On Sunday, we got
a ride to Jaipur, a world gem trade center also known for block printed
textiles and stone carving. Jaipur is in
the state of Rajasthan, 230 kilometers west of Agra at the foot of the Aravalli Mountains, a low ridge that extends to Delhi
that we were told is the oldest mountain range in the world (I’m guessing maybe
one of them) and source of the white marble and sandstone used to
construct the antiquities.
Jaipur, founded in 1727 is a relatively young city laid out with wide streets and sidewalks with sewers (box culverts) underneath. Old Jaipur with its walls and seven gates is still intact. As can be imagined, there are traffic jams at the gates. Jaipur is known as the Pink City because most all of the buildings in Old Jaipur are either constructed of red sandstone or painted a similar color.
25% of Jaipurians are employed in the gem trade, Jaipur was one of the first outsourced call centers. Rajasthan is the primary spice growing state in India.
On our way to Jaipur, we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri, a red sandstone fort-palace built by Emperor Akbar (3rd and maybe greatest Mughal emperor). It was the Mughal capital from 1571 to 1585 until it was realized there wasn't sufficient water to sustain a capital up on a ridge. There was, however, an elaborate system to collect rain water from the whole grounds.
In Jaipur, we were fortunate to stay in a fully-restored heritage haveli (19th century mansion) with the coolest room yet. We had a sitting room, a veranda and 5’ x 5’ mosaic tub (we washed our feet plenty of times, but never tested whether there was water to fill it). The roof-top restaurant was excellent and had belly-dancers. We finally got in a swimming pool in India. Up until India we had been swimming or at least wading almost every day with the exception of the elephant sanctuary.
Jal Mahal (aka the Water Palace) was built in 1750 in the middle of Man Sagar Lake (dammed in 1599). The structure was never intended as a palace, but rather a duck hunting lodge (quite a fancy duck blind!).
City Palace - the color is why Jaipur is called the "Pink City"
Pigs and rubbish in Agra
Twelve people in a tuk tuk
Fatehpur Sikri Fort
Fatehpur Sikri Fort
Fatehpur Sikri Fort
Cow chips collected for fuel. There are piles drying everywhere. They get sealed in what we called poo huts.
An impossible load of wheat chaff. Many vehicles travel the wrong way on the expressway to avoid the median.
The Amber Fort
The Amber Fort main gate
A Zoe pose
Elephants ascending to the Amber Fort
The Amber Fort lake gardens
Jal Mahal
Jantar Mantar - A smaller sundial (similar, but 1/4-scale of the big one)
Hotel Umaid Bhawan street entrance
Hotel Umaid Bhawan reception entrance
Hotel Umaid Bhawan - the backdoor
Hotel Umaid Bhawan - Buddha entrance
Hotel Umaid Bhawan - entrance to pool with bar
Our sitting room
Our main room (Jack is testing out the remote)
Jaipur, founded in 1727 is a relatively young city laid out with wide streets and sidewalks with sewers (box culverts) underneath. Old Jaipur with its walls and seven gates is still intact. As can be imagined, there are traffic jams at the gates. Jaipur is known as the Pink City because most all of the buildings in Old Jaipur are either constructed of red sandstone or painted a similar color.
25% of Jaipurians are employed in the gem trade, Jaipur was one of the first outsourced call centers. Rajasthan is the primary spice growing state in India.
On our way to Jaipur, we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri, a red sandstone fort-palace built by Emperor Akbar (3rd and maybe greatest Mughal emperor). It was the Mughal capital from 1571 to 1585 until it was realized there wasn't sufficient water to sustain a capital up on a ridge. There was, however, an elaborate system to collect rain water from the whole grounds.
In Jaipur, we were fortunate to stay in a fully-restored heritage haveli (19th century mansion) with the coolest room yet. We had a sitting room, a veranda and 5’ x 5’ mosaic tub (we washed our feet plenty of times, but never tested whether there was water to fill it). The roof-top restaurant was excellent and had belly-dancers. We finally got in a swimming pool in India. Up until India we had been swimming or at least wading almost every day with the exception of the elephant sanctuary.
While in Jaipur,
we visited the Amber Fort, the Jal Mahal, Jantar Mantar, a textile and rug
making factory and the City Palace.
The Amber Fort is
a fort-palace overlooking Jaipur and constructed of red sandstone and white
marble. It was built by Man Singh, one of the first generals of Emperor
Akbar (3rd and maybe greatest emporer) starting in 1592. Its most
notable feature was the glass palace (aka hall of 1,000 mirrors) where a single
lamp is said to be able to illuminate the whole structure. You can ride
elephants up to the fort, but the kids chose not to.Jal Mahal (aka the Water Palace) was built in 1750 in the middle of Man Sagar Lake (dammed in 1599). The structure was never intended as a palace, but rather a duck hunting lodge (quite a fancy duck blind!).
Jantar Mantar was
an observatory (circa 1734) with 14 huge astronomical instruments including the
largest (27 meter) sun dial in the world with a precision of 2 seconds. At the
time, it was thought that being able to track the celestial bodies would help
predict the future.
At the textile
and rug factory we learned how fabrics are block printed by hand and tried our own
hand at it. The workers were quick and sure, we were not, but it was
interesting. We also watched 5 minutes of a 4-month process of hand making a
wool rug.
The City Palace
is the home of Maharaja of Jaipur going back to 1732 (a Maharaja still lives there). It
is also a local history and textile museum.
I’ve been surprised
that most all of the antiquities we have seen are from the Mughal (Persian) Empire
and none date beyond the 16th century. I had expected to see a more
ancient and diverse history.
Our trip from
Delhi to Agra to Jaipur completes a well-traveled tourist route known as the golden
triangle. I have to say life got more pleasant the further we got from Delhi.
The kids wanted to stay in Jaipur. They liked the hotel in general, but the TV
was great (we let them stay up and watch Divergent).
We had originally planned to continue
hopping city to city, ending in Mumbai.
We’ve changed plans and flew to Goa on the southwest coast to
spend the better part of a week on the beach. We travelled to Goa
without Ann-Kristin. We plan to meet back up with her in Mumbai next week.City Palace - the color is why Jaipur is called the "Pink City"
Twelve people in a tuk tuk
Fatehpur Sikri Fort
Fatehpur Sikri Fort
Fatehpur Sikri Fort
Cow chips collected for fuel. There are piles drying everywhere. They get sealed in what we called poo huts.
An impossible load of wheat chaff. Many vehicles travel the wrong way on the expressway to avoid the median.
A camel cart on the edge of the highway
The Amber Fort
The Amber Fort main gate
The Amber Fort - The windows from which the queens viewed the king and tossed him flowers (things have changed)
A Zoe pose
Elephants ascending to the Amber Fort
The Amber Fort lake gardens
The Amber Fort
The Amber Fort
The Amber Fort - Hall of 1,000 Mirrors (aka Glass Palace)
The Amber Fort - Hall of 1,000 Mirrors (aka Glass Palace)
The Amber Fort - Hall of 1,000 Mirrors (aka Glass Palace)
Jal Mahal
Jal Mahal
Jantar Mantar - A smaller sundial (similar, but 1/4-scale of the big one)
Hotel Umaid Bhawan street entrance
Hotel Umaid Bhawan reception entrance
Hotel Umaid Bhawan structure above reception entrance
Hotel Umaid Bhawan - the backdoor
Hotel Umaid Bhawan - Buddha entrance
Hotel Umaid Bhawan - entrance to pool with bar
Our sitting room
Our main room (Jack is testing out the remote)
Our veranda is the 3rd floor on the left
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