Jammu: Been there done that

I spent a day in Jammu and that was about enough, after the cool climate of Ladakh and Kashmir the heat of Jammu was a shock to the system.  My mood was not improved by the overpriced lodging in the city, and I spent longer than I would have liked trekking through the baking streets looking for an acceptable room for the night.

I visited the local tourist office to try to figure out where to visit on my one day in Jammu.  I decided to check out the Amar Mahal Palace on the edge of town.  After I assured the employees at the tourist office I do not take taxies, they eventually explained where I could catch a city bus that would take me to the palace.  The directions were excellent and I had little problem navigating my way to the proper bus.  However, what they failed to mention was that it was closed on this particular day, which I discovered when I approached the locked door of the Amar Mahal.  My visit was thus restricted to a quick look around the grounds before I caught a bus back into town.  I checked out the outside of the large temple in town but my interest in going inside temples these days dwindles rapidly when cameras are not permitted, which is increasingly common in India citing security concerns.  The best part of Jammu was just the casual conversations with the friendly residents.  By evening I hopped on a night train bound for Delhi leaving the heat of Jammu for the furnace of Delhi.