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Published: March 30th 2006
this is my ...
... Incredible India! picture. (People who have seen the really well done Incredible India! TV ads will get it ...)After leaving Agra, and the glorious Taj Mahal, I travelled by train to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. Rajasthan means "land of kings." It is a desert state, replete with camels, mountain top forts, legendary and living maharajahs, women in colourful saris, labyrinthine bazaars filled with turban-topped sellers of silver, slippers, cloth, and much, much more.
This is one of the most touristed areas of India, and for good reason. It is magical. I loved it. Kerala, Delhi and Rajasthan are thus far my favourite places in India.
However, my entry to Rajasthan was not magical. I arrived at midnight to a typical Indian train station scene -- incredibly aggressive autorickshaw drivers vying for our attention. Luckily, I was with Rob and Jill, and Rob is a big guy. They helped me to find my driver, sent by my Jaipur hotel, Jasvilas. Even as I was getting in the car, one autorickshaw driver was yelling at me, "Don't go with him! Come with me!" It was obvious I was being picked up by my hotel. Ridiculous. And scary.
However, all was well, and after dropping Rob and Jill off, I landed at Jasvilas, a small (11 room) inn,
me at sunset ...
.. at Tiger Fort, overlooking Jaipur. set around a flower-filled courtyard that featured a lovely swimming pool. I think Jasvilas is my favourite hotel in India. The people who run it are very warm and helpful, and it is a quiet oasis. Also not very expensive! I was there four days -- two by myself and two after Caryl arrived from Delhi.
Jaipur is a bustling, prosperous city of 2 million. Its dramatic backdrop is a mountain chain topped with three ancient forts. I spent the first day wandering around the pink city, the central part of Jaipur, also referred to as the old city. It is surrounded by a pink wall with about seven ornate gates. In the centre is the city palace. You can tour the old palace; in the new one lives the reigning maharajah, a polo-playing friend of Prince Charles'.
Among other wonders, the pink city is renowned for the Palace of Winds and Jantar Mantar. The Palace of Winds is really just a facade, only one room thick, built so that the ladies of the court could remain hidden while viewing the street below. Jantar Mantar is an observatory built by a Jaipur maharajah in the 18th century. It
houses an amazing collection of huge devices that chart the movements of the planets, stars, sun and moon. I enjoyed touring both -- and as usual, I found neither one to be very busy.
At lunch I went into a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet and sat between two foreign women who were dining alone. We talked, and one of them, a dancer from Russia studying Indian classical dance, invited us to a performance that evening. It was part of the Rajasthan Day festivities. So, I went that night to a very posh temple to see the performances, and had a great time. It was like performance art! There were dance and music troupes, and people dressed like gods, performing all over the temple and its extensive grounds.
The next morning I had my palm read by a well-known palmist and astrologer. He seemed like a very personable man, and an astute observer of human nature. He told me many things, such as: I will never marry (!); I will write a book about my experiences; I will become well-known and quite wealthy; I will live past the age of 80; and I have "Lakshmi hand." He said
I am very lucky for other people; other people prosper from knowing me! (Lakshmi is the Hindu goddess of money.)
So, we'll see ....
Then, while waiting for Caryl to arrive from Delhi, I went jewellery shopping. Each city in Rajasthan is famous for a commodity, and in Jaipur, it's gems. I bought a gorgeous bracelet of turquoise, garnet and a few other gems, and helped design and make it. It was a fun experience, though not cheap. (However, the same bracelet would be four times the price in Canada.)
Caryl arrived, and that night we went to another night of Rajasthan Day festivities, this time up on a mountain top, at Amber Fort. Amber Fort is huge, and very impressive, though I only saw it at night. It was decorated and lit up, and there were people in costume carrying candles and torches all over the place. More dancing, but this time on stages. The high point of the evening was the arrival of the chief minister, a woman in a green sari whose face is featured on billboards all over the city. There was a big procession, and Caryl and I were separated. A man
Jantar Mantar
An arty shot of some of the observational devices. grabbed me and asked me if I wanted to meet this eminent woman, and the next thing I knew, I was on stage in front of hundreds of people helping to light the ceremonial candle! Dozens of photographers were at the foot of the stage snapping our picture. It was wild.
I really do feel that anything can happen in India, especially if you are open to it, and I wasn't surprised to suddenly find myself an instant Jaipur celebrity, hob-nobbing with the rich and famous at a colourful event held in a medieval Indian fort.
The next day, our driver Ali took Caryl and I to a beautiful garden on the outskirts of town. It was once the private garden of a maharani (queen). From there we went to a remote temple complex carved into the a rocky hillside, like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. Monkeys scampered all over the temple, and drank from the cool, deep pools. It is one of my favourite places in India. On the way back to town, we saw quite a few peacocks in the scrubby desert by the side of the road, and camels are everywhere to be
Jantar Mantar: Pisces
I am standing at the device which detects Pisces -- there is a similar structure for each sign of the zodiac. seen, usually being used as a beast of burden.
