We arrived in Jaipur at 7AM after a semi sleepness night on the sleeper train. It was an interesting experience and I spent half the night enviously watching others in peaceful slumber from my elevated watch point on the upper berth inches from the train ceiling. It was also the best place to hear the cacophony of snoring, choking and farting not to mention the smells that accompanied the emissions.
Looking rough after the train journey
Jaipur is the capital city of the state of Rajasthan so there were plenty of sights to be seen. It is famous for its’ pink old city although after a paint job it looks more of a terracota colour. After a little nap to catch up on missed sleep we set off in the bustling city streets for the City Palace and the Hawa Mahal.
Pink/terracotta old city
One of the first things we noticed was the camels on the street, something you are ususally unlikely to overlook but in India the streets seem like a farmyard in some places so you become complacent about such things. These camels were huge, spat everywhere and randomly kicked their legs which made walking the streets a little precarious. The lack of pavement, crazy rickshaw driving and staring pedestrians hightened the drama. The other imediate observation was the lack of other tourists on the streets of Jaipur. We walked for miles and didn’t recognise another tourist. When we reached the city Palace we discovered that most tourists skiped the excitment of the streets of Jaipur and were ferried about by A/C bus from sight to sight.
The next day we visited the Amber fort and had the scariest bumpiest rickshaw drive to date. Perhaps we bargained the price down too well with the driver!
Amber fort
We have stuck to a vegetarian diet since arriving in India which has been going pretty well as the food is unbelievably good. I would like to say it is for higher moral cause but it’s just being selfish and wanting to reduce the possibiliy of food poisioning. In Jaipur we found an excellent (slightly pricey) restaurant that specialised in tandoori so we couldn’t miss the chance and indulged ourselves. Thankfully the after effects were mild! Beer has been either very expensive or hard to find in the north of the country so we are giving our livers a rest after SE Asia. The tea is one of the culinary highlights so far which is made with lots of milk and spices. I’ve been drinking so much of it I am likely to develop a “milk belly”!
Off to Goa next
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