I was starting to get really tired, so I decided to stay for the night at Hotel Santosh Guest House. I shared a room with a stranger I had just met – standard for me when traveling and it really helps to be open-minded when traveling.
While moving me into a different room, the manager had a big argument with his staff because of the way they had treated me when I first arrived. They didn’t pay much attention to me, were lazy and watched television instead of taking good care of me.
A normal local morning in India / Crazy early morning in India
The next morning, Deepak and I set the alarm to get up at 7:00 am because he had to go to work and I had to do the zip lining I had booked online (www.flyingfox.asia). At 5:00 am, somebody knocked on the door really loud and I couldn’t believe it – it was Deepak’s work colleague, Vivek, coming early for work at 9:00 am.
Wow, four hours early shows a strong work ethic. At this point, I was pretty annoyed but after ten minutes, I kindly welcomed him and introduced myself. We went outside and started walking along the street to drink Chai and without even brushing our teeth, because according to them “it would ruin the Chai taste.”
It was hard for me not to brush my teeth and didn’t make me feel well but why not if it tastes better. The chai for me without brushing the teeth tasted exactly as good as always. When we returned, I showed them some movies I had made in the past, which they loved (I TRAVEL FOREVER).
More Indian local cultural experience
I then found out that Vivek was getting married next year, and he invited me right away – how awesome is that? I didn’t promise him I would come, but I said I’d like.
five days of the mad wedding celebration, different ceremonies, all the colors, bachelor party, why would I not want to go? Wow, so cool. Look where connecting with the locals brought me now. What do you think? Please comment in the section below.
We then talked about arranged marriages and they told me everything about it. It’s still a tradition but depending on how religious the families are, it is not so common anymore. It’s basically a deal between the parents after interviewing candidates: they talk about assets and career perspectives.
“The father wants to make sure he’ll be putting his daughter in good hands.” One amazing thing I’ve experienced when meeting the younger generation of Indians with a good education is that they only want the best for you, want you to feel good, and so they take really good care.
It is amazing in my opinion because it seems like they wanted to give me special treatment, which I didn’t really want because we are all the same and I have the utmost respect for them.
That morning, we checked on the details of my train journey to Delhi at 5:00 am. There were 95 people too many in the waiting line for a ticket, which meant I would have to share a sleeping seat. At 9:00 am, there were only 64 – getting there.
Back at the hotel, we all got ready, so we went to the office and I hopped on an autorickshaw that took me to the Mehrangarh Fort located right next to Jodhpur (known as the “Blue” city).
Zip lining at Mehrangarh Fort
After meeting the others in the group – only locals from India – I decided to try zip lining. I was very happy and lucky again. After a short introduction with a trial, we were ready like warriors to conquer the six different zip lines.
The people (locals from India) were really nice and told me that the men of both families are Majors in the Indian army – which I found out later earns around $2,500 / month – pretty good money in India.
We all had so much fun together and the different zip lines were located in such a nice location with Mehrangarh Fort surrounding them. Watch the 60-second summary of the incredible experience:
Zip 1 Chokelao Challenger 115m
ANOTHER Zip 2 Ranisar Rollercoaster 170m
Zip 3 Chhota Wallah 70m
Zip 4 Jai Jodha 270m
MORE Zip 5 Rajputs Revenge 160m
Zip 6 The Magnificent Marwar 300m
The zip lining started at 9:30 am and I was happy that I did it early because afterward, it gets really, really hot. My favorite was the fourth. Even though we were such a fun group together, the flying fox crew/instructors (Vickey and Chandelier) more importantly also made this a super experience because they took really good care of us; that’s why I can only recommend it. Book online at (www.flyingfox.asia) – I paid a student rate 1,124 Rupees (ca. 17 USD), adults general admission is about 1,450 Rupees (ca. 21,50 USD).
Relaxing at the fort
Afterward, I hung out at the fort – didn’t actually go inside (I had had enough of forts and temples) – where I found a nice sitting spot where I enjoyed the view over Jodhpur, the blue city.
MEHRANGARH FORT IN JODHPUR
MEHRANGARH FORT IN JODHPUR
Walking through town
I then decided to walk back to the hotel, rather than catch another autorickshaw in order to see more of it. I wanted to walk into the unknown and have a little adventure.
The journey was easy: I just walked in the direction I thought I needed to and found it without any problems. On my way back, I walked straight through the town and people acknowledged me by saying “hi”.
I know it’s funny, not Namaste, just a hi. When walking past a garden area, some little boys screamed and asked me to wait to take a photo.
For them, it is something special meeting tourists because it doesn’t happen very often. That’s why they like to have a photo and it makes you feel like a famous person – quite funny and really cute.
Meeting my local friends for lunch
I met Deepak for lunch, chilled and relaxed. After that, we checked the number again, still 59. When he returned after work, he came back with some good news: 0 when he checked at 4:30 pm. Awesome sleeping bed on the train to Delhi just for myself, very good news.
We then waited for Vivek and went for dinner, the same place as before where I had Masala Dosa and Paneer, which was really tasty. The total meal for all of us with drinks cost 328 Rupees (ca. xxx USD) 4,30€.
It was time to head back to the hotel, pick up my stuff and head to the train station. After all, I can actually say that the hotel stay was some trouble at first, but ended up really nice.
They treated me well and were friendly – still very curious (in general people are curious because we are different and they always stare – I don’t blame them).
I made it there just before 8:00 pm and it only left at 8:10 pm, all so easy. I’ve heard a lot about traveling by train but didn’t really know what to expect.
ITF about the experience
I was so happy that I was so lucky to connect with a nice guy like Deepak that made my time in Jodhpur unforgettable because he introduced me to more of the Indian culture and ended up inviting me to a wedding – just unique.
The zip lining was definitely something I enjoyed and I was also lucky to have been in a group of only locals, which made me so, so happy to have gotten the full experience.
Namaste!
#TW # MEHRANGARH FORT IN JODHPUR