That night we decided to splash out and go to the Rambagh Palace Hotel for dinner. This was once a residence of the maharajah, now a Taj Group hotel. It is very elegant, and the dinner was very expensive. We ate on the portico, under the stars, and were entertained by Rajasthani dancers and musicians. (I believe Charles and Diana stayed there -- there is a picture of them looking at jewellery in a store in the hotel.)
The next day we set off early for Jodhpur. We hired a car and driver and drove most of the day, through the desert, stopping only at Pushkar for lunch. Pushkar is a very special place, a small, very sacred town set around a small, round lake. It is the site of the only Brahma temple in India. ((Brahma is one of the three main Hindu gods.) The entire waterfront is filled with ghats, steps that lead the faithful down to the sacred water. It is a very peaceful place, and also a traveller's haunt, filled with guest houses, hippies and a bazaar. And fake pandits (priests) who extort money from
city palace door
In the city palace, Jaipur, there is a beautiful courtyard with four intricately decorated doors, each different, representing the four directions. foreigners by pretending to do pujas (rituals) on the ghats. Caryl and I were "jumped" by these aggressive men, who we had read warnings about in the Lonely Planet, but managed to get away after paying them only 25 rupees between us.
(I am beyond tired of being seen as a walking wallet by many Indians, especially store owners, autorickshaw drivers and con artists. It is really the worst thing about being a foreigner in India. You are SO VISIBLE. Like being a movie star, but only in the most negative sense. I long for anonymity and to be left alone while I am on the streets. You also have to pay 10 times more to get into attractions, and twice as much for many other things. You really are treated differently and it grates on the nerves.)
I really liked Pushkar. We ate outdoors at a restaurant overlooking the lake. It was lovely. And I took a couple of pictures, though I know I wasn't supposed to. Usually at temples and sacred sites there are signs prohibiting photography. And usually I am very respectful ...
We arrived at our hotel in Jodhpur just after sunset. It
giant toys for sale ...
... in city palace Jaipur. (I felt like I was in a scene from Chittittibangbang.) was great driving through the desert at twilight. We saw a male peacock with long tail feathers flying low over the sand and scrubby bushes by the side of the road, and it really left an impression on me. I think it is a sight I will never forget. It was so exotic, so magical, so Rajasthani.
Our hotel, Ajit Bhawan, was recommended to me by Gilly, the English girl in Fort Cochin who bought a crab ad returned it to the sea. She said it was a real oasis, a garden of eden. I liked it very much, but thought it was a bit hokey. (It reminded me a little of the Polynesian Village resort I stayed at with my Dad in Disney World, Florida, many years ago.) Overall, though, I think they did a very good job of turning the former residence of the brother of the maharajah into a hotel. Our room was in a round adobe hut, with a lovely garden, outdoor eating area and swinging day bed in front. The hotel also had an amazing swimming pool and an outdoor restaurant.
We really only had one full day in Jodhpur, and we spent
city palace centre
This complex contains two huge silver urns (apparently the biggest silver objects in the world). The building shows how pink things here are! it at the bazaar in the morning and touring the mountain-top fort in the afternoon. The fort was home to the maharajahs of Jodhpur for centuries, and it is incredible. It impresses in every way -- historically, architecturally, aesthetically. Best of all, it is very well maintained and run. The Lonely Planet advises using the audio guide, and it is really well done. As you walk through you hear many stories that make the fort come alive. I was most moved by the small crimson hand prints on the wall by one of the gates, left by the wives of maharajahs who had died, as they were on their way to commit sati. They threw themselves on their dead husband's funeral pyres. Rajasthani people are known to be brave warriors, but surely there is nothing to beat sati for bravery. (Though Ajay tells me they were probably bound and thrown on the fire.)
The next morning, Sunday, I toured the hill top cenotaphs of the meharajahs, a lonely peaceful place. (Caryl stayed at lovely Ajit Bhawan and swam and relaxed.) I sat for a long time by a tank, and saw two huge turtles basking in the sun, a
snake charmers
This picture cost me about 50 rupees! graceful white egret hunting for fish, and a wild pig rolling in the mud. Then it was time to fly back to Delhi -- Caryl had to attend an event at the British High Commission in honour of Charles and Camilla, and the England cricket team, all of whom are currently in India.
It was really only a taste of Rajasthan. I would love to see Udaipur, home of the Lake Palace Hotel, and Jaisalmer, on the edge of the great Thar Desert, among other places in Rajasthan. And I want to go on a camel safari. Another time ...
P.S. I have had some technical difficulties and was not able to transfer to Ajay's computer some of the best pictures I took in Rajasthan, including some shots of the blue city of Jodhpur from the top of the fort. I will try and resolve this problem and include them next time. They are amazing!
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Marilyn
non-member comment
write a book he said?
What a good idea! These journal entries and photos are really wonderful. The artsy shot is fabulous. I'm really enjoying this trip to India from my office chair!