Jaipur, the Pink City

City Palace, Jaipur

Our adventures in Jaipur began as we drove through the very crowded, jumbled and frenetic center of the city.  I had to gulp as we turned off the main road onto what looked like a not very nice side street.  And then I gulped again since there was a sign for our hotel, pointing the way.  But joy of joys,  the Alsisar Haveli, our hotel is quite beautiful.  A Haveli is a residence that is smaller than a palace, but quite grand nevertheless.  Our rooms on an upper floor were very large with a sitting area and ceilings that seemed to go on forever.  And they have a pool, quite bracing and refreshing.  There was also a gentleman working poolside to massage our road weary bodies.  And a puppeteer who was eager to give us a show.

 Jaipur is, most notably to me, home to City Palace which is breathtaking in it's beauty. Our guide was most knowledgeable and shared many fascinating details about the palace and the Maharajas and Maharanis who had inhabited it. Margaret and Sue had both done quite a bit of reading about the royal family and were excited to be able to identify the cast of characters. (I will catch up to them soon, but am currently reading on an excellent biography on Gandhi, recommended by our guide in Delhi, a PhD. in comparative religion.) But I digress.

 Also notable about City Palace is that there is a new museum gift shop which is quite wonderful. I succumbed to a beautiful set of necklace and earrings and to a scarf that is quite unusual looking. I haven't decided if I am keeping or sharing the latter. Speaking of shopping, we went to a stunning jewelry store, the Antiquariat, where I purchased a bracelet on the 2004 trip. We all made excellent purchases, and I most thoughtfully picked up something for Gerard to give me for Christmas. Still speaking of shopping, Jaipur is an excellent place to purchase hand blocked prints on cotton and blends of cotton/silk/wool that make for beautiful bed spreads and tablecloths. I just love textiles and could not resist getting a new tablecloth which I will enjoy using. 

 Just outside City Palace is Jantar Mantar,  a fascinating astronomical and astrological park.   Having read so much about Maharani Gayatra Devi and her family and seen their portraits in City Palace, we were eager to visit Rambagh Palace, one of their homes, which is now a magnificent hotel. We had drinks on the veranda in the evening during a musical performance on the lawn, followed by dinner. It was a magical evening.