Rajasthan Part 1: Jaipur

Entering Jaipur the highway snakes through a rocky ravine.  Cliffs sprinkled with bands of red and gray rock hang over the narrow two lane road.  Cars rush into and out of the city.  Our driver, KP, had his favorite hindi pop song blaring from the radio.  As our small Tata sedan raced into the city there were escarpments everywhere.  It was hard to tell which were hundreds of years old, and which were part of a more current motif.  Like most cities this big- people, donkey carts, camels, motorbikes, rickshaws, buses and elephants littered the streets.  As we sped across town to our hotel our driver KP was pulled over for running a red light.  It was a bit uneventful.  Somehow in a sea of cars crossing the intersection we were singled out by one police officer watching the traffic.  They don't have flashy vehicles or lights and sirens like in the United States.  Instead it was a single traffic cop standing in the center of the intersection with a baton and whistle.  Violently he blew his whistle and pointed to our car, motioning for us to pull through the intersection and off to the side.  I was a bit clueless where we were supposed to pullover as streets have little room for multiple lanes of traffic, much less a lane for parked vehicles.  KP found a spot to squeeze into, grabbed his registration book from the glove box, and hopped out of the vehicle.  I'm not really sure what exactly what was said during the interrogation, but I remember seeing the accused pull out his wallet, hand the cop 100 INR, then return to the car.  Nothing was said and we continued on our way.

Jaipur, also known as the "Pink City" is a favorite amongst tourists coming to Rajasthan.  It was also the first stop on our two week tour of Rajasthan.  Along our drive we quickly left the lush jungles along the Yamuna River valley and entered into hilly arid forests along the eastern edge of the Great Indian (Thar) Desert.

Gretchen in front of the Pink Palace.

We spent two nights and three days in Jaipur.  Just on the edge of the city is the great Amber Fort.  This was one of my top three favorite forts.  It reminded me more of a medieval style castle then what we were used to seeing.  Maybe it was the labyrinth of passage ways, parapets along the roofs perimeter, or the moat like channel circling the fort where I imagined alligators waiting to gobble up enemies invading from Pakistan. 

Walls connected several different small forts and watchtowers along the hills overlooking parts of the city.

Rajasthan is known for its ornate style of decoration on everything.  Heritage hotels are covered in bright vibrant paintings.  Within the inner buildings of the Amber Fort were these gorgeous wall paintings.

Wandering around palace passage ways, with more neat stone lattice letting in the light.

Unlike any other fort we visited, the gardens here were spectacular.

The Maharaja's bedroom had mirrors covering the wall as decoration.  Again my imagination ran wild wondering what this place must have looked like when people lived here.  Vibrant silks hanging from the ceiling.  Velvety sheets and pillows spread atop ornamental rugs on the floor.  Musicians throughout the palace playing classical music on the sitar and tabla. Smells of spice wafting throughout the rooms.  It would have been so rich in color, sound, and activity.

Usual crowd hanging outside the tourist entrance.

More animals wandering the narrow streets outside the Amber Fort.

Neighborhoods tucked into the valleys below the Amber Fort.

After visiting the Amber Fort our driver insisted we take an Elephant ride.  So we wove around Jaipur to the stables.

A 30 minute elephant ride  costs 1300 INR, which is about $30.

Riding an Elephant was actually very comfortable.  We made a couple loops into the suburbs and farmland around Jaipur.

Jaipur has several nice lakes around the hilly city.  Some have floating palaces built in them.

In the city is the Jaipur Palace.  There is still a local king that lives here so parts of the palace are closed for living quarters.  Other parts of the palace are set aside as museum exhibits.

More ornate painting.  This peacock art was on the entryway to the door above.

Within the city palace was an art studio where you can visit people working.  This gentlemen invited me to sit down and gave me a brief lesson on using the loom. I felt like I was making a fancy bathmat for Austin Powers.

Our last stop in Jaipur was to visit a rug factory.  Despite the usual pushyness to purchase a rug, we really enjoyed seeing how they were made.  Gretchen was even invited to tie a couple knots.  It was amazing to see how intricate the patterns get with many strands of color.  The dyes used are all natural, mostly coming from various vegetable oils.  I believe these are somewhat similar to a persian rug.  No, we didn't buy one.

