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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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October 18, 2007 / Jaipur - Delhi
After a delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel we were off to visit the majestic Amber Fort (Pink Palace), the former capital of the royals set against the backdrop of the wooded hills. We rode up on an elephant just like the maharaja’s! The fort is more of a palace, built from red sandstone and white marble, and divided into 4 sections, each with its own courtyard. Construction began in 1592.
Next we went to the City Palace which had several museums: Armory, art gallery, Peacock gate.
We visited the Jantar Mantar, an outdoor observatory with a variety of instruments built to measure time, position of stars & constellations, calculating eclipses, etc. Past, present and future merge at Jai Singh's observatory, where time has been accurately measured since the 17th century.
We ate lunch at the Peacock Restaurant where we had a nice break from India food and ordered pasta!
After lunch we walked around the Old Town shopping area, where we saw a variety of stores and street vendors selling spices, artichokes, water chestnuts, fabrics, etc.
We viewed the Palace of Winds also known as Hawa Mahal, this elaborate building, now little more than a façade, is encrusted with delicate screens and carved balconies from which the royal ladies, confined to their quarters, could sneak views of the outside world.
At 4pm we went to the Rumbaugh Palace, a magnificent Hotel and former home to a maharaja, to have a sandwich before boarding the train to Delhi. Our driver picked us up at 5pm to take us to the train station for our 5:45 train to Delhi. The train was about 45 minutes late leaving. It was sad to see so many homeless bedding down for the night on the platform of the train station. We were glad we ate before getting on the train as the dinner they served did not look good at all. All through India we drank bottled water, and we were cautioned to check to make sure the "seal" was not broken, as many places refill the bottles. On the train they gave us huge bottles of water. All were sealed. Well, right before we pulled into Delhi, we heard loud crinkle crinkle noises. The man sitting next to us said that people crush the bottles to make sure they can't get refilled. The train arrived at 11:30. We got to our hotel at midnight. The Grand Vasant Kunj : Premium room
www.thegrandhotels.net /Propertydetail.asp?id=10
India was a true cultural immersion. There is such a disparity between the haves and the have nots. In a country of 1.1 Billion the majority are living in conditions which we would call deplorable, with a lack of sanitation, potable drinking water and proper housing. Garbage is everywhere....in the streets,along the sides of streets and in front of homes and businesses.In the rural areas the appearance of substance living was striking.
We felt “hustled” and pestered in all tourist areas by people providing services such as watching your shoes while you enter a temple or mosque, to handling luggage in the airport, to selling you trinkets. The elephant driver at the Amber Fort turned around to me shortly after we started and said “tip, tip”, rubbing his fingers together. I assured him he was going to get a tip, but I was not about to do it before the ride was over. Many wanted “rupees” if we took their photo. And when we bought something we never knew if we were paying a fair price as everything was bargained for. It seemed like everywhere we turned someone wanted our rupees for something. Although this was very annoying, esp. because you never knew how much anything should cost or really how much you should tip I kept reminding myself that this is how they are making a living to put food on the table. In the large cities we saw so many people begging; many mothers with children and many afflicted with disease or amputation.
previous travel blog entry
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