A weekend in Jaipur

While my mom was here visiting we managed to fit in a quick trip to Jaipur, about 5 hours southwest of Delhi. I hadn't been there before, so was uncertain what we'd find to keep ourselves busy. The answer to that - is plenty! While 5 hours can seem like a long time in a car anywhere, I consistently find it fascinating to stare out the window and get a glimpse of what seems more like real India. I can't deny that I live a mostly expat life, with less contact to what I'd consider real India then I'd sometimes hope for. Long drives help me to feel a bit more exposed to a more common country. This trip I was fascinated by forms of transportation. Horse carts, water buffalo carts and my favorite - camel carts! We even got a chance to ride an elephant (but I'll post more about that later when I tell you about the Amber fort).

Jaipur is known as the pink city because in 1876 all of the buildings were painted terracotta pink to welcome Prince Albert. To this day the buildings within the old city walls are still pink; although according to our driver the shade of pink varies depending on the color mixed when it is decided that a new paint job needs to occur (usually when someone important comes up for a visit). I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much there was to see in the area, and in the city itself. My favorite turned out to be Jantar Mantar, an old observatory (which I loved so much it will get its own post) that had fabulous lines and was incredibly accurate. There there was the city palace where the royal family of the state of Rajasthan still lives. The best thing there were some detailed decorated doorways, my favorite was one that had a peacock theme. Then there is the Amber Fort (sometimes known as the Amer Fort) where we spent several hours wandering around (this will get its own post too), Jal Mahal - the water palace which you can no longer visit but is worth the stop to take in the view across the Man Sagar Lake, the chance to check out the traditional Rajasthan dance, some amazement at views out of the car window as you drive along the road glimpsing walls rolling along the hills and streets lined with raised pavilions where the women used to welcome royal visitors by throwing flowers down, and of course some shopping!

There is so much to see in Jaipur that I don't think I would have any trouble taking another long weekend to explore the city. I just made a small dent in what the city had to offer. However we left early Sunday morning to head to Agra so that we could make a short three hour stop in that town to check out the Taj Mahal (I was the only one in our group who had already visited) before heading back to Delhi.