Amber Fort and Jaipur

We did hear the mosque faintly then drifted back to sleep. After a leisurely breakfast we met our guide Umesh at the entrance and shortly after our driver picked us up. We drove through the Pink City, which is actually terracotta, the colour scheme strictly enforced, and on a short distance to the Amber Fort, which is painted more orange, though the name was originally Amar. Here we mounted an elephant called Lakshmi, which took us gently up the entrance road, swaying back on forth and giving way to many other elephants coming the other way. Their welfare is now controlled, so they they only carry two and stop working at midday.
The Fort was a very grand palace, which was once capital of Rajasthan . Our guide gave excellent explanations of the uses and history as well as flavour of the area. From the top there were panoramic views and several other forts; in Rajasthan there are as many forts like churches in Europe.
After the Fort we shopped, feeling camel hair carpets, then picking an elephant cushion cover and a shirt to be tailored during the day for me.
Lunch was at the Pink City restaurant, though it transpired it was a dry day, being 70th anniversary of the death of Ghandi, so no cooling beer. We had masala tea instead, Darjeeling with black pepper, cardamom and ginger, to go with our pakora and samosas. Janet was attracted by more puppets, so we were lucky lunch came or we would have a whole family. Lunch was good accompanied by the nursery class next door reciting prior to going home.
The afternoon was spent in the Maharajah’s Pink Palace, more grand still than the Fort, with the two largest pots ever made, silver and made to transport Ganges water from the source to England for the Maharajah of his day, and then the astronomical park, containing the second biggest sundial, accurate to two seconds and many other astronomical and astrological instruments.
Driving back through the city, now in full flow with all the shops and stalls open, was a fascinating and wearing experience in itself, so we were pleased to get back to our oasis of an hotel and enjoy tea on the terrace as the sun went down.Read more