Tourist office The Tourist Reception Centre is in the RTDc’s Hotel Ghoomar compound and is open Monday to Saturday. There’s also an International Tourist Bureau at the main train station which provides information, has comfortable armchairs, a shower and a toilet.

Transport Tip Be careful of rickshaws here when you arrive. They will do their best to take you to a hotel where they get commission, no matter where you actually want to go! Be firm, as any hotel they take you to will charge more to allow for the commission and if you have booked with us your booking will have been confirmed before you arrive, so no matter what line these ‘crooks’ try to give you, such as the fact that you are wrong and that hotel is fully booked…remember you are one of those that booked it!

Sunstroke and sunburn are common ailments, especially for those who come from more temperate climes. But fortunately, ensuring a regular intake of fluids, using strong sunscreens and wearing a shady hat and sunglasses easily minimise the risks from the hot desert sun. A sunscreen with minimum SPF 20 to escape sunburn is essential.

The major risks to your health from the armies of mosquitoes are malaria, encephalitis, kala azar and dengue. Cover your arms and legs; be liberal with the repellent and in problem areas sleep under a mosquito net. Traveller’s diarrhoea is another “running” problem. Ensure it’s nothing nastier by avoiding green salads, uncooked food and water that you haven’t sanitised by dropping an iodine pill into. Slightly more serious is the risk of contacting AIDS, Hepatitis B and other diseases. For your sake and the sake of the people you’re visiting always use a condom. Have safe responsible sex.

Health Services The quality of health services is more than adequate in Jodhpur with its medical college, hospitals and nursing homes, well-qualified private practitioners and 24-hour pharmacies. Medicines are fairly cheap and though pharmacies in the cities are well stocked, it is always a good idea to take along prescription drugs. Travellers from yellow fever areas are required to have a certificate. Prior inoculation for poliomyelitis is recommended.

Safety Jodhpur is a safe destination, more so if you follow the rules and play safe. It’s a hospitable town with a rough and ready edge. The people are down to earth and helpful in their own way. Tourism is a money-making business, so travellers are advised to practise a fair degree of caution and not trust blindly. Try to deal with accredited or licensed travel agents, guides and tour operators only. Be extremely alert after sunset and try your best to be in a familiar area when it gets dark. Political disturbances and riots are usually localised and everyone’s aware well in advance of potentially troubled days ahead. Cases of mugging, theft and pick pocketing often happen and tourists are the favourite target of touts and scam artists though by and large serious crimes against travellers are rare. Women travelling alone particularly need to be over cautious, as the state is notoriously chauvinistic in its attitude to lone women, often considered fair game.

Basic precautions

• Keep your money and travel documents close to your body (perhaps in a pouch slung around your neck, tucked out of sight under your shirt)
  
• Keep several photocopies of your passport, insurance, travellers’ cheques etc. scattered through your luggage
  
• Do not use a waist pouch, it may as well be a transparent plastic bag: it’s that fragile and that obvious!
  
• Do not put all your money in one place
  
• Many women travellers wear the long tunic and loose pyjama dress of Indian women called the salwar-kameez and find that it substantially dissuades unwanted male attention.
  
• If you are travelling alone, do not advertise it.
  
• If you lose your passport, lodge a First Information Report at the local police station and contact your embassy.