Jaipur - Sunday

On SundayI hired a guide from the hotel to show us around. It was 850 rupees for the guide for a full day or around $17. I told Amarjit the price and his reaction was I overpaid. He said should be no more than 500. I was very happy with the guide. If nothing else for the purpose of someone taking a photo with me in it.

First we stopped at the Hawa Mahal or Palace of Breeze. I stepped out of the car quickly and snapped a few photos. I had a lady beggar on me in 2 seconds. Then there was a guy crawling on his hands and knees looking for a handout. I notice a rickshaw pull up with some other tourists - I pointed to them and made a dash for the car.

Next we drove around the city and he explained the old part of the city and the new part. The old part is all a pink color except for the 2 blocks set aside for the king. The kings color building is yellow. The entire old city is surrounded by a 20 foot wall and has 7 gates to get in.

Next we drove to the Amber Fort. It was at this point I was told I could not ride an elephant up to the fort. One of the things I was looking forward to. Instead of walking up the mountain to the fort we drove and paid a little extra for parking – 30 ruppees or 60 cents. The back roads were original to the 1700s. They were just wide enough for an elephant and very bumpy and steep. The ride help loosen up my back if nothing else.

We get to the Amber Fort and start to walk around. He explained one section was for the kings 12 wives. They lived side by side in a large square area. Only one deluxe room was for the first wife which included a jacuzzi tub and a kitchen. We also went into the underground tunnels which were large enough for a horse to run through. There were thousands of bats down there. The best part of the fort was the mirrored rooms section. The pictures do not do this area justice. The mirrors glisten in the sunlight.

After that we went to the Jaigarh Fort which has the largest cannon in the world. It was only shot once and went a distance of 22 miles. The views were amazing from this fort as it overlooked the Jal Mahal – the next site we visited. This is the palace on the lake. Here again I had the local beggars all around me. They wanted to get into the photos.

We then stopped at a store. They gave me a demo of wood block art and wanted me to buy something. I was in a hurry to get out of there.

Next we went to a restaurant. I said someplace inexpensive and good quality. He takes us to a place about a block from the block shop. The prices were double of the hotel. I knew this was a racket then. What made it worse was I had to buy mine plus the cab driver. This was my most expensive meal of the trip. 1,100 rupees or about $22 for sweet and sour chicken and chicken curry.

Next we went to the City Palace where the current king of Rajasthan lives. It was a combination of pink and yellow buildings. There were several museums inside but cameras were not allowed. The most amazing part was the clothing of the son of the king in the 1700’s. His second son was unusual. He was 7 feet tall and 4 feet wide. They had a pair of his pants and it covered the entire wall. He would drink 5 liters of milk for breakfast every morning. Only an elephant could carry him. He died at the age of 28.

The other unusual pieces were two large silver bottles. The king went to London in the 1700’s and would only drink and bath in water from the Ganges River. So they filled these two large silver containers for the trip.

It was another hot day. Even the guide was sweating. It is also very dusty there. It was the first time I had any issues with my eyes. I think it is from all the fine sand in the air.

Next we went to Jantar Mantar – the observatory. This is the best observatory that was built in the 1700’s and a few of the pieces still work. There is one sun dial that is accurate to 20 seconds and another sun dial, the largest in the world, is accurate to 2 seconds. I just think it is impressive that this type of technology was developed back then.

After that we went to the final spot, Isar Lat, or a 7 story high tower. It was quite a walk in the heat. The tower is mostly occupied by pigeons now and is rarely visited. The guide said it was only the second time he has ever been asked to go there. The views of the city were spectacular.

Then we head back to the hotel around 4. I was on my own after that and hung out at the pool. There were mostly Russians and French there. The tv even had a Russian channel. I was watching the hockey highlights of a Russian game.

Otherwise I was trying to figure out where the cab driver slept. He wore the same clothes all weekend. I am sure he slept in the car. Good thing I don’t have a sense of smell!

On Monday we drove back at 6:30 am. I could have left after the site seeing on Sunday, but I now understand why we waited. The road was horrible. It had a pot hole every 6 inches. Plus it was truck after truck weaving in and out of them. It was definitely a more dangerous drive then going there.

I saw in the paper the next day that the Muslims were celebrating there holiday on the road we were on. There were about 100,000 people on it in the afternoon walking and parading. Good thing we left so early and missed it.