From
Darjeeling, it was a jeep-plane-taxi journey to get across the country
to Jaipur, the pink city, saying goodbye to the parents at New
Jalpaiguri.
We were staying in the luxorious Maharani hotel
but beyond that we had made no plans whatsoever. We were determined to
make our own way around on foot and we did well to find our way around.
After
a lot of walking we hailed a rickshaw driven by “Iqbal”, a local
celebrity according to the notebooks he gave us to read, containing
praise from his customers around the world. We were very impressed by
Jaipur’s old city: It’s all made from the same reddish stone and feels
perfectly preserved but at the same time it’s a very bustling Indian
city. Hava Mahal (palace of the winds) and Juntar Muntar (giant outdoor observatory) are the tourist highlights.
We had our meal at a rooftop Italian restaurant that did proper pizza and had a great view of the sunset.
Later we watched ‘Rang de Basanti’ at the Raj Mandir cinema: good film,
lively experience (with the audience boo-ing the bad guys and cheering
when the politician is shot) and a really distinctive cinema.
Amber fort and snoring - 31st Jan
We decided to go up to the hills around Jaipur and had a driver take us to Amber Fort,
which is very well preserved and worth checking out (if you like
forts!). It is in the Rajput style making it slightly different from
the Mogul architecture elsewhere in northern India.
We
found the city palace a bit of an anticlimax in comparison though we
saw our first Rajahstani puppet show there. We also had a drink in one
of the bars so we could watch the cricket, Helen was the only white
person and the only woman.
In
the evening we got the overnight train to Udaipur. We were still
enjoying these long train rides, but we did have to share the carriage
with a very heavy snorer, as well as cute kids.
Udaipur - 1st February
We
weren’t sure what to expect from Udaipur, but it turned out to be very
enjoyable and even topped Jaipur. It is full of tourists (more than
even Agra) but we managed to find our own space and had a great time.
Our
taxi driver from the station, Harinder, found us a hotel by the lake
and then drove us around for a couple of hours. The museums and
memorials of Udaipur were only slightly interesting. They are mainly
based around the Rajputs who fought the moguls and had their capital nearby.
Helen
managed to get a flute lesson and learned how to play ‘Om Jai Jagdish’,
ith a flute teacher who was a real character and managed to sell us a
flute and his own CD. We walked around the relatively clean streets and
watched the beautiful sunset from the hill over the city.
Rish
ate his first Indian food for over a week from a rooftop restaurant and
back at the hotel we watched fireworks and listened to the sound of
Rajahstani music before sleeping.
The lake palace - 2nd February
We
went to puja (prayers) at the mandir and then went for a massage at a
very ‘desi’ place with very good natured masseurs. Rish had to manage
talking to them in basic Hindi. For lunch we went to the opulent Lake Palace hotel.
The price of dinner includes being taken in your own motor launch. We
were told that last year the lake was dried up and people were taken
across by car and camel. Not sure about that…
We
investigated the city palace, bought a present for Helen’s
brother, and walked around the other side of the lake before
having a soggy pizza for dineer. We ended the evening perfectly at a cultural show, with flamboyant Rajahstani music, dancing and puppeteering. It all took a lot of skill and it seems the governement is encouraging these skills to be passed down.
We said our goodbyes to Udaipur and took yet another overnight train, to Delhi.
Delhi - 3rd to 4th January
In
the last days of our holiday we stayed with Amit and Monika in their
Delhi flat. It was our only chance to really spend time with them.
We
saw the more affluent side of Delhi in the ultra-modern mall, we also
had a very nice chinese meal in a funky looking restaurant. We all went
to Delhi Haat (a market, mainly for tourists) where Monika picked up
some household essentials. We were motivated to pick up some last
minute presents but we let Amit do the bartering (good idea).
We
ceratainly made ourselves at home after a couple of weeks in hotels,
helping the newly-weds to pick out a washing machine and cooking a risotto for our last meal together. (Well Helen cooked it but at least I helped buy the ingredients).
Eventually we had to say goodbye to Delhi and to Amit and our new” bhabi”. We got a late night taxi to Delhi airport and within hours were on our way back to grey old England…
