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Published: August 1st 2014
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Day 13 - heading on to Jaipur- The Pink City
Both Jude and I had a really good nights sleep last night, and feel so much better for t! We got up at 7.30. It was just a case of showering and checking for missed items to put in my bag last minute....... For me! For Jude it was a bit more than that. We were both laughing at the enormous job in hand for Jude! Her stuff! Jude has shopped for England!she began by collecting her stuff from around the room, then systematically rolled everything. So far, a good. It was the next bit that was amazing..... How on earth she fitted all of her items into that backpack .... Was an amazing feat. Hats off to you Judy, I would have. Never believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes!...lol
The whole group were up. In time for breakfast, and ready for the next move. Ankur gave us the option of an extra small payment to have a public bus to ourselves, it was a 'no brained', for everyone. For an extra £1.80 each we bought all of the seats on the bus no stopping
and starting; no overcrowding.
We are now travelling to the capital of Rajasthan and, like Jodhpur, also the former capital of a princely state of the same name. Clothed in pink stucco (in imitation of sandstone), wide-avenued Jaipur is one of the most important heritage cities in India, and home to India's second most visited site, the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds.
I was really excited to take more notice when driving over Snake Mountain. It has so many ridiculous twists, turns and narrow passes! Wow, I wouldn't like to drive over here!
We arrived at the Jaipur Hotel, again, another nice hotel, hot water and all the mod cons that are required! We had an hour to settle in before going on the orientation walk. Our hotel is a quaint guest house run by a local family who love hosting and spending time with their guests. It is about 5 minutes tuk tuk ride, and about 15 minutes cycle rickshaw ride from city centre.
Founded in 1728, Jaipur, or "The Pink City" as it is often called, is unlike any other pre-modern Indian city, in that the entire town was planned according to the principles of Hindu
architectural theory. The city is in fact built in the form of a nine-part mandala known as the Pithapada, which combined with wide streets makes for an unusually airy, orderly atmosphere. That the results of this urban planning have so endured to this day is nothing short of miraculous.
The walk took us from the urban side through to the old side of town. In the centre is a roundabout.... Of sorts. There are no road lines, and no traffic lights. There are buses, cars, tuk tuks rickshaws, people, cows and monkeys using it, yet Ankur tells us there are no accidents! He described as as, 'organised chaos', which I definitely agree with!
We had an hour free time before meeting back up as a group at McDonalds. Tonight we are all going to the cinema to watch the latest new Bollywood movie, KICK. What a great experience! I would advise anyone to experience the amazing atmosphere in the cinema. So different to home. There was so much excitement from the audience, chattering, cheering, clapping and whistling. There were no subtitles, but it didn't matter, you still got the understanding. I can only liken it to watching an opera in
a different language, I cried twice! The best parts was when the male star came on, everyone went crazy. Loved it.
Most of the group stopped out for a beer; four of us came back with Ankur to the hotel. I opted for a shower, hair wash and blogging!
Another early start tomorrow!
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Hotel In Jaipur
Bhget Singh
Great Article
hotel in jaipur