ROAD TO JAIPUR

Our journey to explore India’s Golden Triangle moved southwest from the congestion of Delhi’s tan landscape thru the green fields of the Rajasthan countryside with crops of mustard seed & wheat. We had a scheduled short stop to view a 800 year old minaret, Qutub Minar, that apparently had some interesting history of being repeatedly struck by lightning & toppled by earthquakes yet I didn’t hear any of that from our guide due to the fact I became ridiculously obsessed with a rather large pink pig randomly hanging out in the parking lot. Oh, Natalie…

The pig was truly a delightful find for, you see, our granddaughter Eva just loves pigs so I was on a mission to capture just the perfect photo of said pig to take back for our Eva. Pretty much all of this historic picturesque stop was spent NOT hearing the landmark’s notable story, but rather, chasing the annoyed hog from one dusty corner of the lot to another. Porkalina wouldn’t cooperate flashing me her backside repeatedly & barely gave me a decent shot just before last call to board the bus or else. (And…yeah, they have pigs back home in Nebraska, duh!) My distracted obsession… oh, and definitely not the first time (or last) I’ve been guilty of missing the good stuff, focusing on the wrong thing & learning later something important went down I knew nothing about & feeling a tad broken-hearted. It’s a tricky balance to juggle time & opportunity on a scheduled itinerary. You win some & you lose some. It’s part of the good, the bad & the ugly of travel.

Natalie had her face window planted for the 5 hour drive, captivated with the rural scenes, afraid to blink & miss catching sight of someone working in a field, walking along the road or, the big jackpot,… a camel cart or shepherd with a flock.

The simplicity of the lifestyle and greenery of the land captivated my curiosity & I couldn’t get enough of the view!

When we arrived, I was immediately struck with Jaipur’s warmth & friendliness. I couldn’t get enough of these adorable girls in a neighboring crowded bus…and, truth be told, I think they couldn’t get enough of me too! Our exchange went on for several blocks. If I smiled & waved from our bus window, it was always returned. Check out the sweet teenage schoolgirls giggling… shyly waving & these construction workers taking a minute to smile back at the goofy lady from Nebraska.

Jaipur was such a feast for the eyes, lacy architecture magnificent & mesmerizing, building tops & windows were like dyed paper doilies and everything, EVERYTHING from it’s grand palaces to humble shops, by law, is tinted only one color…sandy PINK! In 1877,to impress visiting Britain’s Prince Albert, the Maharajah had all of the buildings & city walls painted the same color scheme & ever since Jaipur has been known as the “Pink City”. THE only exception I saw was a stunning newer white marble Hindu Temple – Birla Mandir which sits grandly elevated on a busy corner of 2 major modern thoroughfares.

The streets of Jaipur were so stinkin’ cool, unreal … they felt Hollywood exotic & ancient like you’d been teleported into a delightful imaginative storybook. An elephant & rider sauntered down the center of a city street, camel wagon after camel wagon trots by, bicycles piled high with cargo defying physics; there was a sidewalk barbershop and one single frame captured such a plethora… a full tuk tuk/a horse decked with armor/a woman shopping/a wooden cart filled with tidbits & more! Oh, the life, the energy…and that was just a brief snippet!

Then there were the women, all with strikingly bright colorful flowing glittering saris & the men proudly wrapping yards & yards of fabric atop their heads in a neatly folded turban.

Then of course, the many iconic places, the must sees… the Palace of the Winds – unique pink sandstone 935 honeycombed windows, the elaborate City Palace where the current Maharajah royal family dwell, the Jantar Mantar – mathematical astronomy instruments created by some brilliant Indian minds 300 years ago and a captivating mirage-like floating palace that sits in the middle of a lake, Jal Mahal. All of these were fascinating, captivating…. well, what can I say… just super amazingly cool!!

For dinner we were the guests of the Diggi’s, a local royal family, who have opened their lavish palace to the public as a heritage hotel, creating opportunities for visitors to experience the opulence & elegance of Jaipur in a very special way. We tasted delicious dishes under the stars in the palace’s garden courtyard, watched traditional dances (Natalie & Dave even gave it a try), cultural puppetry & the Maharajah himself was helping at the grill… so personable & charming. What marvelous fun …a delightful evening! Tomorrow – Amber Fort