We arrived in Jaipur after a pleasant 4 hour train trip from Delhi on day 5 of our journey. The train service in Delhi is crowded but comfortable; they bring tea, breakfast, and newspapers which was a nice surprise at 6am.
In some ways Jaipur seemed even more crazy than Delhi with people constantly chasing you down the street trying to sell us things. However our hotel Arya Niwas was a welcome sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of the city. It had a lovely large tree-lined garden and restaurant which was great for reading books and recovering after a day out walking.
Although Jaipur is known as the "Pink City" it's a bit of a misnomer as the city seems to be more of a burnt orange color (which is putting it nicely 😊.
Highlights of Jaipur:
Raj Mandir cinema - One of India's largest and well-known theatres (seats 1500) with an art-deco foyer. We were expecting a Bollywood blockbuster filled with song and dance but instead it turned out to be a Hindi drama with a very strange plot line - we were very confused.
See if you can find Lauren in the picture :-)
Wind Palace - Hawa Mahal is a unique structure with over 500 screened alcoves facing out onto the main street inside the fort. It was built to allow women to view royal processions while remaining in purdah (the practice of shielding women from the view of men).
City Palace - Some interesting architecture, the best bit was seeing two silver urns (pictured) which are the largest crafted sliver objects in the world. Bling!
Shopping
Jaipur had unbelievably good shopping opportunities - once you got past the annoyance of the shopkeepers accosting us with great fervor on the streets. It was disappointing to walk away empty handed knowing that we have a long time to go on our journey and we don't want to be loaded down with too much loot at the beginning.
Amber Fort
Our favorite site in Jaipur was the lovely Amber Fort. The architecture was amazing and there were wonderful views over Jaipur as the fort is high up on a surrounding hill. Mosaic ceilings and courtyards were quite breathtaking. Also there were lots of monkeys which kept Mark entertained :-)
We found a couple of really nice restaurants in Jaipur. Here is Lauren with a Rajasthani Thali.
We left Tuesday on the overnight train for Jaisalmer - more info in the next post!!!
Monkeys, Beware! Hey Mark, keep a close eye on those monkeys. I just read a story about a city official being killed by rampaging monkeys in NE India. They're like aggressive babies with the strength of a full-grown man! So, now that I've gotten the school marm scolding out of the way... thank you for the pics and the postings! It looks like you're having a wonderful experience. Very jealous! Stay safe, healthy and have a blast!! :) Mer
Lauren and Mark,Wonderful pictures| What a great adventure for you. It is better than going to a geography class. Be careful and keep sending us the pictures. I was so pleased with your phonecall,Lauren. Love you, Grandma
Meredith
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Monkeys, Beware!
Hey Mark, keep a close eye on those monkeys. I just read a story about a city official being killed by rampaging monkeys in NE India. They're like aggressive babies with the strength of a full-grown man! So, now that I've gotten the school marm scolding out of the way... thank you for the pics and the postings! It looks like you're having a wonderful experience. Very jealous! Stay safe, healthy and have a blast!! :) Mer