India is a country of contrast, more on that tomorrow and days to come. Today was a pretty full day; started with the best breakfast (quality food and spoilt for choice) and ended with a very welcomed trip back to our hotel.
Starting at 9 am, we were met in the lobby by our guide for the day, Babu (it was his real name), a very well informed and knowledgeable elderly man; driven to various points of interest by our wonderful driver Giridhar. Both deserve a mention.
Being Saturday, we thought the traffic would be less chaotic but sadly no. The traffic is relentless with usual chaos on the road but with Giridhar behind the wheel, we feel very safe.
First on the agenda was a visit to the Amer Fort via the pink city (long story, decreed by a maharajah, read up on Wikipedia) that is now considered by the locals as old Jaipur. As the name suggests, most if not all, the buildings are pink in colour.
Babu (he likes talking for sure) was in full flow by now sharing his knowledge on the pink city as we made our way to the Fort. On reaching it we discovered, it’s a long and steep climb to the gates of the Fort, and along with other tourists, joined the queue (one can sense the British influence as yet again it was an orderly one) for an elephant ride to take us to the gate. Not our preferred mode of transport, but we have it on good authority that the ele’s are treated well. They have 115 female ele’s (not all working at the same time) in the fleet.
As regards to the Fort, it used to be the residence of various maharajahs over the years and exaggerated or not, Babu’s story (local folklore) was interesting and like other monuments seen to date, it was splendid and imposing. Can’t stop marvelling at the architecture considering when it was built without the aid of technology or machinery. Truly impressive and worth a read on Wikipedia.
On the way back, we stopped to take photos of the Water Palace on a lake (can’t go in) and gave pastries (rather than money), taken from the buffet breaky at the hotel to mothers with small kids.
The highlight of the day (and probably the trip to date) was next on the agenda, visiting the Jantar Mantar, the largest stone and marble crafted astronomy and astrology observatory in the world. It was built between 1728 and 1734 and is still in working order today. It’s incredible to think that the collections of measuring monuments (huge concrete instruments) were placed in exact position all those years ago providing absolute accuracy today. India is worth a visit just for this.
The next stop around the corner was the current Maharajah’s city palace, which didn’t do a lot for me.
On a personal note, I was overcome with emotion (shed some tears) praying in the Amer Fort temple, thinking of my mum, wishing her with me.
Starting at 9 am, we were met in the lobby by our guide for the day, Babu (it was his real name), a very well informed and knowledgeable elderly man; driven to various points of interest by our wonderful driver Giridhar. Both deserve a mention.
Being Saturday, we thought the traffic would be less chaotic but sadly no. The traffic is relentless with usual chaos on the road but with Giridhar behind the wheel, we feel very safe.
First on the agenda was a visit to the Amer Fort via the pink city (long story, decreed by a maharajah, read up on Wikipedia) that is now considered by the locals as old Jaipur. As the name suggests, most if not all, the buildings are pink in colour.
Babu (he likes talking for sure) was in full flow by now sharing his knowledge on the pink city as we made our way to the Fort. On reaching it we discovered, it’s a long and steep climb to the gates of the Fort, and along with other tourists, joined the queue (one can sense the British influence as yet again it was an orderly one) for an elephant ride to take us to the gate. Not our preferred mode of transport, but we have it on good authority that the ele’s are treated well. They have 115 female ele’s (not all working at the same time) in the fleet.
As regards to the Fort, it used to be the residence of various maharajahs over the years and exaggerated or not, Babu’s story (local folklore) was interesting and like other monuments seen to date, it was splendid and imposing. Can’t stop marvelling at the architecture considering when it was built without the aid of technology or machinery. Truly impressive and worth a read on Wikipedia.
On the way back, we stopped to take photos of the Water Palace on a lake (can’t go in) and gave pastries (rather than money), taken from the buffet breaky at the hotel to mothers with small kids.
The highlight of the day (and probably the trip to date) was next on the agenda, visiting the Jantar Mantar, the largest stone and marble crafted astronomy and astrology observatory in the world. It was built between 1728 and 1734 and is still in working order today. It’s incredible to think that the collections of measuring monuments (huge concrete instruments) were placed in exact position all those years ago providing absolute accuracy today. India is worth a visit just for this.
The next stop around the corner was the current Maharajah’s city palace, which didn’t do a lot for me.
On a personal note, I was overcome with emotion (shed some tears) praying in the Amer Fort temple, thinking of my mum, wishing her with me.
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