We spent two nights in Jaipur although we only had one full day there. The journey from Agra took about 6 hours and it got slower as we arrived in Jaipur itself.
The one constant though was that in all the towns and cities we went through the sights and sounds of India were fascinating.
Shops selling all sorts of things
Usually very small but always interesting!
Where else will you see an Elephant walking down the street?
Or being held up in traffic for a wedding procession!
It was wedding season, yes there is one, and Jaipur is the wedding capital of India.
It's a huge business and there are wedding gardens everywhere.
Something for every budget presumably.
The guest list can run in to thousands at the top end of the scale!
Before checking in to our hotel we had a dinner date arranged by our tour. We could have done without it really as it had been a long day but it was nice to have a party atmosphere out in the open air whilst being entertained by traditional dancers
no matter how bizarre it seemed having someone with a pile of pots on their head performing next to the dinner table.
We got to bed eventually and it was nice to know we were not driving too far the next day either. Our journey that began in Singapore seems non stop.
The major attraction in Jaipur is the Amber Fort and this is only part of it,
out of the picture there are separate forts for housing the barracks.
Most of our group were keen to experience an Elephant ride up to the fort so we duly went along with them. Whilst waiting in the queue for an Elephant I was delighted to spot a Bluethroat.
Had I not seen several in Spain earlier in the year I would have been extremely delighted!
Eventually we got to the head of the queue and our turn to get on an Elephant, well to sit in a metal tray that was strapped to an Elephant.
Photo by Barry Stone
To say it's the most uncomfortable ride I have ever experienced is no understatement but it was a good laugh if I'm honest. However it did take quite some time to reach the top and every inch of the way meant getting shaken and banged against the iron retains rails. Painful!
We made it eventually and were deposited safely on the ramparts or was it always an Elephant stop?
A walk around the fort to see the highlights didn't take too long.
There didn't seem to be that much to see but there again, perhaps we weren't shown it. There was another plan afoot.
Yes, the hand made carpet factory!
Just the one working loom but upstairs hundreds of carpets in the sale room. Call me cynical but were they really all made downstairs? Of course not.
Anyway some people were impressed enough to buy and as long as someone is they will keep on taking you back to these places. I spent over £100 on herbal medicines during a moment of madness when visiting a traditional Beijing hospital in 2014. They remain untouched to this day!
I won't do it again though, once bitten etc!
The afternoon visits to another palace, another "local craft shop" visit selling jewellery and a science park were less than memorable but the final act of the day was great fun.
A Rickshaw Bicycle ride!
I felt sorry for the drivers having to pedal uphill with a load of over weight ( generally speaking) Europeans. I decided to hop out and give him a push up the hill and to finish the route I ordered him in the back while I took over the front!
He didn't stay there for long and jumped out when he saw me steer straight in to the traffic!
Wasn't my fault the steering on what must be a century old bike was totally shot!
Still, we survived but when Claire gave him a tip I asked for half but he wasn't prepared to share it.
It was a good end to the day!
TBC
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