A Journey through Jaipur

I write this post as we travel away from three awesome days in Jaipur, back 'home' to Delhi. Our minivan is super comfy and despite a 4:15am rise, my spirits are high after a quick breakfast stop. I thought I had better break the back of this blog post or I will loose track of what we have done, as so much is packed into each day.

Jaipur, the capital of the Rajasthan region, is known as the pink city because of its trademark building colour. There are several sites of significance in and around Jaipur, and we visited many of them. The first was the Hawa Mahal, the exterior walls of which feature myriads of small windows (953 according to Wikipedia) designed so the women of the Royal family (read concubines), who were not allowed to be seen by others, to view the outside world.

Late afternoon we wound our way up the hill to the Nahargarh Fort. The vantage point showed the vastness of the sprawling city of Jaipur. It was super hot up there, and although we intended to stay for sunset, the presence of haze suggested we'd be waiting in the heat for little trade off in terms of photography, so we returned to our accommodation, stopping at the Lake Palace (Jal Mahall) on the way. What a vibrant place, shame time was short as there were many characters and beauties to be seen.

Next day (yesterday!) we first visited the Amber Palace, also know as the Amer Fort. Travel to the top cannot be done by car/van. One of our party, Linda, took an elephant with the rest of us grateful that times had changed since Susan's last visit, and that we were able to catch a jeep as opposed to walking in the intense heat! 

The Fort is constructed of Sandstone and marble, and is decorated with incredibly detailed mirror and art effects. It is a stunning place. But oh so hot! We also got our first taste of monkey business at the fort, heeding the warning not to incite them although a local did and freaked a few of us out when one came hurtling our way. I also managed, quite by chance, to catch up with my NZ friend Kathy, who would have thought that would happen in a city with a population nearly as big as our entire country!

On our trip we have now visited three step wells, one in Delhi, one at Abhaneri in Rajasthan, and a third in Jaipur itself. The most impressive of these by far had been Chand Baori at Abhaneri. This amazing structure was built between 800AD and 900 and it's an incredible example on enduring perseverance and resilience. The steep walls without boundaries gave me a bit of vertigo so I wasn't too keen on getting in close. I do have better shots of the green water far below, but I could process them as I'd like in my phone.

Later in the afternoon following our obligatory rest which is crucial in the is heat, we made our way back to the old city for some street action - this was me in my element. I am definitely getting more confident, and in doing so, am getting the connections with people which show in the shot. Town was super busy with a whole lot of Hindu women out in preparation of Husbands' Day today... The festival is called Karwa Chauth (thanks Linda) and offers a long life for husbands... Sari shops were pulsating and up and down the street, women were getting henna designs done.

So many characters to capture in this walk, and I know that once properly edited up, some of these will be eternal personal favourites.

And another enduring memory of Jaipur will be this, a Virgin Mojito (read "Mogeeto). Collectively slugged back a fair few of these at the restaurant atop our accommodation.