India Road Show Kickoff

After one full day in Delhi we were ready to get out and see the country.  Our driver picked us up early and we headed South.  First passing out of the city into the province of Haryana, then crossing the border into Uttar Pradesh.  Despite spending almost two months in India, I haven't quite figured out what sort of autonomy, rights, and power the states have in line with the federal government.  Fact: India is the largest democracy in the world.  I say this because crossing borders was a big deal.  We were required to stop.  All drivers are required to stop and turn over proper documentation along with paying a small fee.  In some cases it appeared cargo trucks were stopped for hours getting proper registration.  

Just North of Agra we stopped at Sikandra, site of Akbar the Great's mausoleum.  Akbar was one of the great muslim rulers unifying large parts of Northern and Western India in the 16th century.  We would end up visiting a couple sites associated with his rule, this being the first. 

Gretchen stands in front of the great gate, the main entrance into the tomb complex.

Mughal architecture was very symmetrical, and very geometric.  All the tombs, forts, and palaces were laid out in grids or patterns of four.  They would also use multiples of that number in domes or peaks along roofs. 

An interesting wild deer within the outer walls.

Feeding the wildlife.

All four cardinal directions had mosque style shrines like the one above.  The mausoleum lay in the center. The symmetry was beautiful, as you can see in the repeating arches behind me in the photo below.

More repeating arches.

The white marble and red rock were gorgeous color contrasts.  It was hard to believe this shrine was over 400 years old.  I've visited Civil War cemeteries less than 200 years old in much worse condition.

Gutters ran down the middle of most walkways to channel off heavy monsoon rains in the summer. Having these channels or pools of water also served as an air conditioning systems in some places.

Gretchen walking out of the inner tomb.

More amazing stone lattice.  Two men guarding shoes.

The main entrance gate, looking from the inside.

It was really hot here, probably the hottest we had been the first couple weeks.  The temperature was well over 100 degrees with extremely high humidity.

After a hot afternoon walking around Sikandra it was good to reach Agra.  We checked into our hotel, and enjoyed the air conditioning.  Later we went out to see the Taj Mahal.

On our way out of town we stopped by the Agra Fort.  I liked this fort better then the Red Fort in Old Delhi.  The fort here was a little less crowded and allowed more freedom to wander.  Visitors can only see a small portion of this fort as large sections are still in use by India's military.

The major fortifications of this complex were laid upon pre-existing earthworks by Akbar the Great around 1565.  The fort spans a nice hillside overlooking the Yamuna River and the bustling city of Agra.

I was pleased to see this two story library.  Its amazing to think about books and what knowledge they might have had back then.  Akbar was an advocate for books, later we saw more bookshelves at his other palace Fatehpur Sikri.

Similar marble to what was used in the Taj, part of his inner chambers.

Golden ceilings, it must have looked amazing 400 years ago.

The Taj Mahal visible in the distance down the Yamuna River.

After leaving Agra we began our journey into Rajasthan, but just before crossing the border into another state we made a stop at Fatehpur Sikri.  This palace was built upon a small ridge deep in the jungles around 1569.  It would serve as Akbar's capital seat until 1585.  Nestled in the country side it was much quieter then Agra, now, and 400 years ago.

Again, the Mughal style of architecture was everywhere.  Notice the symmetrical domes in the background and repeating arches in the foreground.  The area in the foreground that looks like stables was actually his female servant quarters.  Stone rungs were still carved into the ceiling for hanging silk curtains separating each of these apartments.

Looking out over the countryside right along the border of Uttar Pradesh and Eastern Rajasthan.

Wild monkeys everywhere, a common sight in most of India.

More bookshelves.  This office or study style room was elevated above the main courtyard allowing nice breezes to blow through during hot muggy summer days.

This building was his main reception hall.  Inside intricate stone carvings decorated everything.  The ceiling had a cathedral like feeling, with stone supports covered in repeating designs.

Finally, a watchtower overlooking the scrub land.  Despite being one of the great Mughal emperors, Akbar still had enemies.