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Next up was Jaipur.
DAY 1: We caught a public bus which was more of a coach, and saw more of the weird road system that we had seen in Delhi. When we arrived at our hotel we discovered that not only was it an ex-palace and without the extravagant decorations it would be an English Heritage house but it also had a swimming pool! So naturally after lunch we went and took a dip in the pool to cool off after such along time in a hot cramped space on the bus.
Along with three others I took a wander down to the closest market only to be witness to a gas explosion. As you can imagine we left promptly after this event. Following this we met up with the rest of the tour group and went on a walk through what is known as the Old City. As you can imagine it was full of bright colours and vibrant market stalls. It is known as the Pink City (pink it the colour of welcome) but if you look at the buildings they are definitely terracotta.
We walked out of the North Gate on to MI (?) road part of the new city, about half way through our walk down this road we stopped for a yoghurt drink called Lassi. Mango flavour of course. From there we walked past the cinema that we would be going to the next day, and a school called ST. Xavier (x-men anyone?), on our way to a cooking class at a local family's house.
The cooking class was fantastic. The family was really welcoming, and the food was delicious, the mum (who did the cooking) even gave us the recipes. The weather even timed it well, we experienced our first Indian rains just after we had finished eating. The rain was warm on the skin and I almost wanted to stay out in it, but instead we climbed into some tuk-tuks and headed back to the hotel.
DAY 2: The Amber fort. It was exactly as the guide books said it would be, but you still cannot comprehend the shear size of it. We had a guide take us round the fort after he had explained the first area he said:
It turns out Ganesh the god of good luck and fortune in Hinduism is placed in a lot of gates and doorways to give guests good luck.
After seeing the lake palace we visited the city palace in smaller groups, where several of us had henna (mehindi) done. Having explored and noticed the obvious British influence we headed off on what turned out to be a 45 minute hunt for a recommended restaurant, we ended up hailing down some tuk-tuks and using them to get there. I opted for a Masala Dosa which it actually a south Indian dish and some watermelon juice which had small pieces of water melon instead of ice. The we set off for a spot of shopping and discovered the flirtatious nature of the shopkeepers in India....
Our last venture into Jaipur was to go and see a Bollywood film:
XO, Miriam
My India and Nepal Adventure| Jaipur
Next up was Jaipur.
DAY 1: We caught a public bus which was more of a coach, and saw more of the weird road system that we had seen in Delhi. When we arrived at our hotel we discovered that not only was it an ex-palace and without the extravagant decorations it would be an English Heritage house but it also had a swimming pool! So naturally after lunch we went and took a dip in the pool to cool off after such along time in a hot cramped space on the bus.
Along with three others I took a wander down to the closest market only to be witness to a gas explosion. As you can imagine we left promptly after this event. Following this we met up with the rest of the tour group and went on a walk through what is known as the Old City. As you can imagine it was full of bright colours and vibrant market stalls. It is known as the Pink City (pink it the colour of welcome) but if you look at the buildings they are definitely terracotta.
We walked out of the North Gate on to MI (?) road part of the new city, about half way through our walk down this road we stopped for a yoghurt drink called Lassi. Mango flavour of course. From there we walked past the cinema that we would be going to the next day, and a school called ST. Xavier (x-men anyone?), on our way to a cooking class at a local family's house.
The cooking class was fantastic. The family was really welcoming, and the food was delicious, the mum (who did the cooking) even gave us the recipes. The weather even timed it well, we experienced our first Indian rains just after we had finished eating. The rain was warm on the skin and I almost wanted to stay out in it, but instead we climbed into some tuk-tuks and headed back to the hotel.
DAY 2: The Amber fort. It was exactly as the guide books said it would be, but you still cannot comprehend the shear size of it. We had a guide take us round the fort after he had explained the first area he said:
"In the past women welcomed men, now it is the men who welcome the women"
It turns out Ganesh the god of good luck and fortune in Hinduism is placed in a lot of gates and doorways to give guests good luck.
The Lake palace (for the women of the court)
There was endless love advice on the back of the tuk-tuks, like this gem.
After seeing the lake palace we visited the city palace in smaller groups, where several of us had henna (mehindi) done. Having explored and noticed the obvious British influence we headed off on what turned out to be a 45 minute hunt for a recommended restaurant, we ended up hailing down some tuk-tuks and using them to get there. I opted for a Masala Dosa which it actually a south Indian dish and some watermelon juice which had small pieces of water melon instead of ice. The we set off for a spot of shopping and discovered the flirtatious nature of the shopkeepers in India....
Our last venture into Jaipur was to go and see a Bollywood film:
XO, Miriam
Lovely photos. The gas explosion sounds so scary, I'd freak out!
ReplyDeleteHayley
Water Painted Dreams xo
It wasn't that scary, we left because we weren't helping and quite frankly I am not a fan of fire!
DeleteXO, Miriam