jodhpur.
late arrival in jodhpur and even later dinner on the roof top restaurant with a view of the fort.
strolling through the streets with some impressive havelis and the busy market place. sounds and sights. on the way to the fort somebody invites me into his 2-room house. my family, my kitchen, my family bedroom, my courtyard. very simple but tidy.
roundtrip through the fort. it's not as impressive as kumbhalgarh with its outstanding location but it has its own style and an interesting architecture. and most of all the walls have seen its history of battles. 'death or victory' is a phrase i hear often through the audio guide. quite a statement. well, it must have been meant exactly that way if the stories contain some truth: lots of suicidal jumping on funeral piles in the old days if the battle was lost... no judging: we had our nibelungen and their loyalty.
shopping for spices. it's not good if you start to invent dishes while you smell and taste spices. the more you taste, the more creative you get, the more you want to try, the more you need to buy. a truly vicious circle. but, damn, it's fun! and the shop keeper has a good laugh about the dishes i come up with. he understood the monkfish with saffron-lemon-orange-sabayon but i guess he was a bit irritated about the idea of a cardamom-vanilla-flavoured burgundy-sauce with grated chocolate for venisson... well, i leave with loads of saffron, black cardamom, cinnamom and a wide range of mixtures. my head is full of food but my stomach is empty. spend the next 2 hours in a restaurant with an elaborate expedition through the menue...'this. this. that. yes, i try that, too. no, not for my family, for me'.