Super Salim & The Palaces Of Jaipur

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Super Salim & The Palaces Of Jaipur


Saturday 30th January 2010

So we arrived in Jaipur with a slight delay but nevertheless on the train that our friend in Delhi had claimed had been cancellation. Sam was determined to get the next train back and give him a piece of her mind but luckily we didn't have time for that!

The station seemed to have at least a dozen exits off of the bridges over the lines. Unfortunately we chose the wrong exit and fell again into the relm of the taxi touts. Although we made it very clear that we did not require a taxi (we had arranged a lift with our hotel) they were set on in following us around as we attempted to find the correct exit to convince us that we should take a ride with them. On arrival at the main exit unfortunately our pick-up was no where to be seen. It was obvious to the touts that we were waiting for an arranged pick-up so several of them were coming up to us with hotel names from the town & random British names in a hope to convince us that they were our pick-up! A phone call to the Hotel and we found that the driver was waiting around the corner & made his way around with our correct details - at last!

Our pick-up was in an old Ambassador car & we didn't realize until we arrived at the hotel that it was bright pink - quite a head turner locally apparently.


Sunday 31st January

The Hotel that we had booked - Umaid Mahal was absolutely stunning, the place was like a palace. Huge golden doors, marble staircases, hand painted ceilings & antique Indan furniture everywhere. The room was large & comfortable with its own balconny.

I thought it would be a good idea to walk into the old city, 1 hour later upon arriving I realized it was a bad one. The roads into the city were just as crazy as in Delhi & with the added heat and sun it did not make for a pleasent experience, so we decided from here on in to stop being tight Yorkshire folk & pay £1 for a rickshaw!

On returning to the hotel it was time for a chill so I sat our on the balconny & watched a group of female peacocks feeding on a tin roof being hotly persued by a feathered male, although he never seamed to make it that close.
The evening took us out to find a rickshaw outside the hotel to get into the town for dinner, this is where we met Super Salim - the most famous rickshaw driver in Jaipur. This guy speeks good English, shares his knowlage of the city on even small journies and even has his own website www.supersalim.com. He took us to the Natraj vegetarian restaurant where we had some great food including a Rajasthan Thali which is a selection of small dishes with various breads - almost like a taster plate.


Monday 1st February

After breakfast we arranged with Super Salim to hire his rickshaw for the day (only £8 for 6 hours). We wanted to see the sights within the pink city & around Jaipur and this was the best way to do it.

First stop was the Hawa Mahal which is Jaipur's most distinctive landmark, a 5 story honeycombed pink building with loads of little windows and lattice screens to enable the royal ladies to observe the city below. It was really impressive to look at, but even better when we found that we could go inside & climb to the top.

Next on the agenda was the royal palace. Rajasthan was a separate kingdom with its own royal family & rule until its merger into India in the late 1940's. The Rajasthan royal family (the Maharaja's) are still in existence & live in the Jaipur palace. The palace & its grounds were stunning with paintings, amazing buildings & artifacts including the bruatle weapons of the past.

The water palace was next, a palace in the middle of a huge artifficial lake in the desert landscape, it was quite a sight.

Then a bit of shopping at the emporiums & markets and back to the hotel for an evening chill out & dinner at the hotel. Dinner was Tandoori chicken cooked in the Tandor on the rooftop restaurant accompanied by traditional rajasthan music & dance. It was dam good, some real competition for Donny Tandoori!

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Photos

The Pink Ambassador
Our 'ride' from Jaipur station to the hotel

Comments

[becs]

i hope you signed his well worn book!