The Magnificent Pink City: Jaipur

Jaipur is a 6hr ride by car from Delhi. On the way there you pass through many smaller towns and villages where people are crammed into old buses and cows wonder the streets unattended. Once in Jaipur the city is vastly different than any other. First off in the old town all the buildings are in the same pink color and design, originally built to imitate the red sandstone architecture of Mughal cities.


It is the only city of such kind in all of India, hence the name Pink City. In addition the cities in Rajasthan where Jaipur lies was not built by Mughals but instead stemmed from Kachchwaha rulers, descendent of Kush. One of the most visited site in the city is Amber Fort, this massive fort-palace complex is built in a Hindu-Muslim hybrid style.


Located high on a hill there are two ways of getting up, walking or hitching an elephant ride. So despite it being the touristy thing to do I decided to take the twenty min ride on Dumbo. The ride was shaky as the poor elephants marched sadly up the hill one behind another.


Even though the ride was uncomfortable the experience was worth it all. Once at the top we were dropped off at the main courtyard where armies use to hold victory parades on their return from battles.


Through an impressive decorated stairway we entered the first of four courtyards.


The first courtyard is the main courtyard and leads to the private quarters of the royal family.


The second courtyard contains the public audience hall, which was used to hear and receive petitions from the public. It was built with double columns, the red representing Mughal architect and the white Hindi.


The third courtyard were the private quarters and contained two beautiful palaces, one for the winter and the other summer. The winter palace on the right contained a room on each side for the king's two wives, followed by a room in the middle for the king himself. The walls were covered with mirror mosaics and small sculptures, that glistened in the light.


The summer palace on the opposite side was built with a sandalwood door and marble inlay. The water used to cool the palace was then recycled into the garden out front.


The final courtyard was for the king's concubines and denoted women only, with the exception of the king himself. Often times the queen would visit and sit in the middle, listening to the gossip of the day.


Aside from this amazing fort, the city also has 2 palaces worth visiting. The first is a water palace known as Jal Mahal, which is situated right in the middle of the lake. The bottom two levels are under water in the summer but visible in the winter. Currently however it is unused as the government considers turning it into a restaurant.


The second is the City Palace, which is the present home of Jaipur's king. Yes Jaipur still has a king, strictly as a figure head however. This complex also house a museum containing of all the past king's garment and head pieces.


In addition it also house two of the world's largest silver vessels. As far as temples go, the only one I visited was the marble temple or Birla Temple, a Hindu temple located on a hill. On the outside of the temple walls there are many carvings of historic and religious figures. The three marble domes represents the three major religions of the country.


On last extremely interesting attraction in the city was slightly unexpected for me. The Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observatory build by Maharaja Jai Singh. It consists of fourteen major geometric devices for functions such as measuring time and predicting eclipses.





I tested on of them and after doing the math it was spot on. What makes the site even the more interesting is how unsuspecting the place is tucked next to the city palace in old town.

Rating:
Atmosphere: The city is extremely loud due to all the noise of cars and rickshaws. People cross the street in every form and I'm not quiet sure who really yields to who. As my driver said there are three things you need to have in order to drive in India, Good Breaks, Good Horn and Good Luck!
People: People starred more often than in Delhi, and I had a few people asking for photos with I don't quiet understand. I asked my tour guide and he said it was because when they see light skin people they want a picture with them since not everywhere in India you see tourist. It's great that in India I'm considered light skinned, since my relatives in China always tells me I'm getting dark!
Food: The food of Jaipur is suppose to be one of the best and most diverse in the country. I decided to try a few of the local classics including Handi meat, a mutton stew


and Rajasthanl Thaal, an assorted platter of veggies, chickpeas and bread. Of the two the stew was better given the tender texture of the meat. However I was surprised at the level of spice in the dish as it was hotter than expected. The veggie platter I was unimpressed. With the exception of the cauliflower, all the other dishes were extremely pungent, with a strange lingering after taste. Many were grainy from the texture of the chickpeas. In the end I was more sold on the concept and presentation than taste.


For dessert I tried some local sweet lassi and Gulab Jamun. THe lassi reminded me of the yogurts I get in China while the Gulab resembled a donut hole, but sweeter and dipped in ghee. Not bad in flavor but definitely on the rich side.


In the end I wasn't extremely impressed with the food experience.
Beauty: From the outside the beauty and size of Amber Fort was enough for me to love the city. It was thus hard to imagine how its interior could surpass that, yet it did so in every aspect. The glory of the city as seen from the fort is truly indescribable.
Cleanliness: There really are cows walking all over the city, and who knew they ate trash. Inside Old Town the streets are extremely dirty and narrow. Traffic is horrendous and some of the old historic buildings has clearly not been maintained well. Yet once outside the old town gates, part of Jaipur begins to even resemble Delhi slightly, with wider, cleaner roads and traffic signals.
Comments: Jaipur is great to visit if you have a car to drive you around to all the sites. Otherwise the sidewalks are virtually non existent, and street signs are even harder to find. Another interesting thing I saw was handmade fabric patterns. In essences works stamp each layer of color individually on cloth which when completed produces a multicolored fabric to be used as clothes or sheets.


Scale: 1-10 = 7.5