JAIPUR, RAJASTHAN, INDIA
The reason for our choice of hotel became apparent this morning, when we found out that it's only two minutes from Fatehpur Sikri, the first destination on today's agenda. It's the remains of the Mughal capital built by emperor Akbar between 1571 and 1585. Again, it's a combination palace/fort, with numerous halls, tombs, courtyards, fountains, and mosques, set high above the surrounding town. Shortly after the emperor's death it was abandoned due to water shortages, as Akbar unwisely built his city in a desertlike area far from any lakes or rivers. It's still a beautiful place to wander around, though, and since we arrived a little after 7 am, it was still cool and quiet, as there weren't any other tourists there yet. Adding to the exotic atmosphere were lots of bright green parrots which were roosting on the stone walls.
We then piled in the SUV for the drive through the arid state of Rajasthan to the city of Jaipur, another 200 kilometers to the west. This wasn't too enjoyable because the road is bad in places, and our driver (like everyone else in India) drives like a maniac, constantly slamming on the brakes and accelerator and swerving into oncoming traffic to pass big trucks and buses. Plus it was really hot (the car has A/C, but the sun was so brutal it didn't help much), so I felt pretty carsick most of the way. In addition to motor vehicles, we passed an increasing number of camel carts, which were cool to see. One sight I would have rather missed, though, was an overloaded cart collapsing on top of a camel and pinning it underneath--we were right behind it when it happened. The beast looked like it was in some real pain, and just lay there with its mouth open. I wish we would have stopped to try to do something about it, but we just drove past.
Finally we came to Jaipur, and drove through the old section of the city, known as the "pink city" because all the buildings are painted alike. (Actually, it's more of a terracotta color, but it does look pinkish from a distance.) The traffic in the narrow streets was absolutely insane--our car got scratched at least twice by other vehicles--and adding to the road hazards were all kinds of animals in the streets--goats, cows, and for once, a number of elephants(!), most painted with colorful designs and carrying various items with their trunks.
We then visited Jantar Mantar--virtually identical to the observatory of the same name in Delhi, and built by the same guy back in 1728. It features the world's largest sundial, accurate to within two minutes, as well as various sextants and structures for determining star positions and horoscopes. As the sun was out, the sundial was working quite well, but it also made it beastly hot, so I just ran from the shade of one astronomical instrument to the next.
Poor Benoit was having a minor crisis during our visit: The police department called him from Switzerland to tell him they were towing his car--before leaving for India, he parked it on the street, and now they're doing construction or something. "This will cost more than my entire trip to India!" he told me, although I hope he was exaggerating.
Our trip to the observatory was followed by lunch at a local restaurant; after which we drove to Jaipur's most impressive relic, Amber (pronounced Amer) Fort. Yes, it's another red sandstone fort/palace, but to me it seems like they keep getting better. It was built in 1592, and contains all sorts of interesting buildings and courtyards, and a spectacular view down on the valley below and across to other forts on the surrounding hills. The fort is currently undergoing some restoration work, which was interesting to see, too--men were fixing sections of the fort's walls and turrets by hand with trowels, and women carried baskets of plaster and cement to them balanced on their heads! A number of monkeys have taken up residence here as well, and were running around the top of the walls and the construction scaffolding. At times it looked like they were sentries on watch, looking out over the countryside from the fort's high walls.
On the way back from Amber, we stopped to take some pictures of Jaipur's "water palace" on the lake. Then Benoit decided he wanted to ride an elephant, and convinced me to join him for a brief jaunt down the highway on a pachyderm. Then Tatsuya decided to join us as well. Wow, I had forgotten how bouncy it is up there! They were offering camel rides, too, but after ten minutes atop jerky Jumbo, we had been tossed around enough for one day, so we passed on that.
At this point we were all hot and tired, but our driver and guide insisted on taking us to a couple of "handicraft centres," which of course were really nothing more than souvenir shops. Although these were government-run and fairly inexpensive, I was not in the mood to be sold anything, and refused to go in the second one at all--I sat outside and bought an ice cream instead.
This time we stayed at a hotel in town. Benoit and I had dinner in the restaurant there, then I went back to my room and watched The Grudge on cable TV. Man, I have never seen a more un-scary "scary" movie. It's awful.
