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Published: November 10th 2009
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Back into the Mayhem at Jaipur
Getting into the outside lane to overtake a camel and a donkey Day14 - Jaipur
After our late start, we were heading into the market area of Jaipur by tuk-tuk. We got out and headed towards the Palace of the Winds. We passed marketstalls and small shops, all of which promised much and we vowed to return later for shopping. The Palace of the Winds is pink, and has nearly 100 windows in it. We also saw where the City Palace gates were, and after consulting the guidebook thought this might be a good place to visit after the Amber Fort. After a few photos, we headed back to where the tuk-tuk's had dropped us off to board a local bus to the Fort. On the way upto the Fort, we passed the summer palace which is an opitcal illusion, and from a distance looks like it is floating on the lake. We also saw elephants coming down from the Fort.
When we got off the bus, we were hoping to go upto the Fort on an elephant, however as it was already past 11am, we had missed the opportunity as they stopped at 11. We were disappointed, as after our first ride on an elephant at Kahna was great fun
Jaipur
It's nickname is the Pink City - this is the Palace of the Winds and some of the group hadn't had the opportunity and had been looking forward to it. Instead we walked up towards the fort and took in the views. Actually this was the Palace and the Fort was right on the top of the hill - very confusing! The walls of the fort snaked up the mountain side and we couldn't help but think they somewhat resembled the Great Wall of China maybe quite a bit smaller but still impressive. Inside the fort was beautiful with some of the walls covered in mirrored glass and elaborate carvings, our guide explained the different meanings of the carvings and walked us round the various buildings, we took pictures and marvelled at the size of the place and we all must at one time or another commented on what a pretty formidable place this must have been to any oncoming army. Before any hardly any time at all it was time to go. Shopping was at the forefront of everyone's mind and Puja took us to a local factory shop close by where they showed us how they make the printed cloths and they said that the items there were a lot cheaper than
Wall at the Amber Fort
Reminissant of the great wall of china the markets. After a good look round we did buy a couple of bits but decided that the local markets were more to our taste (a good bit of bargaining never hurt anyone) so we opted to head back to the city palace area where there were loads of stalls and shops so Dan, Nicky, Louise, Becka and us two jumped in a taxi and set off.
Once back at the City Palace gates Louise and Becka were desperate to go bargain hunting and headed off towards the unsuspecting hords of market sellers leaving the four of us to go into the Palace. The Palace is still inhabited by the current Maharaja and his family, and they live in a section of it. The Palace had audio guides, and after Dan left a deposit for them we set off following the map. We firstly went into a costume display, where clothing from the previous reigns of the Maharaja including polo clothing. The current Maharaja has travelled all over the world to play, and used to be really good. We went round the complex, and into a craft section where the Maharaja's family are promoting local crafts. Inside, there were
lots of lovely crafts including paintings, clothing and wooden carvings. In particular, we liked the boxes that were inlaid with wire. The exhibiter had photos of Prince Charles on his stall, as he had made special orders for presents for Highgrove with an H insignia. The boxes were lovely and made the ideal home for cufflinks. Dan and Nicky would have loved a painting, but with such skill came a heafty price. A few purchases made, we set off again, and in the middle of the courtyard was a building housing the two largest pieces of silver in the world, two huge jars kept protected in perpex cages. The Palace was good and they had some really interesting museum pieces it was a pity the other people on our trip didn't have a look around as it was well worth it, but everyone was desperate to go shopping as we had already been told that Jaipur is the place to do all our shopping. So once we'd explored everything that the Palace had to offer is was our turn!
First a quick bite to eat and a visit to the ATM machine then we were unleashed, and true enough
the shopping was great fun and also i think the shop keepers must have enjoyed it too as you could almost see the pound signs in their eyes as we walked into their shops, they even were a little dismissive to the other Indian customers in the shops as all the sales staff were drafted in to show us more items.
Fully laden with all sorts of bargains we headed back to the hotel and couldn't help but wish we had more days here but tommorow would be another long travelling day back to Delhi. Oh well we will have to do our last minute purchases there.
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