Days 232 – 233: Jaipur
We had a pretty short drive from Pushkar to Jaipur, which was good as we had to make a stop at the tour operator’s main office in order to pay for the balance of our tour. We had pre-paid about 50% of the tour by credit card in advance, and were planning to pay the remainder in cash when we arrived in India…but then of course, Modi happened. Not only was it impossible for us to get enough cash from the Indian ATMs, but we had stupidly taken out several hundred dollars worth of *Nepali Rupees* out of the ATM in Kathmandu two weeks ago, intending to exchange them at the airport. We now know why the exchange counter in Nepal wouldn’t give us rupees (in an effort to prevent counterfeiting, it’s illegal to take Indian Rupees out of the country), and we’ve had ZERO luck finding an Indian exchange counter who would take Nepali rupees. We understood that Indian currency was now scarce, but even when we tried to exchange Nepali rupees for US dollars, Euros, Pounds – ANYTHING! – we had no takers. So we finally decided to pay by credit card.
Once we got to the office, however, we discovered that the price we had been quoted was the “cash price.” We expected to be changed an additional 3% (that’s the standard fee credit card companies charge vendors for their services – in the USA vendors are not allowed to pass that charge to the consumer, but it’s been pretty common throughout our travels), however we were *shocked* when we were told it would be an extra 10%! Turns out the tour company typically doesn’t declare their cash income and therefore doesn’t pay the 7% government tax on services (BLACK MONEY! RIGHT THERE!). After a bit of back and forth negotiation, Igor convinced the tour manager to lower the upcharge to 5%, since neither of us could have foreseen the demonetization crisis, and it was only fair that both of us suffer a little. Once our account was settled, Avinash dropped us off at our hotel where we spent the afternoon at leisure.
Without fail, no matter which side of the car Lindsay chose, everyday the sun would be blasting through her window while Igor was in the shade. She finally had to MacGyver her scarf into a window shade
The next day, we met up with Avinash and our local tour guide to explore Jaipur – the capital of the state of Rajasthan. There is a lot of see in Jaipur, and we covered a lot in one day, starting out with a drive-by of the Hawa Mahal in the Old City (also known as the “Pink City”) as we made our way to the Amer Fort – the ancient capital of the Kachwaha clan (founded in the 900s), later taken over by the Rajputs in the 1500s.
The Hawa Mahal AKA “Wind Palace” – a faux palace which is really just a screen-covered façade to allow royal women to observe festivals and daily activities in the street while keeping their faces hidden, per the “veil tradition” of purdah. The terracotta color of the Hawa Mahal is the same color used for all the street-facing buildings in Old Jaipur, giving the city the nickname, “The Pink City”
The Amer Fort – the ancient capital of the Jaipur maharajas – sits on a hill above Lake Maota
The Amber Fort (sometimes called the “amber fort” due to it’s sandstone color) – another UNESCO World Heritage Site
There are two ways to enter the fort – driving up to the Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) and entering on foot, or taking an elephant ride up the back gateway. While our tour included the elephant ride, we decided to pass – we’ve been reading a lot of disturbing reviews about animal abuse, particularly with elephant rides in Asia. True, these elephants looked pretty healthy (some of them were quite stunning, with brightly colored body paint!), but we hadn’t done any research on this operator so didn’t want to risk supporting inhumane practices.
Lindsay the Leo climbs the stairs to the Singh Pol (Lion Gate) to enter the Amber Fort
The beautifully painted Ganesh Pol (a gate dedicated to the protective Hindu god, Ganesha), and the serene lake-oasis of Kesar Kyari (Saffron Garden)
The amber sandstone exterior meets up with pristine, white marble inside the Diwan-i-Aam (Public Audience Hall) – even though the Rajput maharajas were Hindu, the pillar designs show a blending of cultures: elephants (a Hindu sign of prosperity) holding lotus flowers crown the top while elegant flowers (a popular motif in Islamic art) decorate the base
Stunning frescos decorate the Ganesh Pol – the paint on the outside is made from plant-based dyes, while the interior uses mineral-based colors, including real gold-leaf
The inner courtyard of the palace was reserved for the king’s private quarters, including the spectacular Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace)
The curved ceiling and walls of the Sheesh Mahal are covered in tiny mirror tiles – back in ancient days when the courtyard was illuminated by candlelight, the ceiling would look like it was covered in stars! (Our guide was able to give us a mini demo by flashing his cellphone flashlight at the roof) While many of the mirrors have been broken over the centuries, the palace is undergoing restoration work to help bring back its luster
The jali screen-covered windows within the Queen’s quarters of the palace – due to the purdah “veil tradition” the royal women could only observe life outside the palace from behind these (admittedly beautifully carved) barriers, so that no stranger could glimpse their faces
Now *that’s* a big wok! Dude, how many people did this king invite over for dinner? You could feed an entire village with the amount of food that would fit in there (although on second thought, Indian weddings do tend to have a high head count – good thing the guy actually had TWO of these in the palace courtyard!) – needless to say, Lindsay and Igor had a much more modest (but delicious!) lunch that afternoon
We passed another drive-by attraction – the Water Palace – on our way to visit an artisan workshop where traditional block-print fabrics are made. The shop manager was really great – not only did he give us a demo of his craft, he also let us try out the block-print technique. He then took us for a tour of his showroom and taught us how to distinguish real, handmade block-print work from mass-produced screen-print knock-offs (it’s interesting – the machine-made fabrics have “imperfections” deliberately added to make them look “authentic”).
