Indian Adventure, Day 13: Jaipur

Posted on January 20, 2009

My visit to Jaipur on Saturday and Sunday marked my first “solo mission” of my trip. I hired a driver to pick me up around 8am on Saturday, stay the night, then drive me home on Sunday. Although the trip could be done in one day, I’m glad I took two – not only was it an experience to stay in a smaller “real” Indian hotel, but it allowed me to see more of the city on Saturday.

Jaipur, also known as The Pink City, is the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. The city was founded in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the ruler of Amber who was an expert in math, science, and especially astrology. Being such a nut about astrology, Jaipur was the first “planned” city of India – with the city layout being meticulously planned according to the numbers, signs, and symbols of astrology. In 1853, when the Prince of Wales visited Jaipur, the whole city was painted pink to welcome him (pink is the color of “royal welcome”). Although there’s no reason to keep the town pink, the city is probably the largest tourist destination of the state. In fact, the state of Rajasthan has mandated that all buildings be painted the same color pink (right now there are different variations) in preparation of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

I hired a friend of my driver as a guide for my trip – a bargain at $10. I was initially a little nervous about hiring my driver’s “friend” as a guide but it turned out he was a wealth of knowledge and took me to only one tourist trap. After picking him up on the way into town we started our adventure.

First Stop: Amber Fort

The Amber Fort is the ancient citadel of the ruling Kachhawa clan of Amber, before the capital was shifted to present day Jaipur. The Fort is unique in that the architecture and design combine both Hindu and Muslim influences.

Before you even enter the fort you get an awesome view of the entire city from the hilltop – including the red sandstone wall which is apparently the one of the largest wall in the world at 19 miles. Inside the fort my guide told me tons of interesting stories regarding why some of the structures or “features” of the fort were constructed. Some of my favorites were:

The windows to the outer courtyard are carved so that the queens could look upon the people down below, but the people could only see shadows in the windows.
In a similar use of technique, the rooftop courtyard where the king was “entertained” by his mistresses and band, the windows were cut so that the queens could not see in, but he could keep an eye on them.
Because of the weight of the clothing and jewelry, the queens were wheeled around in wheelchairs, so ramps can be found in the walls of the fort to move between floors. This makes the fort very handicapped friendly now!
The fort had separate sections for different seasons – with different technologies used to keep the fort at an optimum temperature. For example, the summer corner had white marble flooring to keep the room cool, and had a fountain running through the wall with slots for fresh air.
The Hall of Mirrors is a room where the king would meet with guests at night. The ceiling and walls are covered with small mirrors so the entire room could be lit with only one candle!

Second Stop: Jal Mahal

We made a quick stop after Amber Fort at Jal Mahal. This “Water Palace” sits in the center of the Mansagar lake and was built by the king as a place to entertain guests and to be entertained by his mistresses (are you seeing a theme here?) Also surrounding the small palace are small platforms that were used by the king as royal hunting platforms – for ducks and anything else that came for a drink at the lake.

Although the Water Palace was nice to look at, the shores of the lake were littered with trash and I couldn’t escape the people begging for money… hence the picture of the random girl next to me. I finally convinced her to leave after 10 minutes… with 10 rupees.

Third Stop: The Tourist Trap

I suppose since I got such a good deal on a tour guide I should have expected it, but the guide offered to take me to a place where I could see how carpets and textiles are made in Jaipur. What it turned out to be was an elaborate (and long) scheme to get me to buy carpets. Before the sales pitch I was able to see how block painting textiles were made, and even got to create one myself – but then the selling began. Luckily I was able to escape with only a few tableclothes and not a $500 rug, but that’s only because I told the man my wife would kill me if I bought a $500 rug without consulting her. The truth is, rugs just aren’t my thing.

Fourth Stop: City Palace

The City Palace complex covers a huge area, which is divided into a series of gardens, courtyards and buildings. Initially, Raja Jai Singh built the outer wall occupying a huge area but the additional buildings were constructed later by the succeeding rulers. A part of the exquisite palace is still the home for the current Maharaja or King of Jaipur (think British Queen… no power, just title).

The palace is broken up into several different museums, where you are unfortunately not able to take photos. I’ve found a few online to add to the photos below because some of the places were very interesting – such as the great hall where the king would sit and hear the complaints of the people. There were a few places I was allowed to take pictures, including the Diwan-I-Khas, the hall meant for private audience with the King. It has several peices of artwork on display, as well as the largest sterling silver vessels in the world – used by the king to carry the sacred Ganges water with him on his trip to London. We also saw the courtyard where the King’s children would play. Above the courtyard were a series of secret hallways where the misstresses and wives would climb up to the King’s room. In order to keep the women from finding out about each other, a series of watchtowers were built to keep an eye on the corridors. If one woman was already visiting the king, a lookout could warn other visitors that the king was “busy.”

Fifth Stop: Jantar Mantar

Close to the City Palace is Jantar Mantar – an observatory begun by Maharaja Jai Singh II in 1728, which at first looks like a collection of mammoth, bizarre sculptures. My guide provided very detailed explanations of how each of the instruments work, and how through watching, recording and meticulous calculation, Jai Singh measured time by place the sun’s shadow fell on the huge sundials and charted the annual progress through the zodiac. Each construction has a specific purpose, such as calculating eclipses. The most striking instrument is the giant sundial, with its 27m-high gnomon which creates shows that move up to 4m per hour.

Final Stop: Hotel Madhuban

When I travel, I like to know where I’m staying. And with hotels in the US I have a pretty good idea of what I’m getting when I check into a Best Western or a Marriott. However, this time I had to trust my handy Lonely Planet India guidebook to find the most recommended mid-range hotel in Jaipur – the Madhuban hotel.

Madhuban is the premier midrange hotel in Jaipur, run by the indefatigable Dicky, whose family once ruled Patan. It’s surrounded by high-head plants and decorated with bright frescoes. The rooms are fully decked out, the restaurant is smart and versatile, and there’s a small walled-in pool. It’s completely hassle free.

How can you go wrong with a description like that right? Well, what they didn’t tell me was that my room was as big as my bed, the hotel was right up against a busy road, and that I had to lock my door at night with a padlock. However, dispite all the surprises, the hotel was comfortable and my traditional Indian dinner of butter chicken and parathas was not too bad. The worst part about the whole experience was eating by myself – but at least I was able to overhear the other American couple in the restaurant fighting with each other… impromptu entertainment!

Epilogue: The Drive Home

After a short drive through the city to stop by Hawa Mahal, or palace of winds, we started the 4-hour drive home. About 2 hours into the drive the car started to shake and I realized we had a flat tire. Fortunately, we stopped right across the street from a tire shop in one of the small town along the highway. I waited in the car just watching people in their “element” as the driver carried the tire over to the shop and had it repaired. About 90km after leaving the small town the familiar sound returned and the driver shook his head and said we had another flat – apparently they didn’t do a good job at the tire shop. Luckily he had a spare tire and we were able to get on our way after a quick change. I just wish we had stopped in “monkey town” – the name I gave one town that is literally infested with monkeys… on the way to Jaipur and back I saw maybe 200 monkeys running around in this one town. Made me wonder if anyone had some as pets…

Amber Fort