Jaipur - The Pink City

Eric and Laura in front of the Palace Gate at the Amber Fort in Jaipur, India

Without a doubt, Jaipur was our favorite place in India. It is in the state of Rajastan, which is a LOT less crowded, busy and dirty than Dehli and Agra. First of all, our hotel was absolutely wonderful and wonderfully cheap. It was just like a European hostel, with a common room, and a great affordable restaurant, but we had a private room, with cable, our own bathroom, A/C, and it was so clean and immaculate. From the rooftop restaurant, we had a great view of the fort across the street, as well as great food and a great view of the rest of the city. We fell in love with the place. There were lots of other westerners staying there, so we got to socialize a bit even, which we had been desperately missing. The reception was great too, and helped us out with everything we needed, without trying to make a quick rupee. We were even provided a free “Jaipur for Aliens” booklet written by the hotel owner, which was a small guide to the city. The hotel really made our stay wonderful.

The old town of Jaipur is painted entirely pink, and thus is known as the”pink” city. It is filled with bazaars of all sorts, as well as historical sites. Thus, a second reason why the city is our favorite in India. In Jaipur, we saw the Iswari Minar Swarga Sal (Heaven Piercing Minaret), the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), and some older mansions by a lakeside. We also stopped by an elephant we saw along the road, and then went to a local textile manufacturer. We bought a few small things and then stopped by a few other bazaar shops on our way home. Our final stop was to an Ayurvedic Massage place, where we got completely drenched in healing oils and had a stream bath.

Our second day was spent at the City Palace and Amber Fort. The city palace was quite ornate, and filled with marble decorations and carvings, inlaid stone, museum exhibits, silver pieces, and all sorts of other stuff. It was quite an array and very interesting to see,

The Amber Fort was really the capstone of Jaipur for us. The massive fort, about 10 miles away from Jaipur, is a brilliant shade of yellow, and is a awe inspiring sight to see. Its massive walls contain palaces and gardens, including one palace that is entirely covered with mirrors, inside and out. There is even quite a bit of Italian marble in the palace, which is crazy considering how far away Italy is from India.

We sat down for a bit outside of the fort, and tried to make some friends with the locals. Many of the teenagers selling trinkets gathered around, as always, to stare and gawk, while one or two made a bit of conversation. A family of local tourists also came over to say hi. They ended up feeding us some traditional Indian snacks called sun-poopies (sp?). It was a lot like honeycomb candy in the states, but it was a bit interesting at least. They seemed like very nice people.

On the way out of the fort, we had the opportunity to feed some wild monkeys, which was pretty fun, as they were pretty tame. We got a good video of that on our Flip, and it will be on Youtube when we get home in a bit. Internet here is just too slow to upload anything but the shortest of movies. Sorry guys.

Jaipur was a bit of a zoo. There were a lot of animals around. Animals seen in Jaipur:

Elephant, Monkey, Cow, Water Buffalo, Dog, Snake, Horse, Goat, Camel, Pig, but no cats! There were soo many cats in Europe and especially the Middle East, but none in India. Why is that?

One night in the bazaar, we saw an older lady begging in bazaar, whose shoes were in terrible shape. Laura had just purchased a new set of shoes for about $2, and was tempted to give them to the woman. The shopkeeper told us not to though, because the lady would just sell them for money. Later, we gave her 2 rupees ($0.04), she asked for more, and we said no. Later, out of the corner of our eyes, we saw her with a group of men, show them her two rupees and then saw them direct her to go try to get more from us. Apparently she was not the recipient of her earnings. We moved on quickly and were glad we did not give her our shoes.

Another thing in India which is hilarious, a shopowner will tell you they have anything in stock, just to get you inside the store. Eric has been collecting a patch from each country we visit, and still needed one from India. Almost every shopowner we ask always says “Yes, I have this” to get you in the shop. Then, once inside, they send someone out to look for it while they show you the goods they do have in stock in the store, which is hilarious. We must have spent $20 on a duffel bag worth of stuff though, looking for the one small patch.

Back at the hotel, we had our laundry done, and when it was returned, we found that we had a extra shirt. Score! We ate dinner on the roof and gave one last look at Jaipur. The monsoon had finally started, and it was thunderstorming, which was perfect for our goodbye meal. Later that night, we caught an overnight train to Rishikesh, our next stop.

On a sadder note... When we first arrived in Jaipur, and when we left, it was nighttime. Through the windows of our taxi, we couldn’t help but notice all the people sleeping on the street medians, all over the pavement inside and outside the train station, and all over the city. Apparently there are many many homeless Indians. We also see countless amounts of beggars and people just living in absolute poverty. It can be quite disturbing and sad.

Namaste!