Jaipur

Last month I took a trip up North with the original intention of going to the Jaipur literary festival for a long weekend. A visit from a friend from home made the trip a good excuse to play tourist as well. While a full week was a bit long to be away from home, I really enjoyed the opportunity to see India as a tourist, without the stress of travelling with young children in a place that takes you outside of your comfort zone. No wondering if someone was getting pinched on the cheeks, or would have to pee in a place with no potty, or hungry just as the snacks ran out. Just exploring, listening, learning, and taking lots of photos....

Day 1 - Shopping and sight seeing around town

shopping for jewerly at Silver Mountain...ask for a style and they bring out a trunk filled with little bags. The best was the suitcase of gold jewelry. $1000 earrings casually strewn across the floor. I decided to pass those up, although they were awfully pretty...



Lassiwalla - a yogurt drink that Jaipur is famous for. There are a ton of places to get one, but this little shop is the original. We opted for the sweet rose water and honey flavor....





who likes the lassi?



1 out of 3....



time to smash the clay cup! a tradition of sorts, now relegated to the large garbage cans. good thing since we had a lot left over!

The lassiwalla guys. They were so animated and chatty with each other, until we asked to take a picture...

The gates of the pink city. It looks more orange than pink, but if you caught it in the right light....Once inside, the pink city is divided up by what each area sells (Bapu Bazaar, Nehru Bazaar...) We tried to walk through part and were quickly overwhelmed by everyone trying to get us into their shops. It was nice to view by car though.





North or South, make way for cows!



Hawa Mahal - "The palace of winds"  The original intention of the lattice was to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to observe strict "purdah" (face cover).*

Day 2 - The Amber Fort and Anokhi Museum
The Amber Fort is in the city of Amer, about 20 minutes outside of Jaipur. You get the chance to approach the fort as royalty once did - by elephant! We were told that each elephant climbs to the fort 5 times, and is then done for the day.



Babu and our 40 year old pachydrem whose name I forgot!

the ride up

entrance to the fort



commerce

in the fort

The Amber Fort, along with Jaigarh Fort, located immediately above on the Cheel ka Teela (Hill of Eagles) is considered as one complex, and the two are well connected by a subterranean passage. This passage was meant as an escape route in times of war for the royal family members and others in the Amer Fort to shift to the Jaigarh Fort.

Jaigarh Fort in the hills above

great wall of Amer, the Aravalli Hills formed a natural proective barrier, and the wall encircling the city certainly helped

part of the inner entrance to the royal palace

hall of mirrors

the wheelchair ramp built for the queen whose ceremonial clothing was too heavy to walk in!

lattice for women to see out of, and not to be seen...

Shiva temple near the base of the fort

The Anokhi Museum - We love the clothes, so had to make a stop at the museum of hand block printing. A beautiful old building amazingly restored. It was so peaceful and quiet both inside and on the roof (were we got a chance to try the printing out).

restored mansion that housed the Anokhi Museum of hand block priniting



trying my hand at block printing - not as easy as it looks!

While the Anokhi Museum was an interesting place to see, the Anokhi Cafe in town was AWESOME! Fresh organic salads and super yummy ginger lime sodas..honestly, one of my favorite restaurants in India. Safe green salads are hard to come by...if only our Anokhi in Chennai had a cafe to go along with it!

 *details from Wikipedia!