Adventures in India - Part 3 (Jaipur)

Dear Family and Friends,

We had an early breakfast and were on the tour bus heading out of Delhi by 8:00am.  We had a nice long drive to Jaipur.  I am glad we didn't fly or take a train, we would have missed some interesting things.

This first picture is on our way out of Delhi.  There were several cars that had UBER on their back window.  I don't know if they do this in the U.S. but I thought that it was interesting.  There are actually taxis in India, but UBER is considerably cheaper.

Before we were actually in the countryside, we went through the area of India where a lot of the tech industry is located.  I snapped this picture out of the bus window.  

When we finally got out of the city and on our way, it was so much fun.  It was so different than anywhere we have ever been.  It seems like in India, every creature is free to exist.  We saw these monkeys playing around on the side of the highway.  

I was amazed that this cow had crossed the highway and was resting in the median. How did she do that?  

When on the highway in India, we were sharing the road with pedestrians, bicycles, motos, tractors, carts, cows, monkeys, and yes, even camels.  Such fun!

It took most of the day to get to Jaipur.  Jaipur is nicknamed the "Pink City" The original city was built in 1727.  It was well laid out and surrounded by ramparts with many arch openings.

I found the architecture to be fascinating. It reminded me of Morocco. Here are some examples.

There were hundreds of businesses.  We were fortunate to be able to get off the tour bus and roam around a little.

Here are a few pictures of what we encountered.  The first photo is of a hardware store.

This young lady is shopping on the street from a vendor of bracelets.

Brass door knockers.

These guys were selling spices.

This young guy was operating his business on the sidewalk, in a corner of the buildings.  He was making and serving masala chai (a delicious spiced tea.)

Interesting way to warm bread.  

Incredible fabric store.  

It was getting late so this is as close as we got to the city palace, located nearby.  

The next morning we boarded the tour bus again to go to Amer Fort.  It was built in 1592. We didn't actually go to the fort, but we went to the opulent palace below the fort.  The palace was built on the side of a hill and the fort was built further up the hill.

Our transportation to get up the hill to the palace was on the backs of elephants.

The elephants were beautifully decorated with an interesting crib like seat on their backs for us passengers.

As we went up the hill, elephants who had dropped their cargo were descending to get another load.  Two passengers per elephant plus the driver...poor elephants.

We made a grand entrance through the main arched entry.

Here is an view of the huge main courtyard.  If you look closely you can see the elephants entering and dumping their passengers.  Also outside the palace walls is another wall built to protect the city below.  It reminded us a little of the Great Wall of China.

The actual red sandstone fort is further up the hill.  We were able to actually see it but did not go there.

The palace is beautiful.  The main courtyard called the "Hall of Public Audience" is very large.  Below is a beautifully dressed lady pretending to sweep.  

The main entrance to the palace.

The inlaid tile is exquisite.

Another courtyard inside the palace.

Here is another view of the wall that was built to protect the city below.

It was a very interesting day.  Such a nice well preserved treasure.

That night we got all dolled up and went to dinner.  What fun!

Our next destination is Agra.  Can't wait to share that with you.

Love,
Nancy