Day 3 & 4 - The Pink City - Jaipur

---

Namaste!

They call Rajasthan the colourful state - and not without reason. Rajasthan welcomes you with splurts of colour, like a Jackson Pollock painting. From the bright pink bouganvillea running alongside the road to the women's exquisitely coloured sari's that can be found on the back of motorbikes, on the side of the road or working out in the fields. Pinks, oranges, reds, greens, blues, purples all glistening in the sun and standing out like sore thumbs in the otherwise dry landscape.

My driver picks me up at 8:30am and we're heading for Jaipur - capital of the Rajasthan state. Only 250km out of Delhi, but on Indian roads being slowed down by cows, camels, horses etc, this took an easy 6 hours. Monkeys just casually hang out on the roads here, waiting for someone to boost their karma and throw them a banana. My driver says "In Australia, you go to zoo, in India, you go to side of road" and wags his head.

All I wanted to do after the drive was relax in the hotel, and maybe get a massage and do some shopping. But after meeting my guide, I was convinced that he will take me shopping - to factories where there is real quality. I saw a factory making carpets and hand printed quilts etc. Of course there is never any obligation for me to buy anything, but these salesmen are smart. I showed perhaps a little too much interest in buying a pashmina scarf and it was all over. I was sat down, offered chai, shown 30+ different hand made quilts, pashmina scarves, silk scarves, sari's, carpets, rugs, the works. An hour and a half later, I walk out with 5 scarves and a quilt set. Which won't even fit in my luggage. I'm sure I'm getting ripped off left, right and centre here as a tourist, but these guys are good! And these scarves are real quality. Really! 😊

That evening, my driver took me night shopping to local shops. And I bought some more pashmina's. After which he bought me a beer and invited me for an Indian whisky - which we drank in his car, smoking cigarettes out the front of the hotel. Luckily enough I had my camera with me as there was an Indian wedding ceremony going on just outside the hotel. Glistened with a thousand lights, girls dressed in beautiful sari's, a live band and the groom on a horse and carriage.

The next day I woke to have breakfast and cigarette on the roof top of the hotel. It was sight-seeing day.

The magnificent Amber Fort was first up. It's from the Raj dynasty's immense forts, which is perched on top of a mountain and whose gates cascade down the mountains for kilometres, somewhat resembling the Great Wall of China (not on that scale obvsiously). You can enter the fort on brightly painted elephants, or by foot. I asked the guide why the elephants are painted, to which he answered "Why do women wear make-up?"

Hawa Mahal is a beautifully designed Hindu temple basically in the middle of a chaotic Jaipur street and then there was the Jantar Mantar - this was almost like the King's study, but much more advanced. The King was also an astrologist and so contructed this massive courtyard-like area where he built instruments to calculate space and time. There is a sundial which can tell Jaipur time from which you calculate Indian Standard time. This dial has about 20 seconds inaccuracy, which the King was not happy about - so he built the world's biggest sundial, which is only 2 seconds out and therefore almost perfect. There are also instruments that demonstrate the Earth's position in the universe, calculate positioning of stars and other things which you would have to see.

PIcs and vids to come soon!

I stayed at the Amber City Heritage hotel, which I highly recommend if you are ever here. The manager of the hotel personally introduces himself to me on the first day and some of his top staff - this ensured my being treated like a VIP during my 2 night stay.

The VIP/celebrity status stays with me for most of the trip so far. Children love coming up to me just to say hi, boys on mopeds blow me kisses on the roads, I've had my photo taken about 20 times already. Whole families all must have individual photos. Next I'll be signing autographs! Though seeing the kiddies so thrilled to see someone different and having an older woman in a magnificent sari give you genuine smile on the street, that will stay with me forever. I've never felt so different being white - and wonder, how do we react to someone who is different from us?

Next up.. Agra and the Taj Mahal!

---

Comments

[Maria Dabski]

diahhorea
Lizzy- the best cure for ' sraczka" is to get a bag of dry tea and put it in your mouth ( I usually wet it a bit) and you just carefully suck on it for a while. Believe or not IT WORKS and tea is available everywhere. I love to read your stories- amazing. Pa Majka

[anonymous]

good to read more about rajastan .Any way hawa mahal you should have posted some snaps too,why the elephants are painted, to which he answered "Why do women wear make-up?" that was funny !! http://msdnholidays.com/kerala.html