Travel to Jaipur

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Yesterday was a very long day. We had breakfast early in Udaipur and then got on our bus for what turned out to be an almost 8 hour trip to Jaipur. Temperature was very hot (as per usual) but it is the only way to get between the two cities.

We really got to know our guide Vishtal quite well while traveling. I think that he is the best guide that I have ever had in any of our trips. He is extraordinarily intelligent and clear and has a passion about India which just feels good to us. He has told us a great deal about Hinduism and the many different gods that Hindus worship... i guess we call them sects. There are so many stories about the different temples that we have seen and the different gods being worshiped. For part of the trip he just talked about his pride in being an Indian citizen. He loves his country and unlike the United States where national pride is often expressed as USA, USA, we're number !.... he talks more about diversity, education, caring for the poor (of which there are many), and the accomplishments in the country. In addition to being a primary tour guide for A&K, Vishtal also is very heavily involved in causes that aid Indian women. the organization is Children of tomorrow and I hope to look into this more when i get back.

One of the things that struck me about the country is that while India is in many ways one of the oldest countries historically, it only gained its independence from the British in 1947. it is about the same age as Israel.

Jaipor is known as the Pink city and is the capital of the desert state of Rajasthan ... Just before coming on this trip i had read a book written by the former Maharani of Jaipor so i was pretty familiar with the history of the Maharajas that lived here and the oppulence that they lived in. Our hotel here is named the Rambagh Palace (another Taj hotel) and was originally built in the mid 1830s as a hunting lodge before being converted into a Palace for the former Maharaja of Jaipor and after indepence when Indira Ghandi stopped the Maharajas from their rule, the palace was sold to the
Taj group to be converted into a hotel. It is like all of the other hotels we have stayed in pure luxury.... A seven star experience. You will see in the pictures. A wonderful Indian dinner hosted by the hotel ended our day and gave us time to have a free night which meant early bed time.

I will try to catch up tomorrow with my next posting which will talk about wednesday and our full day touring Jaipor.

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