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Have you ever gone on a tour when you aren’t really in a touristy mood, doing it merely because the time is spare and as a tourist, you should be seeing the sights.
I didn't have a tour for the Jaipur leg, however I had a very caring driver, his advise on seeing the sights in Jaipur was stick to the path, don't be led away, okay! Oh and if I have a padlock for my bag, it would be wise to use it.
On the drive from Delhi to Jaipur, Firoz was amazing enough to tell me, as we left different states, we are no longer in Delhi, Haryana. There was an definitive change in the architecture as Rajasthan approached. Everything started to become photo worthy and not long after, there were camels and elephants started to appear along side the cars. It was all surprising to me because my brain had totally blanked out the mogul era of India and the Persian/ Turkish influence.
Our first stop, was Amber Fort. I was already in awe of the views of the entrance, a body of water, a view of the fort and a beautiful garden. There was a bit of walk to Amber Fort, it was quite an interest adventure, people riding an elephant, a goat, people selling all sorts of souvenirs and even shoes. The salesmen were relentless, they did not take no for an answer. I felt bad for a couple of Korean women who were struggling from the trek up and also, the constant pestering of offers. I had to step in, they were not happy with me.
When I finally reached the top, I saw the line of people to get in to the fort and lost interest immediately, turned around and headed back down. I did spend more time enjoying the entrance.
JAL MAHAL
Firoz told me, we had a quick stop before heading to our next destination, we stopped by a body of water and there in the middle of Man Sagar Lake is Jal Mahal, the water palace. Where we had stopped originally, wasn't the best view for her. Luckily, after a long day of sightseeing and when the sun was setting, we passed her on the way to my hotel, she took my breath away in that lighting.
Textile and Jewels factory and shop
Jaipur is known for textiles and jewels, so my tour included this. We end up at a textile shop which was adorned with hand stamped printed fabric and tapestry. The first thing I was shown was how it was done, the familiar stamp and ink, the stamp was a lot bigger than what I experienced as a child. After the show and tell, I was lead into the showrooms. I had no interest in clothing so we bypassed a large room, overflowing with clothes, in the shelves and on the tables, all colours of the rainbow. I have an unproclaimed love for duvet covers, so I'm not surprised that is where I ended up and also, the thought of my mother's love of scarfs came to mind. Anyone who travels and have been to these types of places, knows that they get you comfy, offer you a drink and show you as much as they can. The rule is, not to show that you are interested in anything and when you are ready ask for a price, if its not to your liking walk out, the price is likely to change. I ended up spending a bit of money that day, with no regrets as I made several people quite happy with those gifts. I even got myself a shawl, I never thought it would be something, I's enjoy wearing.
The gem shop was equally as entertaining. Gems of every colour and different shades. I appreciated how the expensive stuff was grouped in colour. The shop owner, looked the part, he stood out as he was well dressed and wore a turban, his English was impeccable. I was probably looking way too interested in the displays, thus why I got to talk to him. I wasn't looking to spend anything here, as I didn't want to bother with checking prices, eventually I spotted some cheap mementos, cheap enough to stuff several Christmas stockings as I would be heading back to Perth. On the ride to Jaipur, my bestie casually sends me a save the day pic, WTF! My bestie is getting married but didn't tell me because I was set to go, long before I had booked flight. I booked flights back to Perth, straight after our phone conversation.
CITY PALACE
Jaipur is known as the pink city, the more we drove through her streets, the more I understood why. My next stop was the city palace. I thought of all my pink lovers out there, Emelia, Kai and Asuka.
The city palace grounds were beautiful and like most ancient cities, it was fortified with four very detailed pink walls. There was even a pink car on the grounds. In the centre of the grounds stood the palace. However, I was more impressed with the offerings of the buildings within the walls, thus why all the pictures of random doors and windows. I've always felt like an old soul, so it's no surprise, I love this type of architecture.
JANTAR MANTAR
I have an undeveloped love of astronomy and astrology so being around 19 astronomical instruments built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh (the founder of Jaipur, Rajasthan)., felt like Disneyland.
Based on the above instrument, there were interpretations of all the zodiac signs. When I got to the part that had the zodiac signs, I had to take a photo with mine. Jantar mantar also, features the world's largest stone sundial.
We had an early start to get to Jaipur so I could get the most out of my day, I was pretty knackered. On the way to my hotel the sun was setting and we got to see Jal Mahal again. The highlight of Jaipur, was yet to come. My hotel was jaw dropping beautiful. There was a pool which was where I spent most of my night. The place I decided to have dinner made it even better, unfortunately, they butchered one of my favoured desserts, banana fritters😭. Whenever I think of this hotel, it reminds me of my tour agent as he read me like a book to have matched me up with this place. This was an unforgettable stay and would be the best hotel I stayed in,
Agra
Being a romantic, I knew the story of King( Emperor) building this beautiful marble marvel for his (favourite) wife. What a grand gesture, the doco, I watched about was etched on my mind, I remember the sparkling white walls as the host walked around the grounds. I had also watched, insta shorts telling me the best time to go was the early morning, however, we had left Jaipur quite late and there was even a stop along the way.
CHAND BAORI, DAUSA
The stopover was Dausa, Chand Boari twas an interesting building, as you can see from the pictures, the majority of it was under ground level and all the way down was some water. It was very impressive but quiet, only two other people entered while I was there, two thai ladies. I was lucky to spot this beautiful kingfisher, which I sent to my bird lover friend.
TAJ MAHAL
On the way, we picked up my guide for the Taj Mahal, he was an interesting person, he didn’t like people who broke the rules and was quite verbal about it.
I was expecting to see the Taj Mahal en route, however it was a golf cart ride away from road. I wasn't surprised by the amount of people there as it was a beautiful day and we arrived just after lunch.
I had promised Kai and Asuka that I’d call when I got there but the network was scarce. I was still able to send the videos.
Check out how it went...
Taj Mahal is picturesque, if there was time to do so, I would have just stood and stared the her many, many intricate trinkets, so many elements, the patterns, the floral stone work, the windows and doors, what a marvel!
Behind the Taj Mahal is this body of water and across the body of water the Emperor had intended to build his own Taj but in black, unfortunately he passed away and now lies in the Taj Mahal with his wife, his tomb is the only thing that isn't symmetrical inside, that's what my guide told me.
After, we said goodbye to my tour guide, we ended up going to the workshop that still uses the traditional method of inlaying of gemstones into marble, parchin kari. The gemstones are so delicate and the process, also. They took me down to the workshop, so many beautiful pieces of work, apparently, not one is the same. The had all sorts of ornaments and the marble pieces came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. I ended up buy Asagi and Jack's wedding gift here, I felt that the piece I chose represent their family, I was also thought of Kai and his interest in the Taj Mahal. It was a great way to finish the day and the tour.