When I woke up this morning, the first thing I wanted to do was check out the view. I knew that our hotel was right on the lake, but couldn’t really see much last night. In the morning the lake isn’t much good for photos, but I did try again this evening . We get a nice view of Jal Mahal from our room. Jal Mahal is an island palace situated in Lake Sagar, a dam that was originally established in the 17th century to provide a permanent water supply for Amer (the old city) and Jaipur. Like many palaces it fell into disrepair through the 20th century, but there are now both private and publicly funded restoration plans, that will probably involve hotel developments.
After breakfast we met our guide for the Jaipur leg of the tour. His first suggestion was the Amber Fort. The highlight of this part of the visit was an elephant ride up to the fort from the carpark. Putting my concerns for animal welfare to one side, it was kind of fun. As you go up, ‘freelance’ photographers take photos that they later try to sell to you. Our photographer, whose name was ‘Lucky’ (probably not his real name) took 20 pictures and his man first offered then to me for 1000 rupees ($20). I offered him 200 ($4) and as we drove off … we agreed on 300 ($6). So maybe I learnt something from yesterdays visit to Fatepur Sikri.
This fort was actually the royal palace for the King of Jaipur and dates back to the 17th century in places. There are a series of forts that make up the old walls of the city. The palace tour displays several ingenious ways that they took advantage of the prevailing breezes to provide cooling. There is also a series of bath rooms including a jacuzzi – quite advanced for the time. There are gardens and lots of different rooms that took quite a while to explore.
And looking down to the Maharaja’s Gardens
We headed back in Jaipur and passed a multitude of people on foot. Apparently there is a pilgrimage by people of all faiths that walk to a temple (of no particular religion) nearby to pray with each other. Once prayers are done they all take motorised transport to get home, usually with friends or family. India is a country where many religions have co-existed for centuries.
Once back in town, we visited the Cenotaphs, which are built as memorials to the Queens of Jaipur. As the royal families of Rajasthan are Hindu, they are all cremated, so the Cenotaphs are purely memorial.
After an Indian lunch at a restaurant called Peacock (the national bird of India), we headed to the City Palace. This is still the home of the current King of Jaipur, who is 18 years old and is currently studying at Eton in the UK. His father was part of India’s Polo World Cup winning team in 1957 and the cup, still takes pride of place in Royal Dining Room. There are parts of the Palace you cannot photograph, but there are some very special rooms. Some of the rooms compare with Versailles in granduer, but we were able to tour the whole palace, pretty much by ourselves, overall an amazing experience.
We couldn’t take photos in the Royal Dining room, but did get to see the Lalique dining table, featuring an etched image of a peacock in a Mother of Pearl surface. Only two of these were ever made, with the other being in Buckingham Palace, so we are unlikely to get as close to that one.
The Palace is the highest point in Jaipur and offers great views of the city.
A bit more shopping at yet another fabric shop rounded out the day. We are much improved at saying no, but I did buy a couple of tailored shirts as the cotton shirts seen to be the most comfortable thing to wear here.
One thing I have noticed is the class distinction. Upon meeting the driver this morning, it was clear he had slept in his car overnight. As the day wore on, we realised that while we do our shopping and sight-seeing, the drivers all talk together (and eat street food) and the guides form a different group. It seems the two don’t mix. We paid for the driver to stay in a guest house tonight, probably $20 including a meal as we’d like him to stay a bit fresh for the coming days.
Tomorrow is Ganesh Chaturthi Festival, so we will be finding some festivities tomorrow night. Looking forward to ticking an ‘Indian Festival’ off my bucket list.
Until tomorrow!
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