All Sorts of Forts, Palaces and Holy Places…

Well what can we say so far.  Well it’s hot, India is changing, and they are very holy.  Agra was superb, but we then moved on to the Pink City of Jaipur.

This is a city modernising very fast, with a new underground etc., but our hotel was stuck in the past.  We believe that our hotel may have been the setting for the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – all faded grandeur with a big building site out the back, and dodgy electrics.  We had to sit in the reception with a surly receptionist and three dogs to get on the WiFi, and when we questioned why the WiFi didn’t reach our room, there was a lot of running around but very little action.  Despite that it was a lovely place and had great staff and a clean swimming pool!

This allowed us to explore the City.  It was painted pink on request of the maharajh for an upcoming visit by the Prince of Wales in the 19th Century and has remained so ever since.  But as Rajahstan was the centre of the Moghul Empire there are so many sites that were built for all the warring maharajahs.  There are forts, palaces, and within them often places for the ladies to watch proceedings (the Muslim Moghuls hid their ladies away from the public’s prying eyes), after seeing quite a few of these sites you eventually can become blasé.

We went to see the City Palace, Wind Palace and Amber Fort (see separate photos), but there are some other interesting things in Jaipur.  The City is important for the jewel trade and there are literally hundreds of small shops inside the bazaars of the Old City.  Everything is sold in blocks of shops from saris, shoes, leather goods, jewellery, pots and pans, household goods, hardware and building supplies, but most oddly padlocks and even ice by the kilo.  There’s a real buzz as people ply their trade.

Perhaps the highlight was the majestic Amber Fort, a short taxi-ride away.  The Fort is incredible lit up at night and we decided to stay and eat in the “1135” restaurant.  This was right out of the days of the Raj, with chandeliers and smartly-dressed waiters, but was not madly expensive and the food was the best we’ve had in India.  We were then shown the Maharajah’s Dining Room upstairs.  It was beautiful and used for important guests like Hilary Clinton.  We obviously weren’t invited to dine there, but we did get to sit on the Maharajah’s silver throne.

After a few days we moved to Pushkar.   This is a holy place for Hindus, who come to bathe on the holy ghats and get blessed by Brahmin priests.  It is quite small and consists of a small lake with 400 ghats (sets of stairs to the holy waters) and a road full of restaurants, shops and temples.  It’s part of the “hippy trail” too, so there are a few dreadlocked guys here to find their inner self, but interestingly without the usual weed and beer as it’s a holy place – so no alcohol permitted but we did find a restaurant selling ‘under the counter’ cans of Kingfisher.

We stayed in a lovely hotel just outside the town and just enjoyed walking around.  It’s a place to stop and watch the world go by with a mango lassi, and watch the mayhem of hundreds of motorbikes trying to avoid pedestrians in the very narrow streets.  We also went up the cable car to a Hindu Temple set on a hilltop above. Quite ropey as everything was controlled manually and relied on everyone sittting exactly in balance in each car – just think of the Georgian ski lift disaaster.

We haven’t turned into hippies or Hindus yet, but are loving it all.  We have realised that we don’t have to do everything in every place we visit, but we are doing enough to get the vibe.  In this heat, it is very difficult to move at a great speed, unless you are in an auto-rickshaw or taxi with a driver insistent on overtaking on a blind bend with a bus coming round the corner in the opposite direction.  The only thing is to chill, have a swim and carry on.

Here’s looking forward to a quick return to Delhi and then on to Amritsar.  Srinigar was vetoed on Foreign Office advice, so we are on Plan F at the moment, and enjoying, life, the food and even the company!