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Join us on this amazing adventure...
Join us on this amazing adventure...
Jaipur wasn’t part of our modest plan for our five-day visit to India. What initially should have been a stop-over on the way to the UAE became “we should at least visit the Taj Mahal”, and then “well we’re already here – let’s see the capital of Rajasthan” … With help from Ram and his agency we were able to see more than we had initially planned or thought possible 🙂
Of course, we could have visited more monuments and been even more ambitious (in my view 🙂 ) and seen more palaces there, but we chose the option of taking it easy on the basis that we will return to India as soon as possible 🙂
The first thing we saw in Jaipur was the Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds. Its façade is simply beautiful and is in harmony with the color of the city. There’s no doubt why it is called the Pink City.
The next monument to visit was the Amber Palace. SPECTACULAR! Its appearance is imposing because it is on the top of a hill, and around the palace there are several fortresses and a wall that is nearly 15 kilometers long.
We entered the palace via the Ganesh Pol gateway. In its upper part the royal women were able to enjoy functions that were held in the Public Audience Hall without being observed.
The palace has countless small and narrow passageways, rooms with beautiful windows and trellises, and viewpoints towards the Maota Lake …
If I had to pick out one thing about the palace, it would be the Diwan-i-Khas – a corridor full of mirrors and glass which form perfect delicate designs.
When leaving the Diwan-i-Khas corridor there is a simple courtyard garden where you can access a small building with a green roof. From there you can observe the whole northern part of the palace without being seen.
Finally, we visited the women’s apartments or Zenani Deorhi, where the Queen Mother or the Raja’s consorts lived.
Definitely, Amber Palace is a must see monument in Jaipur and Rajastan in general.
After visiting this tremendous monument, we stopped for a minute at the Jal Mahal or Water Palace, which is in the middle of Lake Man Sagar.
Don’t get me wrong – in Jaipur there are lots of other monuments that are worth visiting, but as you know we are travelling with a child and, after so many months of daily visits, these days we take everything a bit more slowly 🙂
So after visiting these monuments we headed towards a vendor selling pashminas, saris and cloths. They were made from high-quality materials and were very elegant, and I got the opportunity to try on a sari 🙂
We also took the opportunity to try Masala tea – super yummy!! (Thanks Ángel for the tip).
To cap off the day with a flourish we climbed to the top of a hill where there was a Hindu temple and waited there for the sunset with the locals.
Once we had returned to the hotel, Noah got the chance to watch a puppet show while we ate (delicious Tandoori Chicken), and he was even able to pull the strings of some of them (including a cobra :O) 🙂
Next stop: Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates!