Day 8 - Jaipur
I breakfasted this morning on pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, and watermelon juice.
After breakfast we loaded back onto the coach for a short journey to the Amber (or more accurately, Amer) Fort. The coach stopped at the bottom of the hill and we transferred to small jeeps for the bumpy drive over the cobbles up to the fort. The vibration of the jeep caused a great deal of squealing from Carol and me, much to the amusement of the driver.
The Amber Fort is gorgeous. You'll have to wait for the photos to appreciate the Hall of Mirrors, inlaid with thousands of pieces of mirror, the Ganesha gate and the intricate paintings and carvings. The formal gardens are tended by ladies who pose knowingly for photographs in exchange for a few rupees. At the exit we sneaked photos of the snake charmers (Ed says the cobras are drugged - I'm pretty sure they're defanged too) and battled through hordes of hawkers, although I couldn't resist a box of ten colourful bangles for R100.
Our next stop with the coach was one of the famous Jaipur jewellery emporia. Wow. On display was a diamond and emerald necklace worth £250,000. I couldn't *quite* afford that one but I was impressed by the quality of the local emeralds, which I had previously believed were only found with this clarity in South America. Consequently I may have spent a few £££ on some pretty green jewellery. It took so long to agree the terms of the transaction (all purchases in India involve a long and complex pantomime of offer and counter-offer, and discounts allegedly based on the number of customers that day, the day of the month, or the phase of the moon) that by the time it was concluded the rest of my group had gone for lunch at the Holiday Inn. Our local guide Govind taxi'd me over to meet them and was so impressed with my ability to spend money that he gave me his card and offered me a private tour. Nudge nudge, wink wink.
Back in the centre of Jaipur we were dropped off the coach for a rickshaw ride, which was a wonderful, if slightly alarming, experience! Our cyclists somehow managed to avoid the cars, buses, tuc-tucs, mopeds, dogs and cows, and steered us expertly down tiny alleyways crammed with people going about their business. My companion Pat was a little scared I think, and worried when we lost sight of the other rickshaws, but I loved every moment!
After breakfast we loaded back onto the coach for a short journey to the Amber (or more accurately, Amer) Fort. The coach stopped at the bottom of the hill and we transferred to small jeeps for the bumpy drive over the cobbles up to the fort. The vibration of the jeep caused a great deal of squealing from Carol and me, much to the amusement of the driver.
The Amber Fort is gorgeous. You'll have to wait for the photos to appreciate the Hall of Mirrors, inlaid with thousands of pieces of mirror, the Ganesha gate and the intricate paintings and carvings. The formal gardens are tended by ladies who pose knowingly for photographs in exchange for a few rupees. At the exit we sneaked photos of the snake charmers (Ed says the cobras are drugged - I'm pretty sure they're defanged too) and battled through hordes of hawkers, although I couldn't resist a box of ten colourful bangles for R100.
Our next stop with the coach was one of the famous Jaipur jewellery emporia. Wow. On display was a diamond and emerald necklace worth £250,000. I couldn't *quite* afford that one but I was impressed by the quality of the local emeralds, which I had previously believed were only found with this clarity in South America. Consequently I may have spent a few £££ on some pretty green jewellery. It took so long to agree the terms of the transaction (all purchases in India involve a long and complex pantomime of offer and counter-offer, and discounts allegedly based on the number of customers that day, the day of the month, or the phase of the moon) that by the time it was concluded the rest of my group had gone for lunch at the Holiday Inn. Our local guide Govind taxi'd me over to meet them and was so impressed with my ability to spend money that he gave me his card and offered me a private tour. Nudge nudge, wink wink.
Back in the centre of Jaipur we were dropped off the coach for a rickshaw ride, which was a wonderful, if slightly alarming, experience! Our cyclists somehow managed to avoid the cars, buses, tuc-tucs, mopeds, dogs and cows, and steered us expertly down tiny alleyways crammed with people going about their business. My companion Pat was a little scared I think, and worried when we lost sight of the other rickshaws, but I loved every moment!