Jaipur for aliens
A little reluctantly, I got into our taxi this morning, leaving behind an exquisite hotel (and good proximity to the loo...). What felt like a very short nap later (actually circa 2 hrs!), I awoke to the bustling hubbub of Jaipur city, a striking contrast to the rural Rajasthan I had nodded off in!
My first impression of the city was that it looked more affluent, or developed, than either Varanasi or Agra. The streets were more finished, locals clad in western clothes, and I even spotted a few traffic lights being obeyed, as well as a prevalence of helmets being worn. The people walking around somehow seemed to have more purpose, giving the city a sort of ambitious feel. The traffic itself was terrible, and it was another half hour until we reached the entrance to Amber Fort, just 5km out of the city.
The narrow pavement leading to Jaipur's top sight was heaving with people, and looking up the cliff I could see why - a honey-toned mass of buildings were perched impressively on the hillside, overshadowed only by Jairgarh Fort behind. After buying some water, we soon began climbing the staircase to the main courtyard. This I found really quite tough having been ill and not really eaten for a couple of days I was really struggling with the combination of stairs, heat, crowds and occasional elephant to navigate too. Indeed upon reaching the top I needed a little rest in the shade of the tree-punctuated yard.
Tickets purchased, a few more steps (d'oh) lead into the main Fort area via the Sun Gate - which in name only reminded me of Machu Picchu where we had been just over a year ago. I will admit, with the effort of getting to the top having taken its toll, the majority of the detail of the Fort passed me by a little. I became an expert at spotting and subsequently utilising some lovely, cool, marbly shady spots for sitting in whilst Peter took in the Silavedi Temple, maharaja's apartments and what must have been the biggest latrine in the world given the amount of time he spent in there!
I did take note however, of the muklltimirroed ceiling of the hall of victory, as well as some intricate paintwork and lots of frescoed arches. Given the height we had gained walking up to it, the views were also magnificent, and on the way down I really appreciated the stunning lake at the bottom, which created a fantastic setting.
Back in the taxi, we went on to our hotel, which turned out to be a lovely place in a fairly quiet suburb. On arrival I was handed a guide called "Jaipur for aliens.com" which made good reading during lunch. Lunch itself consisted for me of a waffle and a banana - an odd meal but I was determined to stick to 'safe' foods and that seemed the best pick on the menu. Thankfully this sat well with me and I felt much better a little while after, which was useful as our room was on the third floor (more stairs).
I then spent a fairly chilled afternoon reading up about Jaipur and India from the handy guide (India has 17% of the world's population - a much higher figure than I expected) as well as exchanging my "Book of Dust" for a thankfully much smaller version.
A little reluctantly, I got into our taxi this morning, leaving behind an exquisite hotel (and good proximity to the loo...). What felt like a very short nap later (actually circa 2 hrs!), I awoke to the bustling hubbub of Jaipur city, a striking contrast to the rural Rajasthan I had nodded off in!
My first impression of the city was that it looked more affluent, or developed, than either Varanasi or Agra. The streets were more finished, locals clad in western clothes, and I even spotted a few traffic lights being obeyed, as well as a prevalence of helmets being worn. The people walking around somehow seemed to have more purpose, giving the city a sort of ambitious feel. The traffic itself was terrible, and it was another half hour until we reached the entrance to Amber Fort, just 5km out of the city.
The narrow pavement leading to Jaipur's top sight was heaving with people, and looking up the cliff I could see why - a honey-toned mass of buildings were perched impressively on the hillside, overshadowed only by Jairgarh Fort behind. After buying some water, we soon began climbing the staircase to the main courtyard. This I found really quite tough having been ill and not really eaten for a couple of days I was really struggling with the combination of stairs, heat, crowds and occasional elephant to navigate too. Indeed upon reaching the top I needed a little rest in the shade of the tree-punctuated yard.
Tickets purchased, a few more steps (d'oh) lead into the main Fort area via the Sun Gate - which in name only reminded me of Machu Picchu where we had been just over a year ago. I will admit, with the effort of getting to the top having taken its toll, the majority of the detail of the Fort passed me by a little. I became an expert at spotting and subsequently utilising some lovely, cool, marbly shady spots for sitting in whilst Peter took in the Silavedi Temple, maharaja's apartments and what must have been the biggest latrine in the world given the amount of time he spent in there!
I did take note however, of the muklltimirroed ceiling of the hall of victory, as well as some intricate paintwork and lots of frescoed arches. Given the height we had gained walking up to it, the views were also magnificent, and on the way down I really appreciated the stunning lake at the bottom, which created a fantastic setting.
Back in the taxi, we went on to our hotel, which turned out to be a lovely place in a fairly quiet suburb. On arrival I was handed a guide called "Jaipur for aliens.com" which made good reading during lunch. Lunch itself consisted for me of a waffle and a banana - an odd meal but I was determined to stick to 'safe' foods and that seemed the best pick on the menu. Thankfully this sat well with me and I felt much better a little while after, which was useful as our room was on the third floor (more stairs).
I then spent a fairly chilled afternoon reading up about Jaipur and India from the handy guide (India has 17% of the world's population - a much higher figure than I expected) as well as exchanging my "Book of Dust" for a thankfully much smaller version.
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