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Published: December 28th 2019
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Our flight to Jaipur waited 40 minutes on the tarmac before being given clearance to take off, though most of this time was made up during the flight, so we arrived in Jaipur almost on time. We had an airport transfer arranged with our hotel, but he wasn’t there so we found the pre paid taxi booth and organised our own. We are staying at Umaid Mahal, a heritage hotel outside the old city. It was a good choice, large rooms with marble floors, hand painted ceilings and lovely decorative touches (and a sitting room with a well stocked bar), so we’ll be very much at home here.
Fascinating Jaipur, dubbed ‘The Pink City’, and Rajasthan’s capital, is the gateway to India’s most flamboyant state. In July 2019, the entire city was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Along with Delhi and Agra, Jaipur forms part of the ‘Golden Triangle,’ one of the most popular tourist circuits in the country. Established in 1727, it was the first "planned" city in India. Whilst other cities were expanding haphazardly without any thought, in Jaipur every detail was considered before building commenced, from the orientation of gates to the manuscript scrawled above
each shop. The precision can be traced to the city's founder Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, a scholarly prince who was passionate about astronomy, mathematics and science.
As a welcome to the Prince of Wales in 1876, the then ruler of Jaipur, Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II, re-painted the entire city terracotta pink. The color is meant to symbolize hospitality and reduce the severity of the glaring sunlight. After the visit, Sawai Ram Singh II passed an order to all shopkeepers and households to maintain the now famous pink color, a tradition which continues to this day.
We don’t have our car and driver until tomorrow so we organised a taxi to get us into the old town. It’s mid afternoon and we’re getting hungry! We were dropped off in Tripoli Bazaar around the corner from Hawa Mahal. The traffic was chaotic and our taxi was at a standstill, so we were happy to get out and walk.
I think every vendor in the bazaar saw us coming, and waited outside their shops for us to pass. Never before have we experienced such intense pressure to buy. Products were waved in our faces, best price, best price,
how much Madam, you buy, you want another colour, come into my shop Madam... It was just too much. Needless to say we bought nothing. They are so eager to make a sale, everything is pulled out and unfolded, stacked one on top of the other on the counter or floor, accompanied by an unending dialogue of best price, best price. The pressure on us to buy was unrelenting, and we feel guilty if we don’t, knowing how desperate for a sale they are, so we don’t even walk into their shops and get their hopes up.
Eventually we reached the building we’d come to Jaipur to see - Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds. This beautiful 5 storey building, built from red and pink sandstone in 1799, is actually a wing of the City Palace. It’s simply an elaborate facade with 953 windows, used by the royal women to view the streets below as they were never seen out in public. It’s the tallest building in the world built with no foundations and there is a curve in the building to offset this. The Palace is dedicated to Krishna and is therefore in the shape of Lord
Krishna’s crown.
We decided not to buy a ticket and go inside this afternoon, as we’ll be back sometime over the next two days for a City Palace visit. Instead we climbed the steps to the rooftop Wind View Cafe across the street and took some great photos. We ordered a snack and drinks and enjoyed the view as it’s not everyday we have a view such as this. It’s moments like this that make us realise how lucky we are to be here. The street below was frantic with activity, and we saw camels and a bullock dray pass along with countless scooters, rickshaws and cars.
We walked through the bazaar, taking photos and fending off vendors until we’d had enough. We hailed a taxi to take us back to the peace of our hotel.
We have a big day planned for tomorrow....
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