Biddy's Boots #6
Jaipur, India
25 - 28 May 2022
Before I even booked my flight to India, I had a dream that I arrived in Nepal. There were snow-capped peaks and open blue skies. Soon I found myself on a body of water, rowing up to what resembled the golden gates. As I entered, the buildings to my right gave off an ethereal feel, beige and light dusty pink with “onion tops” as I like to call them…almost like the buildings seen in Aladdin. To cut a long story short, towards the end I was sitting with a friend and spelling the name of the place I was in “J-e-y-p-u-r”. Curious, I researched this upon waking to learn that Jaipur was in fact a city in Rajasthan, the so-called “place of kings”. Interestingly, the old spelling of the city is Jeypore. Perhaps I lived there once upon a time? None-the-less, I had no choice but to follow my dreams and booked my ticket straight from Nepal to Jaipur!
Jaipur did not disappoint. Built in the 1700s and a relatively new city compared with the rest of India, all the walls were made with the colour terracotta, which Prince Albert identified as pink hence the name “The Pink City”. Immediately upon arriving in the airport, I could feel the opulence of this state. I arrived only an hour or two before midnight yet was warmly welcomed by 3 South African girls in my dormitory. It was just so great to share a space with a little piece of home, get some quick travel tips for Jaipur and I had to smile when one of the girls asked if anyone had some Bactroban. (Side note, I had this room all to myself for the rest of my stay in Jaipur.)
I hit full tourist mode in Jaipur and walked around the Pink City as it oozed with textiles, jewelry and litchis. I explored many of the “must-sees” in Jaipur and it truly was everything (and more) than my dreams portrayed. I’ll briefly touch on the places I visited, but the history and facts are many!
The first place I visited was Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Wind with 953 windows which allowed the imperial women to observe public events without being seen. I also made a swirl around Jantar Mantar which was astounding! It is an assembly of stone-built astronomical instruments, designed to be used with the naked eye and the largest one in the world! I felt like an ant walking the earth. The first tuk-tuk driver to pick me up turned out to be one of the most well-known ones of the city with a large basket of employees. He was Muslim, gentle and hardly ever honked his horn – a rarity in India and utter blessing in my opinion! He became my personal driver in Jaipur and fetched and carted me wherever my heart desired. He also did not demand a specific fee from me, but simply trusted me to give him whatever I felt I could. Having spent his whole life in Jaipur, he was generous with his knowledge and gave some stellar recommendations on all fronts. Amer (or Amber) Palace was another place that left me breathless. It is built in red sandstone and marble and the lake adds a certain charm to the entire fort. I made a quick stop at Jal Mahal, a place in the lake with 4 of its 5 floors below the surface of the water. One at evening I visited Nahargrah Fort, another grand structure. I ended up grabbing some chai tea and veggie momos whilst overlooking the city as the sun set and it slowly lit up like a sky of stars on a clear moonless night.
The ‘jol’ umbrella I bought in Kathmandu was an absolute life saver in Jaipur. It was hot, people. I’m talking crispy-potato-chips-baking-in-the-oven kinda hot. Averaging around 38 degrees a day with a max of 44-ish, I spent my afternoons siesta-ing hard, drooling-down-my-cheek kinda sleeping. I had all intentions to see more - a few other forts, some gardens and temples I had hoped to visit. But, mornings and evenings were all I had, and as the biggest city in Rajasthan, that was all I could manage.
Purchasing a bus or train ticket in India require some to go through an agent, but Ali, my tuk-tuk driver, took me directly to the local booking station for my bus trip to Pushkar and was a real blessing throughout my visit here. The train station is an interesting place as I navigate my way to the correct platform and eventually through some broken English, I find myself in the right place, hopefully. I’ve learnt the importance and hack, if you will, through broken English and the classic Indian head nod, to find someone who is getting on the same train and into the same coach (as well as someone getting off in the same city) - my failproof way of not missing my train or stop!
One or two friends commented that my dream may have been a premonition or perhaps something treasurable was waiting for me in Jaipur. But I never quite felt that, rather I assumed it just a reminder that I lived here in another time perhaps, or that starting in Jaipur would lead me to somewhere else, like Pushkar. And now, as I finish off this particular post almost 2 weeks after starting it, perhaps it was just an invitation to start my trip where I did and thus propel me in the direction that it has. I most likely would have otherwise started in Varanasi and headed straight for the mountains, forgoing the opportunity to experience a piece of India that in hindsight, I am exceptionally grateful for.
I left Jaipur, mesmerized by the architecture, moved by the nostalgic sense of belonging, and with the most beautiful garnet on my middle finger.
Follow think link to see some of the places I visited.
Pretending to be a princess at Amber Palace.
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