Photo-op at the Jal Mahal (“Water Palace”) – a pretty building in the middle of Lake Man Sagar. Currently undergoing renovations and closed to the public
It seems that each city we visit in Rajasthan is known for a particular craft – Jaipur is particularly famous for its block-print decorated fabric – our guide takes us to Arawali Exports where we not only get a demo, we get to try block printing ourselves!
For multi-colored designs, several stamp-like teak-wood blocks are dipped into paint, then carefully placed over each other to create a layered effect. After the design in finished, it is laid out in the sunshine to set for a few days, then washed twice to make sure the color doesn’t run
The Rajput king who founded Jaipur, Jai Singh, was an avid astronomer, and built the Jantar Mantar – a collection of geometric buildings that monitor the movement of the sun, earth, stars and planets. To be honest, a lot of the instruments went right over our heads, but we were smart enough to figure out the biggest sundial in the world (which tells the time in 2sec intervals).
The biggest sundial in the world!
Even though this sundial is incredibly accurate and detailed (it tells the time down to 2 seconds!), for some reason it is EXACTLY 12 minutes off the official time (which makes you wonder…what has the Indian government done with the extra 12 minutes?!?) – meaning it was exactly 12:09:24PM when these photos were taken
The Jantar Mantar had 12 more sundials, each with an astrological sign (we each found our respective signs – Aries & Leo)
Not gonna lie – I had no idea what this thing was supposed to be then, and I still don’t now. Even reading the explanatory plaque…nope.
Our final monument of the day was the Jaipur City Palace. We’ve seen quite a few “city palaces” at this point, so I’m sorry to say we were getting a little bored. There was a museum section (no pictures allowed) where a HUGE set of pajamas was on display, belonging to a Rajput king who ruled in the mid-1700s – the guy was 550+lbs, so…yeah…kinda funny as the PJs were enormous. To us, the most interesting part of the Jaipur City Palace was the “Friends of the Museum” artist bazaar on the premises. These artists are descendants of royal artists who used to make a living off commissions from the Rajput kings. Once India gained independence, the Rajput royals lost their royal titles and no longer had the wealth to patron dozens of artists. In an attempt to continue the livelihood & artistic tradition of these painters, weavers and jewelry-makers, the Indian government subsidizes their work and allows them to use the City Palace as a studio, rent-free.
A painter within the Jaipur City Palace gives us a quick sketch made with a squirrel-hair brush, typically used for miniatures
A weaver sits behind a giant wooden loom and expertly threads different colored wool threads into the loom, then flattens them with a metal comb, creating a beautiful pattern – when he noticed Igor and Lindsay admiring his work, invites each of us to give it a try!
Marble elephants (each carved from a single block of white marble) guard the entrance gate to the Jaipur City Palace
Talk about baggage! When the Rajput king traveled to England for George VII’s coronation, he brought TWO 900-gallon silver jars full of water from the Ganges River so that he could bathe in the “holy” waters throughout his trip!
Rajasthan has got a LOT of history, and to be honest, we were experiencing a bit of a building-overload after a week and a half of touring. Our next stop tomorrow was Ranthambore National Park – home to a sizable population of wild Bengal tigers! Jaipur was interesting – we are glad we got a chance to visit – but we were looking forward to a change of pace and more nature-tourism!
Igor is super excited to be in our cozy, air-conditioned haveli hotel
Dinner & cocktails on the rooftop bar of the Traditional Haveli hotel in Jaipur