On to Jaipur

We woke early anticipating our third safari only to discover it was not booked. Just as well we had seen our tiger the day before. Time then for a leisurely pack, breakfast, painting and reading before the intrepid explorers returned. What a lovely hotel to relax in. Jennifer and Karin, our Canadian acquaintances from Victoria had been out and didn’t see one again.
We set off, first calling into a Women’s textile factory, friend of Subhash. Janet was tempted by some lovely pashminas and an elephant wall hanging for her new room in the roof.
We followed the same road, same bumps, a little more tolerable in daylight as you could see them coming. Along the roadside were many guava trees and our driver stopped to buy some for his family and got the lady to let us try one with salt and chilly sprinkled on the cut segments-interesting. We then stopped by what he described as real India, a small family dwelling, mud walls, one old gentleman, ladies making chapatis and a small herd of goats. He said they were really poor, working the local fields, though the surroundings were spotless and ladies well dressed. we felt uncomfortable taking photos, so declined and politely made our exit.
Next stop lunch, where we found a book of birds and met our safari buddies of the previous day, Cliff and Maureen , who had been out again and seen ‘Arrowhead ‘ walking along the road and climbing on the wall, which made us slightly envious...
On to Jaipur, our driver’s home city. He stopped to show us Welcome House and Sisodia Rani ka Bagh ornate 18th century gardens. Then we went along to the Monkey temple, set deep in a hillside followed by tea with one of Subhash’s family.
We then drove through Jaipur traffic which miraculously keeps moving, arriving at a most intriguing hotel, with old style rooms, courtyard and gardens, within range of a loud mosque.
Excellent continuation of our trip.
And there was more... on our way back from dinner, where we tried some Indian red from Glovers Estate, we encountered a puppeteer and his two sons. He made all the puppets himself from wood and gorgeous materials , performing scenes handed down from generations of his family. His grandfather had done Punch and Judy. He showed us a belly dancer, Michael Jackson, who juggled his own head on hands and feet, a flaming knight on horseback who tried very hard to set fire to his horse, and finally a snake charmer whose two Cobras ended up in our laps! The older boy organised the puppets for his dad while the younger one drummed. He generously gave us a Maharina, and after an exchange of donations and something British for his boys, pound coins we had exchanged in Delhi for a porter, Janet has the Maharajah also to make the pair. They were all so pleasant it made a lovely experience.Read more