Jai Mahal

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So here I am, on my lunch break, snacking on lovely, thick, fluffy, fresh-baked pita bread, and some kind of mayonnaise-based spread with cheese and mushroom flavoring at my desk, and I thought, "Hey, maybe I should put up a blog about my wonderful, pinch-me-am-I-still-in-Jaipur weekend."

Saturday night was Brian's first event for his company, and it was a blast. Brian's boss is friends with a factory owner, so the owner let them use an abandoned factory building to set up a dance floor and a serious DJ system. The theme of the party was "Rain Factory" and in honor of the impending monsoon, rain makers were set up over the dance floor so that it was like dancing in a storm. The music was decent, and the best part was there were free snacks, which included (wonder of wonders) these little lamb bites, tandoori chicken, yogurt-marinated chicken, and little chicken burritos (as well as some excellent smoked paneer, a type of soft cheese).

Sunday was Brian's and my six/seven month anniversary (the six month anniversary was actually last month, but I was in Texas, and Brian was in New Jersey, so we celebrated this month) and in honor, we treated ourselves to a Jaipur-free afternoon at one of the city's nicest hotels. The Jai Mahal Palace charges non-guests Rs200 (about US$4.50) to use their pool and it was beautiful. The water was the perfect temperature, the pool was set in these lovely, quiet gardens, and the service was ridiculous (the pool attendant set up lounges and towels for us and everything). It's my new favorite de-stressing spot. Perhaps even better than the pool, though, was the discovery of hot showers and a hair dryer in the changing rooms. Next time we go, I'm taking my shampoo.

After spending a couple hours at the pool, we adjourned to the restaurant, which was another lovely escape full of carnivorous delights. I had fish for the first time since I've been in India, a lovely, succulent, perfectly pink grilled salmon, as well as some really excellent lamb sausage and the best quesadillas I've had outside of Texas. Anyway, it was just a really nice thirty six hours or so, and I was exactly what I needed.

My final bit of news for the day is that the housing situation has improved markedly since my last post. It's only Aakriti's father that's weird, and most of the time he's not at home. Her mother is lovely, and Aaktriti's sweet (even though they both can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes), and the biggest issue of having no place to put my clothes should be resovled this evening with the addition of a clothes rack (Brian discovered yesterday that the guy across the road presses clothes for Rs3 an item...that's 7 cents). Really, the only problem at this point is that I'm sleeping on a thin pad on the floor, and missing my nice comfy bed at home. But to look on the bright side of things, at least the firmness helps my back 😊 and I would suspect getting a better mattress pad wouldn't break the bank. Anyway, point is, things are looking up for me here in Jaipur, and for the first time since we arrived at the hotel in Delhi, I am genuinely and decidedly happy to be here. To top it all off, I just finished a Kit-kat bar from the bakery down the street, and chocolate always makes life better.

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Photos

The Facade of Jai Mahal
This was the view from the gardens of the front of the hotel.

The Gardens at Jai Mahal
The immaculate gardens

The Oversized Chessboard at the Palace
Beautifully carved giant chess pieces at Jai Mahal

The Chess Pieces
These were so beautiful.

Brian
Squinting in the Jaipuri sun.

Comments

[Dad]

Beautiful Pictures
Man, what great pictures. I am so glad you had that little cultural break. Sometimes, just knowing its possible makes bearing the differences a little bit easier. By the time you come home, I'm sure you'll be so acclimated that after just a few weeks you'll be thinking about when you can next go back. It looks like some of the smog and pollution has left the sky. Those were the bluest skies in any of the pictures you have sent back. I also noticed that the highs are dropping down to only around 99. You must be almost shivering. Your blogs are great!! Maybe you career needs to be part diplomat, part business person and part travel writer. We are so proud of you. Dad

[=(]

OMG
STOP STALKING ME, like OMG!

[Abby]

Things seem to be looking up.
Brian's company event sounds like a blast! I'm so glad that you are truly starting to enjoy yourself. I was beginning to worry. Happy anniversary to you and Brian, and please tell him I said so! Your pictures are amazing.

[Mona]

omg, sounds like you guys are having an amazing time. a positive attitude really does help things not to suck so bad. those pictures are GORGEOUS (why are you not becoming a freelance photographer again :P) and it seems pretty effing awesome over there. keep schmiling!