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Published: August 2nd 2014
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Day 14 - 2nd day in Jaipur
Today, after a hearty breakfast, we set off from the hotel at 7.30am toin our usual 5 tuk tuks. The first stop was to view the heart of the mandala the central palace quarter, Hawa Mahal palace complex, known as the "Palace of Winds" was part of the City Palace, an extension of the Zenana or chambers of the harem. Its original intention was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen. Constructed of red and pink sandstone highlighted with white lime, the five-storied facade is peppered with 953 small windows. The breeze (hawa) that blows through the windows keeps it cool even in hot months, and gives the palace its name. After staying their for about 10 minutes for an information talk from Ankur, plenty of photos, and a bit of hassling from the locals, we moved on to the main point of the day.
Just 15 km from central Jaipur is the ruined city of Amber, former capital of Jaipur state. We enjoyed a guided tour of the Amber Fort with the senior tour guide. There where so many nooks and crannies that he
took us through. Having this guide was far superior than the audio guide! At the bottom of a hill sits Amber Fort, initially a Palace Complex within the Fort of Amber on top of the hill (today known as Jaigarh fort). The two forts are connected through well-guarded passages. There are elephants ferrying tourists up and down but sadly, they are treated very shoddily, and work in extreme conditions. We chose to walk up the hill!
We returned in out tuk tuks to the old town, where we all split up to do some more shopping. One of the highlights in Jaipur is the jewellery. Jude, Kyla and I were keen to shop! We set off, but the hassle from the men was just too much for us all; we decided to give in, and return to the hotel. When we got back, we soon realised that we didn't want to waste the day in a hotel!.... So we contacted Ankur and he came to help us reorganise our day. We sat on the roof garden for ages, just putting the world right. I think it is safe to say, we all enjoyed the chill and the conversation.
Ankur arranged
for Anver, our tuk tuk driver to take us to a specific place. We loved it! We all got our names in Hindi. Jude and Kyla got silver, I got gold. Kyla got quite a bit of other jewellery too!
The sky opened....... What a downpour we had. We returned with Anver in the torrential rain. It was crazy, knee deep in water, and it was splashing everywhere as all the traffic made waves for each other!
We returned to get changed to go for dinner. Ankur took us to, yet another, really nice restaurant.
A really good end to a lovely day. We have another early start tomorrow as we move on to Agra.
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Dimitri
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EllyFlumps
Excellent - Gold eh!!!