Jaipur - Pink City of Maharajahs and Elephants

The Hawa Mahal
see all photos »

Suresh has got a miserable face on him tonight.

He drove the wrong way down a one-way street in Jaipur and a traffic cop caught him. So he's taken himself off tonight to see his friends at the gem factory (where he took me tonight) to commiserate on his misfortune. I suspect he's fretting what Nazir is going to say at such a huge chunk of the budget going.

The last stop was Jaipurs most famous attraction - the Hawa Mahal - the Palace of the winds. It stretches 100ft high into the air so you are forced back to the opposite pavement where stallholders try to get your attention. But as you look up - it is undeniably beautiful.

Entrance to Jai Singhs palace
see all photos »

But earlier we packed up and left Pushkar. If I hadn't got an itinery I'd have stayed a couple of days. There was a mellow feel to the place and I felt as if I could wander and explore which was in total contrast to Delhi. So it was back in the car and out to Ajmer and eastwards into Rajasthan. Sureshs' driving was as terrifying as ever with me burying myself in the upholstery when he overtook the overladen trucks at high speed.

We reached Jaipur at mid-day and to the four-star Classic Holiday-Jaipur. The city, before the monsoon, was reaching 40 degrees in the shade. Almost smothering furnace heat so we decided to wait until 3.00pm. The heat lulls you into afternoon sweaty naps and you do feel lethargic.

The Pink palace of Maharajah Jai Singh
see all photos »

The city itself is dilapidated but is painted salmon-pink. The streetlife as this is one of the hubs of Rajasthan is absorbing - camels in caravans plod along the road, pedestrians dodge motorbikes and market stalls spill out into the road. We were going to hit the Jai Singh Palace. So while Suresh parked I was across the courtyard and paying my 110 rupees before the touts spotted me.

Inside is gorgeous. The walls were soaring pink and led off into cool courtyards. Central was a pavilion called Diwan-a-Kas which was a mass of redstone columns and giant chandeliers. Royal retainers still stood at doorways with turbans and crisp white costumes. The museum is interesting with lots of miniatures of Maharajahs and nautch dancing girls and the jewels the Jai Singh rajas amassed were superb. The ivory statues, jeweled weapons and gold rings just sung of the opulence of the Maharajahs that Jaipur is so famous for..

I came out grinning at the sheer Indianess (is that a word?) of it all. This is tourist India, to be sure, but it is very satisfying and it is the India that you have travelled thousands of miles to see (same with Jantar Mantar observatory). The last stop was Jaipurs most famous attraction - the Hawa Mahal - the Palace of the winds. The big surprise is where it is - squeezed along ordinary buildings along Jaipurs main street. It stretches 100ft high into the air so you are forced back to the opposite pavement where stallholders try to get your attention. But as you look up - it is undeniably beautiful

Finally,as mentioned before, Suresh took me along a road to a poor village to his friends gem factory. I remembered what to do in these situations from Bangkok and just sat on a stool affecting disinterest until Suresh got the message I wasn't going to buy anything.