Persistent Tenacity

We got to visit another fort this morning that sits on the hills overlooking Jaipur. It is an impressive set of structures within walls that snake throughout the hills. The fort is just below a second one, where the active royal family of Rajasthan live. Although they don't actually rule any longer, they do get to stay on the grounds-a pretty sweet deal. It also is home to the world's largest canon. That’s a Guinness fact. Once we arrived, we waited in line with hawkers pressing down on us. They were relentless. No matter how many times or different ways you said no, they persisted. Everyone in our party ended up with something by the time we were rid of them. We made our escape from the hawkers on elephants…we thought. All the way up the trail, the hawkers were taking pictures to sell back to you. Kind of like a roller coaster ride but an early version.

Each female elephant carries two riders up the steep grade to the fort. The animal’s prodding sways the riders awkwardly. Kim and I were laughing like little school girls. I think the elephant ride (excepting the Taj) has been my favorite part. The elephants drop you off in a main courtyard that is enormous compared to the other forts and palaces we have seen. We gathered all of our party and took a tour of the complex. At the end of the tour, to our amazement, we were instantly swarmed by the photo guys. Depending on your negotiating skills, you received a price of $1-$10 per picture. Kim bought three for $3. Others told the hawkers their bottom price, and they refused to sell. Our tour friend, Keith, went rock bottom but walked away without photos.

We were gathered up and driven back down the 2km hill in old jeeps that carried six people at a time. We made a beeline for the bus door, as hawkers descended there, too. The bus was pulling away after a lot of hubbub, and Keith said, "Look, he followed me all the way down!" The photo hawker sought him out and finally caved at 3 for $1. Amazing!

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a palace built in the middle of the lake. It is recently renovated and a nice place. It must have been about four miles at least from the fort and sure enough, there they were: hawkers. They still had photos they were trying to unload to some of our tour group. They are persistent! I don’t even know how they got down there.

We had lunch at the hotel and took the optional tour in the afternoon. It started at the observatory, which has the largest sundial in the entire world. That’s a Guinness fact. In addition, the area had all sorts of sun dials and measuring instruments that reflected the time, date, horoscopes, planet movements, and sun location. These are all very important for the reading of horoscopes. The Hindus are influenced heavily by horoscopes. For example, people will go to the astrologer to determine the most auspicious day to have their wedding, buy a house, take a job, etc. The instruments were beautiful, and it was amazing that they were so precise, given there was no machinery to assist in building the observatory in the 1700’s.

Next we went to the City Palace. We toured the complex and its several museums. A wedding preparation was underway for a thousand guests. I thought about coming back later in the evening to crash the reception but figured I’d probably stick out too much.Read more