We finally made it to the third city in the Golden Triangle! We had two sets of friends who were coming to Jaipur (one ended up not being able to come 😥) so of course we booked tickets for a long weekend. And basically, we saw everything we could without driving more than an hour.
First of all, the hotel. We opted to stay a little closer to all the sites so we stayed at a converted
palace (they're called
havelis) which made up for in charm what it lacked in refinery. It was very similar to the one we stayed at in
Agra, but this one had a live-in
French bulldog named Stella which the kids quickly became obsessed with (and are now wanting one of their own).
Since we had some time to kill before we met up with friends, we thought we'd get some shopping over with. I told the kids it would be sort of like
Izmaylovo, which they loved, but in actuality it wasn't anything like it. It was just rows and rows of shops on a busy street and, if you've ever walked down a street in India, you know that that is not the most relaxing activity. So although we bought a few things, it was pretty apparent that this would not be our morning-long activity. So instead we stopped for a quick photo of
the Palace of Winds (which is squished among the many other buildings along the side of the road) and went on our way.
We spent the rest of the morning exploring the
City Palace.
It was here that we discovered--and quickly developed a love for--the hipster-before-his-time
Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II. Once we spotted his
picture at the palace, we found him all over the place. Here are a few of our favorite pics of our favorite Maharaja:
Since our friends were still not available, we headed to the
Jantar Mantar--an outdoor science park full of astronomical instruments. B was in heaven, and the rest of us appreciated the Seussian aspect of it all.
By this time, we realized that we wouldn't be able to meet up with friends until the next day. No problem--there's always more to see! And we love a good tower, so it was a no-brainer to walk the seven stories up the
Isar Lat. (Our driver said he'd never been there before--always a good sign!) The views were totally worth the detour.
Our last stop of the day was
Albert Hall--a beautiful building that has since been turned into a museum. CJ ended up falling asleep in my arms for the duration of our visit. The security guards gave up their chair for me, and I happily let them take pictures in exchange.
Indian traffic was (relatively) light most of the trip, but there was one instance where we got stuck trying to get through an intersection. We had come to a standstill due to--I think--two very full delivery trucks trying to drive on a very narrow road. Our extraordinary driver got out of the car three different times to help direct drivers so we could eventually make it through the intersection ourselves. I snapped a picture of the intersecting street when we finally drove past. Honestly, it doesn't do justice to the chaos of the roads.
The next day we went to see Amber Fort, but stopped along the way to see a nearby
step well and temple.
Someone let their goats out to feed at the step well. We were too surprised
to take pictures of all the other goats that came running up after this.
And then it was on to
Amber Fort and finally seeing our friends, the Copas!
The little kids got a lot of attention.
We stopped at the
Jal Mahal on our way to lunch and then said goodbye to the Copas!
And then it was time to see more forts! Above Amber Fort are two more--Narhargarh Fort and Jaigarh Fort--on neighboring hills from each other.
First we stopped at
Narhargarh, the best part being the view at the top.
Next we went to the
Jaigarh Fort--less impressive aesthetically, but more fun to explore. It was sort of a maze; we had to wander around a bit before we found the roof. Also, monkeys.
We realized that the next day was pretty free and open because we had already seen everything tourists typically see when they go to Jaipur. So we went a little further afield and looked for things the kids would enjoy. The
Nahargarh Biological Park fit the bill, or so we thought. (Again, it was pretty obvious this was not a big tourist attraction. At least, not for non-native tourists.)
After buying tickets, we were instructed we could either walk to the entrance (I'm guessing about a half mile away), or hire a tuk tuk for 60 rupees (about a dollar) each way. Tuk tuk it is! And, honestly, it was one of the best parts of the park.
First of all, it was really hot and the enclosures were all pretty spread out. Secondly, although we have grown accustomed to being a side-show all on our own wherever we go, it got old pretty fast. All that to say, the Biological Park was not the all-day activity we thought it would be.
But on our way back into town, we passed a parade of elephants being taken somewhere. We chose not to do any elephant activities in Jaipur because we couldn't find one that we felt was ethical, but these elephants were obviously ones that were being used to give tourist rides.
We stopped at the ATM and this was my view while I waited in the car.
And since the biological park was a busy, we figured we might as well check out the zoo. And, despite all the mediocre reviews we'd read (or maybe because of our very low expectations), it wasn't that bad. A few birds, a few crocodiles, some deer, and all of it within easy walking distance. All-in-all it wasn't bad.
It was a crazy few days in Jaipur, but so much fun! Even the stuff that didn't turn out so well ended up just being part of the adventure. And if we've learned anything about India, it's that you've gotta just roll with it and enjoy the ride.
