A few bumpy hours on the road and we arrive in Jaipur, about 3 million souls packed into another maze of a city. After getting set up in our oasis of a hotel, we decide to walk the couple of kilometers into the Pink City and get our bearings, courtesy of our ever closer friend, Google maps. It's a Sunday afternoon, which to some might conjure up quiet leisurely activity, but in Jaipur, most things are in full and manic swing. The initial part of the walk is through more residential and rather quiet areas, but then we come out onto a main artery leading to the Chandpol Gate into the Pink City.
The Pink City--more accurately the old part of Jaipur, which was a walled city, with the Maharajah's palace within its walls-- continues to be the beating heart of the city. Laid out in a checkerboard of blocks that today are principally bazaars with a rainbow of wares from textiles to housewares, spices to jewelry--, the buildings are still painted this pinkish rusty color, and the palace, while an extensive complex largely open to tourists, is still also the private home of the Maharajah of Jaipur, when he or his family are in town. People are out and about in tremendous numbers, and the main road is a rope of intertwined traffic, all honking simultaneously. We pick up some nut-based snack from one of the stands, sneeze our way through the pungent dust of the spice grinders, walk through the crowds out in force picking through garishly colored decorations and lights for the upcoming Diwali holiday. We stumble across the highest minaret in town, and eventually retrace our steps to the hotel.
The following morning we forego the walk and take a tuk-tuk to see the City Palace. We've made the acquaintance of a driver who got us across a major thoroughfare the night before to make our way to a restaurant, and he seems to be a tad more of what we're looking for in a person to just cart us around town. He has abandoned the killer hard-sell that is present everywhere and with everyone. He is fatherly in his advice about all the bad people and terrible prices within the palace walls, and waits in a shady square while we tour the sprawling complex.
In addition to the older buildings that now house some of the family's art, textile and old document and photo collections, there are courtyards with stunning gateways, and towering above it all are the private apartments--seven stories high--that comprise the residence. Some of this sumptuousness can also be visited for a hefty add-on fee, but we take a pass on that. Each gateway is guarded by regal looking, red-turbaned Gurkha guards, who expertly invite the streams of tourists to take their photos--all for a price, of course! Every area seems to have jack-in-the-box characters who pop out of the shadows to make unnecessary suggestions about where to take the "best" photos, or to take your photo for you. It's a bit of a circus, but still a beautiful environment.
Dinesh then takes us to see the Maharajah's family's cenotaphs, also known as Gaitore Ki Chhatriya which lie at the outskirts of this section of Jaipur, under the wandering walls that surrounded his forts and city in years past. The cenotaphs are amazingly quiet, set up in three separate courtyards, the oldest and furthest being the most ornately carved. The chattri are like canopies that make up these royal memorial pavilions. At the feet of the towering walls of the old fortifications, this peaceful place is a respite from the streets of the inner city, where the only sound is that of a group solemnly chanting.
The following day Dinesh is bright and ready as we chug up to the Amber Fort. He parks and we walk up the zig-zag pathway which is full of elephant traffic carting tourists up the hill to the main courtyard. Turbaned mahouts sit on the big beasts' heads urging them quickly up and even more quickly back down for another set of riders. It's a bit fairy-tale like, but the animals are robotic. Everywhere "photographers" are perched and calling to the riders, hoping to sell a print souvenir of "your maharajah journey". Through the main gate we arrive in a huge courtyard where we purchase our tickets and are shocked to find busloads of people. More than we've seen just about anywhere, really. Some spots--especially the Ganesha gate, are so clogged with sightseers, it's all but impossible to take much in the way of photos. We meander through the mostly empty corridors and courtyards and blind alleys, the trying to ignore the obsessive selfie-sphere around us. There's time to look over the garden, the lone gardener smiling unabashedly at me, and the stunning mirrored walls and ceilings of the Jai Mandir (Hall of Victories). The crowds everywhere make for tough going.
Back at the base of the fort we have Dinesh take us to the nearby Anokhi Hand Block Printing museum, housed in a lovely restored old home. We run into a couple we've befriended earlier in the trip, catch up and really enjoy the exhibits of traditional textiles and regional block prints, along with the demonstrations of how the blocks are carved from teak, and how the printing is actually done. The four of us seem to have to run of the place, so it's a real treat all around.
Our remaining time in Jaipur is spent wandering to the Hawa Mahal, almost adjacent to the city Palace, where the women lived and from where they could see goings on without being seen themselves. The front view of the building is a Jaipur classic. Lots of bazaar wandering has us finding a "street dentist" who sits at the side of the insanely busy road poking barehanded into a suffering man's mouth, the mobile barber with his old-style razor knife, heaps of Diwali decorations(the holiday begins on November 7 this year), and glimpses into everyday life that include tailors, spice vendors, chai carriers and others whose trades we are left guessing at. Dinesh also takes us to a wonderful carpet making business--they deal in camel's hair along with silk, cotton and wools of various sorts, and some more hand block printing, which is fascinating to watch.
Lots of photos to check out: note that there are a handful of videos as well.
