Jaipur

Hazy but calm morning, Soni dropped me over at Panna Meena Ka Kund. Ancient stepwells and an engineering marvel, the colors and look vastly differed from what was seen online but the geometry was still exquisite and a joy to photograph. Another impressive structure was the Shri Jagat Shiromaniji Temple. The elephant statue out front and the giant gate structure made for a perfect frame for the intricate temple facade. It reminded me much of Nepal. From there, it was just a short walk up to the Amber Palace. The mahouts on their elephants were easily the star of the show thought I certainly did ponder the clash between culture and ethics in terms of elephant riding. The palace itself was really impressive and as usual, very intricate and opulent.

I met up with Soni again and we made a brief stop over at the Jal Mahal, the water palace. After that, it was time to finally explore the Pink City. We had a mission first though, it seemed like there was going to be a limited time darshan in one of the Krishna temples. It was Jaipur's version of Vrindavan's Banke Bihari temple. We were lucky to have made it right before the curtains closed. The vibes here were intense and everyone was in a stupor of devotion the likes I haven't seen before. People were shouting chants and singing and dancing, it was an absolute clamor of energy. We did our darshan and got our prasad and off we went.

Soni dropped me by the City Palace first and at first I was falling in line but after seeing the price, I realized I wasn't that interested and proceeded to go to Jantar Mantar instead since I had a combo ticket that included it and a lot more attractions for the day. Jantar Mantar was pretty interesting. I believe it functioned as a giant astronomical observatory. The geometry, however, was the one that stole the spotlight.

From there, the famous Hawa Mahal was just a short walk. I went to the nearby cafe across the street to get rooftop views. Super impressive. The ticket included entry so I also went into the other side which was also surprisingly really beautiful. Each window was said to be for one of the ancient king's wives to take a peek into the outside world. We also went to a jewelry shop (part of Soni's own itinerary), but the host was very kind and hospitable. I was first quizzed if I knew which gem was which and I guessed all of them correctly much to his surprise. Rose quartz, amethyst, and topaz. He gave me a tour of their shop which was shining, shimmering, splendid. The dog was super cute though.

We also went to Gaitor Ki Chhatriyan, the architecture here was just wondrous and I thoroughly enjoyed capturing various angles. Soni also brought me to another shop... this time it was for textiles. At least I was able to see the craftsmanship involved in how they actually produce everything manually from stamping and painting the designs. I ended up purchasing a pashmino wool scarf here for my mum, it passed the tests but I do hope it's real.

We made a visit to Sisodia Rani ka Bagh, a unique terraced garden that was much more local and devoid of the usual crowds found inside the Pink City. To end the day, I was brought to Galta Ji, supposedly a Hanuman temple. Soni knew a guy, the monkey man they called him and he was supposed to be my guide. I wasn't really interested in that and I tried to lose him. I went to a Vishnu temple with idols of Rama and Sita and deeper inside was one of Hanuman. I made my offerings and got my tilaks as I proceeded upward. Encountering the monkey man and finding out where he got his name, as he seemed to have much control over the resident monkeys. They would climb over him and he asked if I wanted one on me. No thanks. I hiked at a faster pace which made him give up trying to catch me. I just wasn't interested in having someone by me the whole time and having to pay for it at the end.

The hike to the top temple definitely made me work for it. It was dedicated to Surya, I believe. The sun god. On the way back down, I saw another temple of Hanuman. It was just the priest left in there. He was explaning to me who they were, Rama, Sita, and Hanuman. I told him I knew them, I love the Ramayana and I also pray the Chalisa. He was very happy to hear that and gave me long blessings invoking Hanuman. He said I should recite the Chalisa as it was a Saturday, one of the two days of the week dedicated to Hanuman and so I did. He started to ring the bell too which really helped bring out that devotional energy. He was very pleased and praised my Chalisa. He asked me if I wanted a tulsi necklace. I had no idea what it was but I said sure, turns out that Hanuman loves tulsi (sacred basil). He got the necklace from the Rama idol and put it on me with blessings. I knew I wanted to get a necklace in India so I purposely didn't bring my Tiger's Eye necklace, and what better way to get one than this. I made an offering and left energized.

For dinner, Soni took me to this restaurant that I wanted to go to for lunch. They had a cultural dance where these ladies would balance stacked pots on top of their heads. I had the classic paneer tikka masala that I was craving ever since I tasted it in New Delhi.Read more