Day 5 - Jaipur

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Over lunch, our guide Vikki explained his take on why Indians are the happiest people in the world. They forget about the past and believe that the future is destiny; therefore, they focus all their attention on the present... on today. In addition, he explained the entire process of Indian arranged marriages - and why there is only a 3% divorce rate in India. In his own experience, he never met his wife before they married - but they did exchange pictures. Over 100 family members were involved on his side in the arrangement and they turned away close to 45 women. Several factors were involved in choosing his wife - such as age, height, personal values and tastes, the backgrounds of their families (wealth, social standing) and their castes (both are warriors) and the astrological compatibility. Yes, astrological signs are important!! In fact, they pick the date of their wedding according to astrology.

Our morning started with an elephant ride to the top of Amber Fort. Steph's elephant zoomed ahead of our slow and steady one. Once at the top, we enjoyed a panoramic view of Maota Lake and the historic old town at the base of the hill, which was the early seat of the Amber kings before they made the fort their capital. The Fort had very narrow passageways and rocky steps which unfortunately led to Steph spraining her ankle as we were walking down. She has been an amazing sport about it and didn't complain at all.

Vikki took us to a beautiful restaurant that let us cook our own Indian lunch. As we entered the kitchen, we were unsure what exactly we were doing. Steph stepped right in and followed the chef's instructions, making us a delicious paneer masala. I couldn't believe how much butter and cream they told us to use but I guess that's why it tastes so good!!

We ended the day at a jewelry shop buying beads and necklaces. It turned out that the shop was owned by the same people where we had purchased shirts and jackets earlier in the morning. My mom and sister left me to negotiate since I enjoy the art of bargaining in India. The shopkeeper was extremely polite and by the end, we were both laughing and shaking hands. He asked my profession and smiled when I told him finance.

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