The reason for our choice of hotel became apparent this morning, when we found out that it's only two minutes from Fatehpur Sikri, the first destination on today's agenda. It's the remains of the Mughal capital built by emperor Akbar between 1571 and 1585. Again, it's a combination palace/fort, with numerous halls, tombs, courtyards, fountains, and mosques, set high above the surrounding town. Shortly after the emperor's death it was abandoned due to water shortages, as Akbar unwisely built his city in a desertlike area far from any lakes or rivers. It's still a beautiful place to wander around, though, and since we arrived a little after 7 am, it was still cool and quiet, as there weren't any other tourists there yet. Adding to the exotic atmosphere were lots of bright green parrots which were roosting on the stone walls.
We then piled in the SUV for the drive through the arid state of Rajasthan to the city of Jaipur, another 200 kilometers to the west. This wasn't too enjoyable because the road is bad in places, and our driver (like everyone else in India) drives like a maniac, constantly slamming on the brakes and accelerator and swerving into oncoming traffic to pass big trucks and buses. Plus it was really hot (the car has A/C, but the sun was so brutal it didn't help much), so I felt pretty carsick most of the way. In addition to motor vehicles, we passed an increasing number of camel carts, which were cool to see. One sight I would have rather missed, though, was an overloaded cart collapsing on top of a camel and pinning it underneath--we were right behind it when it happened. The beast looked like it was in some real pain, and just lay there with its mouth open. I wish we would have stopped to try to do something about it, but we just drove past.
Finally we came to Jaipur, and drove through the old section of the city, known as the "pink city" because all the buildings are painted alike. (Actually, it's more of a terracotta color, but it does look pinkish from a distance.) The traffic in the narrow streets was absolutely insane--our car got scratched at least twice by other vehicles--and adding to the road hazards were all kinds of animals in the streets--goats, cows, and for once, a number of elephants(!), most painted with colorful designs and carrying various items with their trunks.
We then visited Jantar Mantar--virtually identical to the observatory of the same name in Delhi, and built by the same guy back in 1728. It features the world's largest sundial, accurate to within two minutes, as well as various sextants and structures for determining star positions and horoscopes. As the sun was out, the sundial was working quite well, but it also made it beastly hot, so I just ran from the shade of one astronomical instrument to the next.
Poor Benoit was having a minor crisis during our visit: The police department called him from Switzerland to tell him they were towing his car--before leaving for India, he parked it on the street, and now they're doing construction or something. "This will cost more than my entire trip to India!" he told me, although I hope he was exaggerating.
Our trip to the observatory was followed by lunch at a local restaurant; after which we drove to Jaipur's most impressive relic, Amber (pronounced Amer) Fort. Yes, it's another red sandstone fort/palace, but to me it seems like they keep getting better. It was built in 1592, and contains all sorts of interesting buildings and courtyards, and a spectacular view down on the valley below and across to other forts on the surrounding hills. The fort is currently undergoing some restoration work, which was interesting to see, too--men were fixing sections of the fort's walls and turrets by hand with trowels, and women carried baskets of plaster and cement to them balanced on their heads! A number of monkeys have taken up residence here as well, and were running around the top of the walls and the construction scaffolding. At times it looked like they were sentries on watch, looking out over the countryside from the fort's high walls.
On the way back from Amber, we stopped to take some pictures of Jaipur's "water palace" on the lake. Then Benoit decided he wanted to ride an elephant, and convinced me to join him for a brief jaunt down the highway on a pachyderm. Then Tatsuya decided to join us as well. Wow, I had forgotten how bouncy it is up there! They were offering camel rides, too, but after ten minutes atop jerky Jumbo, we had been tossed around enough for one day, so we passed on that.
At this point we were all hot and tired, but our driver and guide insisted on taking us to a couple of "handicraft centres," which of course were really nothing more than souvenir shops. Although these were government-run and fairly inexpensive, I was not in the mood to be sold anything, and refused to go in the second one at all--I sat outside and bought an ice cream instead.
This time we stayed at a hotel in town. Benoit and I had dinner in the restaurant there, then I went back to my room and watched The Grudge on cable TV. Man, I have never seen a more un-scary "scary" movie. It's awful.
posted by John Kuge at 10:26 PM
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