Jaipur - November 19th

Today we had our earliest start yet, for a train at 05:10.  However other than this the train in unremarkable, and it gets to Jaipur at 09:15.  This is good as it will give us a full day to see the city, but our free collection from the station is delayed by an hour (due to some other tourist claiming it for themselves) and we are subjected to a barrage of taxi drivers offering their services.

After eventually checking in and relaxing a little, we start out to explore the town.  At first it looks the usual chaos that we have come to expect, especially as we visit the bus station to try (and fail) to sort out our final transport tickets.  We get a rickshaw to the entrance to the old city, the Ajmer Gate, thinking inside will be narrow streets with bazaars and historic buildings, but instead once inside the old walls it is just more wide roads lined with shops.  The guide books rave on about the bazaars of Jaipur, but to me it’s not the market I was expecting.  It has to be said that my first impressions of Jaipur were not great.

After lunch in a very nice hotel, we continue where we see the Hawa Majal, the Wind Palace, which is a very unusual single palace that was built to allow the women of the court to look out on the street life below.  It also gives us some great views over the city.  Then we go to Jaipur’s UNESCO listed Jantar Mantar, which is a set of massive astronomical instruments built by the king who founded the town.  And after that it is onto the city palace to see how the Maharaja lived, although as a more modern palace, and one still in use until the present day, it is not quite as impressive as the older ones we have seen.

After that we have dinner in a local restaurant, and then we walk back to our hotel, discovering in the process that it is not quite where it is supposed to be according to the Lonely Planet map.  The walk is slightly longer than expected, but not unpleasant, as the other thing we have noticed is that Jaipur is noticeably politer than Delhi or Agra.