Jodhpur was even more spectacular
Tourism here is big business. There is a lift to take you to the highest levels of the palace
From the battlements you can see parade grounds and the old blue city in the background. Not clearly visible are the channels for delivering water to the palace.
Inside, the maharajah's audience room:
In this palace the current maharajah had a room with a video display of his current role, with emphasis on his philanthropic activities. The maharajahs lost their role as puppet princes of the British at independence in 1947, but kept their palaces. Some have become museums, others converted to hotels, often still having mementoes of the British Raj. One hotel bar had, on the walls at eye level, 18 stuffed tiger heads. More common were photos of parades (Indian soldiers going off to fight for British wars) and group photographs of local notables and the British Resident. Elsewhere, minor Royal families may be in slightly reduced circumstances. It was a Maharajah's son who adjusted the bicycle saddle height to suit Anne. At Dungapur we explored an abandoned palace, the Juna Mahal.
It was just a hollow shell, showing signs of an unsuccessful attempt to introduce electric light early in the 20th century. Inside was like a set for a horror film, with dimly lit staircases, creaking doorways and horrendous drops from unprotected openings. We later learned that the site was being used as a film set (it was not far from Bollywood) later that week. Behind me is the caretaker. However, there were signs of former glory everywhere within:
Glass ceilings, glass floors.
The flying boats were a recurring theme in the unrestored decorations. Elsewhere there was a portrait of Queen Victoria, and a large decorated crest of the Prince of Wales, also a complete set of precise illustrations of couples intertwined in a large range of athletic and improbable positions.
Anne and I were the only visitors.
Afterwards we walked up the hillside with a guide to the hill top fort:
Coming down, we got another view of the abandoned palace.
Where palaces have survived, they have quite often re-emerged as hotels, and they provide far more interesting places to stay than your average Holiday Inn