The Pink City

Amber Fort Jaipur
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Jaipur was better than we expected, it was cleaner than we had been told and had a more modern approach withh wider roads and we saw women sweeping the streets early in the morning, which seemed a futile occupation.  we spent our first day there blogging and blobbing and generally enjoying the hotel amenities.

On our second day we had a guide and driver.  we set of early and drove to the Amber Fort which is some distance out of Jaipur.  This is where the original city was built however as it was on top of a rather high hill the King moved to Jaipur.  For the age i think this was the most beautiful fort that we have seen.  The art work and marble carving were amazing.  they had their system of air con that dates back hundreds of years working from water pressure.  the gardens were magnificent and the views beyond belief.  Sandy had an elephant ride to the top of the hill but I declined after my last experience and as I was a bit slow this day.  I regret this as the ride was an easy one and you sat with you legs to the side of the elephant not crosslegged as our ride in Udaipur.

I asked our new friend how did we know when we were there

City Palace Museum, the king had these silver urns made to carry water to Engalnd they are 5.5 feet high, i must be shrinking.
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Sadly our cameras went flat here but we still managed to get some good shots.

Our next stop was the gemstone shop, we saw them cutting gems by hand and polishing them, making the jewellery to be prepared for sale.  the stones were beautiful and i would recommend if you were wanting to buy this would be the place.  Sandy did very well here with some choice pieces to take home.

The gardens at the forts are unbelievable amongst a building that was constructed in many cases over a thousand years ago were the most amazing gardens with symetry most were planted in beds and many had topiary trees, they appear to use ficus a lot ( maybe that is the only one io know)

Garden at Rambagh Palace in the courtyard off our room
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We went to the City Place Museum and this is well worth a visit, buildings are great and the content very interesting, there is one section for textiles and this housed an array of clothing dating back hundreds of years belonging to the royal family.

The royal familes of the regions that we visited appeared to have really looked after their subjects and were loved in return for this.  one wonders if the local population have had an improved life since independence.

I left Sandy at the local crafts centre and went home for a rest, just as well i say because it was more spending.

Garden at Amber Fort
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there is so much graft in this country, the guides take you to places to spend your money and they naturally get a slice, everyone clips you as you pass through.  i can't stand the fighting on the streets ( i mean haggling) just to walk a few paces because they all want to earn a rupee out of you.  i can't stand the haggling either.

We had a quiet night packing and room service as we had to get up before 5am.  we arranged to have a packed lunch for our train trip to Agra.  we left our hotel at 5.30am for the train station.  People were up and about, people who live under plastic sheets on the sdie of the road, in fact staright across the road form the entrance to the Palace this is surreal.  the train station was another experience that word will not do justice to suffice to say it was before sunrise and there were poeple everywhere, being 2 white ladies we were whisked through and thankfully our driver from the palace assisted us.  With a porter and an ancient trolley we were taken through the station to our platform, only 2 thank goodness.  Another train arrived and then finally ours did, as it crept into the station the locals started clambouring aboard, pushing and shoving to get a third class seat i don't know how some didn't end up under the carriages on the tracks.  there was one other blond female on the platform later when we were on the train she was in our carriage.  neither Sandy or I got her name but she was Irish and she has been travelling through India with friends for a month.  She told us that she had nearly wet herslf when she saw the looks on our faces as the locals were running to get aboard.  Just imagine Sandy & I with all our luggage attempting that.

Foyer Rambagh Palace
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The carriage was fairly deserted all beit that we purchased the last two seats and they weren't together!!  we were very grateful for our forward planing and arranging the breakfast from the hotel.  I would not have survived the food that was offered during our 4.5 hour trip.  When we had nearly reached our destination, I knew the arrival time, I asked our new friend how did we know when we were there because they don't tell you, no announcement and no signs to speak of on the stations.  Another passenger came to our rescue and we alighted in Agra ( Taj Mahal city).