City Palace and Cenotaphs: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cj8ozdrXucxdrpgt9
Around town: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XSo37MdqB4BVeV4JA
Amber Fort: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MKGfvuGyBftwrZKX8
Anokhi Museum of Hand Block Printing: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LXxzTSX3wVoPWhjd6
The Pink City--more accurately the old part of Jaipur, which was a walled city, with the Maharajah's palace within its walls-- continues to be the beating heart of the city. Laid out in a checkerboard of blocks that today are principally bazaars with a rainbow of wares from textiles to housewares, spices to jewelry--, the buildings are still painted this pinkish rusty color, and the palace, while an extensive complex largely open to tourists, is still also the private home of the Maharajah of Jaipur, when he or his family are in town. People are out and about in tremendous numbers, and the main road is a rope of intertwined traffic, all honking simultaneously. We pick up some nut-based snack from one of the stands, sneeze our way through the pungent dust of the spice grinders, walk through the crowds out in force picking through garishly colored decorations and lights for the upcoming Diwali holiday. We stumble across the highest minaret in town, and eventually retrace our steps to the hotel.
The following morning we forego the walk and take a tuk-tuk to see the City Palace. We've made the acquaintance of a driver who got us across a major thoroughfare the night before to make our way to a restaurant, and he seems to be a tad more of what we're looking for in a person to just cart us around town. He has abandoned the killer hard-sell that is present everywhere and with everyone. He is fatherly in his advice about all the bad people and terrible prices within the palace walls, and waits in a shady square while we tour the sprawling complex.
In addition to the older buildings that now house some of the family's art, textile and old document and photo collections, there are courtyards with stunning gateways, and towering above it all are the private apartments--seven stories high--that comprise the residence. Some of this sumptuousness can also be visited for a hefty add-on fee, but we take a pass on that. Each gateway is guarded by regal looking, red-turbaned Gurkha guards, who expertly invite the streams of tourists to take their photos--all for a price, of course! Every area seems to have jack-in-the-box characters who pop out of the shadows to make unnecessary suggestions about where to take the "best" photos, or to take your photo for you. It's a bit of a circus, but still a beautiful environment.
Dinesh then takes us to see the Maharajah's family's cenotaphs, also known as Gaitore Ki Chhatriya which lie at the outskirts of this section of Jaipur, under the wandering walls that surrounded his forts and city in years past. The cenotaphs are amazingly quiet, set up in three separate courtyards, the oldest and furthest being the most ornately carved. The chattri are like canopies that make up these royal memorial pavilions. At the feet of the towering walls of the old fortifications, this peaceful place is a respite from the streets of the inner city, where the only sound is that of a group solemnly chanting.
The following day Dinesh is bright and ready as we chug up to the Amber Fort. He parks and we walk up the zig-zag pathway which is full of elephant traffic carting tourists up the hill to the main courtyard. Turbaned mahouts sit on the big beasts' heads urging them quickly up and even more quickly back down for another set of riders. It's a bit fairy-tale like, but the animals are robotic. Everywhere "photographers" are perched and calling to the riders, hoping to sell a print souvenir of "your maharajah journey". Through the main gate we arrive in a huge courtyard where we purchase our tickets and are shocked to find busloads of people. More than we've seen just about anywhere, really. Some spots--especially the Ganesha gate, are so clogged with sightseers, it's all but impossible to take much in the way of photos. We meander through the mostly empty corridors and courtyards and blind alleys, the trying to ignore the obsessive selfie-sphere around us. There's time to look over the garden, the lone gardener smiling unabashedly at me, and the stunning mirrored walls and ceilings of the Jai Mandir (Hall of Victories). The crowds everywhere make for tough going.
Back at the base of the fort we have Dinesh take us to the nearby Anokhi Hand Block Printing museum, housed in a lovely restored old home. We run into a couple we've befriended earlier in the trip, catch up and really enjoy the exhibits of traditional textiles and regional block prints, along with the demonstrations of how the blocks are carved from teak, and how the printing is actually done. The four of us seem to have to run of the place, so it's a real treat all around.
Our remaining time in Jaipur is spent wandering to the Hawa Mahal, almost adjacent to the city Palace, where the women lived and from where they could see goings on without being seen themselves. The front view of the building is a Jaipur classic. Lots of bazaar wandering has us finding a "street dentist" who sits at the side of the insanely busy road poking barehanded into a suffering man's mouth, the mobile barber with his old-style razor knife, heaps of Diwali decorations(the holiday begins on November 7 this year), and glimpses into everyday life that include tailors, spice vendors, chai carriers and others whose trades we are left guessing at. Dinesh also takes us to a wonderful carpet making business--they deal in camel's hair along with silk, cotton and wools of various sorts, and some more hand block printing, which is fascinating to watch.
Lots of photos to check out: note that there are a handful of videos as well.
City Palace and Cenotaphs: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Cj8ozdrXucxdrpgt9
Around town: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XSo37MdqB4BVeV4JA
Amber Fort: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MKGfvuGyBftwrZKX8
Anokhi Museum of Hand Block Printing: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LXxzTSX3wVoPWhjd6
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