Day 2

Day 2 Day started at 6:30 with coffee and biscuits in bed served by our steward. Bo liked the service so much she said maybe we should take an Indian home with us. This was a long. hot and tiring day. After the 7 am breakfast we boarded a bus for sightseeing in Jaipur, and didn’t get back on the train until after 7 pm. Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan, and a UNESCO-designated city because of the multitude of its historical sites. It’s also called a pink city because of the color of buildings in the historical core, which is really not pink, more like terracotta. We visited many interesting (some more , some less) places, including the Albert museum (less – beautiful building, but exhibits not so great), the astronomical observatory built by the maharaja in the 17th century, the maharaja’s city palace, which is partly a museum of the family’s personal artifacts, and partly still their main residence, Hawal Mahal also called the Palace of Winds, which is a 5 story edifice with about a 1000 windows, just a wall with tons of windows behind which women could sit and observe what was going on. The most interesting site by far was the Amber Fort built in the 12th century by the maharaja, both as his residence and defense against aggressors. It’s a magnificent structure high on a hill. It’s been a setting for many Bolliwood movies, and the most spectacular room is the hall of mirrors with walls and ceilings covered with silver and gold. To get there we rode elephants. Our elephant’s name was Maya. The ride was about 15 minutes, but not very smooth. After lunch and touring the fort we rode down in a jeep. My (Bo’s) biggest disappointment was that this very long day of touring, with several (in my opinion) unnecessary stops, including two for predetermined shopping, we had zero free time to explore the city on our own. I had a list of about 5 places I really wanted to get to, and wasn’t able to see any of them. Another comment is about the maharajas. They had to give up their political power under Indira Ghandi, but not their wealth. Many converted some of their palaces to museums, which brings income and shelter them from paying taxes. Other palaces became very expensive, luxury hotels (more income!). Our impression so far is that the most beautiful buildings were either built by the British or by the maharajas.