The Pink City

As we headed out of Delhi in our car on the way to Jaipur my eyes were glued to the car window. The craziness of Delhi traffic was nothing compared to the highways. We not only had to stop for cows, but also camels, goats and horses. We saw busses loaded with people including some sitting on top and hanging on to the side. One guy was such an expert he was hanging on with one hand and texting with the other. It made for an interesting 7 hour car ride.

Before we hit Jaipur we visited the Amber Fort which lays on the outskirts of the city. The fort was built up into the hills and has stunning views of Jaipur. We had a guide included and it was good to hear about the history while we wandered around looking at all the different sections of the fort. Due to the heavy rains of the monsoon much of it had been damaged but some of the carved entrance was were luckily still standing. The highlight for me though were the cheeky monkeys running around.  

We then drove through the pink walls that give the city its nickname into the heart of Jaipur which is as crazy and busy as Delhi. Our evening was spent checking out the hustle and bustle of Jaipur streets from the roof top terrace of our hotel. We stood for ages watching the cars and rickshaws rush through a crowded street while four cows sat in the middle of the road. It was a great way to see the city while escaping from the overwhelming scenes.

The next day we went to visit the rest of the tourist attractions Jaipur is famous for. The Jantar Mantar observatory next to the City Palace was pretty interesting as they had ornaments and structures used to measure the sun and moon dating back to 1728. Inside the City Palace was my favourite attraction so far. There was so much to see and this time it wasn’t just a building. The also had museums of historical Indian dress which was great to read about as I now understand a bit more about the traditional sari’s and turbans. The most interesting thing we stumbled upon just outside the gates was a snake charmer with two cobras. For a small price you could sit down next to him, play a kazoo and even touch the snake. I gave it a miss but James got close enough to snap some good pictures and have a feel of its skin.

On our last evening in Jaipur we hit the Raj Mandir Cinema, Indias first ever cinema, for a bollywood movie. And I loved it! We saw Ek Tha Tiger and the movie was everything you would expect in a bollywood movie – action, romance, comedy and best of all the singing and dancing. Most of it was in Hindi but parts here and there were in English so we got the gist of what was happening. It went for two and a half hours with an interval in the middle but we stuck it out until the end. The cinema itself is really pretty and the crowds really got into the whole experience. Every time the main characters came on screen, said something witty, escaped the bad guys or kissed the whole crowd would scream, clap and cheer. It was so much fun and a big highlight of my trip so far.  

Old and New

Our second day in Delhi was spent visiting both the Old town of Delhi and the new town. We had to arrange some travel onwards from Delhi so we headed into New Delhi rail station. It was manic, so much so we couldnt even stop long enough without being hassled to work out where the entrance was. In the end we ended up getting hustled into a rickshaw and taken to a “travel agent” in Connnaught Place. Connaught Place is the main area in New Delhi and consists of a grid of upper class Indian shops and western shops. Our travel agent probably ripped us off but we ended up walking out of there with trains, accommodation and best of all a driver for the next few days – all for £25 each per day.  

Our driver, Sham, then took us to Old Delhi and straight to the Red Fort. The fort was full of tourists, but to my surprise, mostly Indian tourists. We wandered though the bazzar at the front stopping only to buy a travel chess set (James is going to teach me on some of the upcoming long train rides) before making our way into the grounds to visit the buildngs. The fort was pretty run down but was still impressive and probably just one of the many forts to come.  

Next stop on our tour of Delhi was a twilight visit to Humayan’s Tomb which was built in the mid 16th century. We were lucky to get there on the only clear night we had in Delhi so we could see the moon in the twilght sky. The red building was stunning and the grounds inside were neat and quiet and we had a calm wander up into the tomb. I have to say being inside the marble building with a coffin at nightfall was pretty eerie!   As the sun had set it was time to leave and it was a quick stop at India Gate (Delhis equivalent to the Arc Di Triomoh) for a few photos of it lit up with lights.

It was great having a driver for the afternoon – having doors opened for me and hassle free transport. I do miss the rickshaw craziness but I a sure I will get used to it over the next few days. Looking forward to exploring Jaipur!