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Published: March 5th 2006
The Wind Palace
One floor for each of the King's 5 wives.Jaipur is a little over 300 kilometers from Delhi and it took me about 5 hours to reach it by train. The train actually wasn’t that bad, and the service was pretty good. You got a bottle of water, a snack, and breakfast/dinner. It also had a western style toilet was good. One of the first shocks I got upon reaching India was the abundance of squat toilets. Most of the tourist places have western styled ones, but I quickly learned to always bring toilet paper because most of them had none.
Jaipur is famous for it’s rugs and textiles, semi-precious stones, and polo. There I was met by my guide, a local law student, who’s name was Vijay Singh. It was interesting to learn about the caste structure that is somewhat still relevant in the Indian social system. Apparently Singh is a name that only those in the warrior caste can have, a fact he seemed very proud of. Jaipur is also unique because all the structures in the original section of the town (aka Old Jaipur) are all painted pink. There are strict regulations and you cannot renovate or paint any of the older buildings.
Our
Residential Palace Museum
Each floor represents a different style of architechture. The first Hindu, with symbols of life, the second Muslim with the arches, and third Christian with the crosses. first stop was the Jantar Mantar Astronomy Park, built in the 1700s. I have to say it was quite interesting even though I am not really interested in that sort of stuff. It is home to the biggest sundial in the world and is amazingly accurate. It is broken down to 20 seconds on the minute and matched the time on my cell phone exactly. It also has a lot of other instruments that tracked the month, the zodiac sign, etc.
After that we drove by the wind palace, which was built for the five wives of the emperor. Because the women were not allowed to be seen in public, their husband built this so that they could see what was going on during the local festivities. Each one had their own floor. It is quite a unique looking structure.
The highlight of Jaipur (for me anyway) is actually in Amber, about 10 ks from Jaipur. Amber Fort was built at the end of the 1500s and sits on top of huge hill. The architecture and detail are quite amazing. It was also quite big, with a section for the king, as well as mini-palaces for his 12
When in India....
My scary elephant ride...I think I'll stick to horses. wives. Most of the Kings would have multiple wives for political reasons, and then one favorite, they would choose themselves. It also is situated next to another “back-up” fort, which is connected by a tunnel.
After lunch, I went for an elephant ride…which I have to admit was a bit scary because I have to say it is not the most comfortable ride, and it is a long way down!
My last stop in Jaipur was the Residential Palace, home of the King of Jaipur. Jaipur still has a royal family though they have no power. Here you can tour part of the palace and it also features three interesting museums…one featuring weapons, another textiles and clothing, and the last one art and rugs.
I was kind of surprised by the number of older tourists I saw in India. I saw more retirees than backpackers, which is kind of unusual. There were lots of Brits, and French, as well as some Americans and Canadians and a few Japanese. The city of Delhi is next on the agenda, will update soon.
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Elizabeth
non-member comment
Jealous
I am completely jealous. Why aren't you doing your internship there? You're my hero; when I grow up I want to be just like you. Later.