Jaipur is the thriving capital of Rajasthan and has a population of about 3 million. It is known as the Pink City for its salmon coloured buildings. In 1853, when the Prince of Wales visited Jaipur, the whole city was painted pink to welcome him during the regime of Sawai Ram Singh. Many of the city’s buildings are still salmon in colour and are repainted in the same dusty pink each year.
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| Palace of the Sun - Pink City |
Jaipur was always meant to be a two night stop for us on our 12 day tour of India but with eight days up our sleeves at the end of our tour we decided against spending it all in Delhi and stay here in the heart and soul of India for an extra six nights. After a few phone calls to our very flexible tour company we had the rest of our stay totally organised with drivers, hotels, guides, flights and luggage all taken care of. Trinetra Tours is an Indian owned and operated Tour Company that we just cannot fault. They have been exceptional in every way and without a doubt we will use them again the next time we come to India. www.trinetratoursindia.com
Our accommodation for the first two nights here was at yet another charming place. Naila Bagh Palace was built for the Prime Minister Thakur Fateh Singh Ji Naila in1870. Our rooms were either side of the opulent main hall. It has not changed style in nearly 150 years. Ornate frescos and majestic portraits of Maharajas and Princesses from the bygone era adorn the walls and colonial furniture surrounds. It was during our second night here that the Cricket World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka was played. A party for 200 workers, their families and locals was held in the front gardens while a private function for about 30 of the Naila family and guests was held around the courtyard pool. We were very kindly invited to the exclusive party and soaked it all in.www.nailabaghpalace.com
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| Watching the cricket from the courtyard pool. |
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| Congratulations India. Cricket World Cup Champions 2011 |
Trinetra organised for us the usual fabulous tours of the famous forts and markets. This included the spectacular Amber Fort, the City Palace and Chokhi Dhani the night bazaar.
We decided to leave the wonderful opulence of our arranged accommodation knowing this is what India wants us to see and move into the suburbs and live with the locals. We found a small hotel in the city's north that was just perfect for us. It provided everything we needed to be our haven for a week. From the stability of this base we were able to catch up on school work and even get ahead in some subjects. We all caught up on sleep, if not quantity we got the quality of sleep we were lacking and our stomachs all seemed to settle here as well.
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| Monkeys with a view |
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| All aboard for our trip up to the Amber Fort |
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| The elephant walk |
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| One of the beautiful elephants that carry visitors up to the fort |
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| It took all my courage to get in close for this shot. I had the moat wall to my left, the snake charmer to my right and an elephant directly behind me. Crikey! |
On our first day here we had a chance encounter with a taxi driver as we waited for another arranged taxi that never showed up. Dilip rents his 3 wheel motorcycle taxi for 300 rupee a day and works from 6am to near midnight every day. He needs to earn an extra 200 rupee ($5 USD) per day to feed his family and run his house and taxi business. We ended up spending every day with Dilip as he showed us his town, his home and family. He became so much more than our taxi driver.
Dilip showed us the side of India we could not experience from our safe and organised tour.
SpiritualLee
It was the final days of the Gunguar festival. Gangaur is celebrated mostly by the womenfolk in the honor of Goddess Gauri, who is considered as the symbol of virtue, devotion, fertility and a perfect married woman.
Dilip invited us to join his family in this festival and we walked in the parade from his house through the streets to a local park where we danced like possessed women. When we returned to his house all his family, neighbours and friends joined together under the canopy erected infront of his house for the continued celebration. At one stage all the women gathered in a very small courtyard to pray. I was taken into a room and dressed in a traditional Rajisthani sari, some of the lovely women kept me tight under their wings as I sat on the floor, locked in pinkie-grip, praying and chanting to the goddess painted on the courtyard wall. We sang a prayer 16 times then gave 16 offerings and painted 16 fingerprints on the wall above the goddess. This was the final event of the 16 day festival which seemed to be winding it self up to fever pitch. We all felt like celebrities as every family member and neighbour was introduced to us and wanted to take us back to their own homes and feed us. At different times we were all whisked off in different directions. I caught glimpses of the girls and Paul at times but I knew they could not be in better hands. We danced into the night and eventually left Dilip's home feeling like we had been awoken from a trance and came back down to earth.
Dilip invited us to join his family in this festival and we walked in the parade from his house through the streets to a local park where we danced like possessed women. When we returned to his house all his family, neighbours and friends joined together under the canopy erected infront of his house for the continued celebration. At one stage all the women gathered in a very small courtyard to pray. I was taken into a room and dressed in a traditional Rajisthani sari, some of the lovely women kept me tight under their wings as I sat on the floor, locked in pinkie-grip, praying and chanting to the goddess painted on the courtyard wall. We sang a prayer 16 times then gave 16 offerings and painted 16 fingerprints on the wall above the goddess. This was the final event of the 16 day festival which seemed to be winding it self up to fever pitch. We all felt like celebrities as every family member and neighbour was introduced to us and wanted to take us back to their own homes and feed us. At different times we were all whisked off in different directions. I caught glimpses of the girls and Paul at times but I knew they could not be in better hands. We danced into the night and eventually left Dilip's home feeling like we had been awoken from a trance and came back down to earth.
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| Paul soon realised this parade was just for the women and he went back to drink beer with the men. Some things never change no matter where you are. |
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| Charlotte and Maisy joined in with all the children playing, dancing and drawing henna everywhere |
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| These water pots had some significance in the ceremony, I'm just glad they didn't make me carry one. |
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| Taking my place with the women on the courtyard floor waiting for our turn infront of the goddess |
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| A wonderfully rich and rewarding experience for all of us |
Wow Lee you are a born writer!!! I just love reading about your time in India. This could be the beginnings of a book!And your photos are so stunning.I feel very privileged to be able to read your blog.
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