Jaipur Wednesday

We started the day with an elephant ride to the top of the Amer (or Amber) fort. This was built between the 13th & 15th centuries. The palace itself was completed in 1599 by Rajah Man Singh. There was a huge line waiting for the elephants. So, of course, the hawkers were out in abundance. A few Tshirts and tchotchkes later, we were on the elephants. Of course, then there were more hawkers taking our pictures, who would meet us at the end of the tour. The fort itself was impressive, with ornate marble and red sandstone entryways, public spaces with columns of elephants and lotus flowers, etc. There were beautiful interior gardens, and a “Hall of Mirrors” which was a pavilion lined with multiple mirrors and gold. Impressive.

We came upon a snake charmer who was coaxing a cobra up and out of his nest. He asked for volunteers, and, of course, I was there. I held the cobra and played with it. [Note to Harry: Doc says you’re gonna die!] There was an even older fort highter on the mountain that we didn’t get to. More hawkers on the way down, including our photo friends. 200 Rupees ($4.00) for 10 pictures isn’t too bad.

Then to a gem “demonstration” and more shopping. Many of the guys and I were getting tired of this stuff. After a little while, I excused myself and walked out into the neighborhood. Talk about Hotel Aroma! Again many of the kids wanted to say hi and have their pictures taken. Then, after I took some pictures of some cute kids, their older brother came out. He was perhaps 9, but probably spoke the best English of the family. Of course, he demanded money for the photo. I refused and walked away, but he followed me. Finally, when I turned in to the gem factory store, he couldn’t follow.

Then to the center city palace of Jaipur. This was the palace of the Maharajah with some unbelievable peacock painted doorways. Amazingly, much of it has NOT been restored, but still retains a wonderful color. Why? Because, instead of regular paint, they used the grindings of precious and semi-precious stones to prepare the pigments. Still vibrant after 200+ years. We went into the inner sanctum (but were not allowed to take pictures) with gold and silver paint on the walls, solid silver and gold thrones, and marvelous cloaks and distinctive dress on display.

The Maharajah had a keen interest in science, astronomy and astrology. He built an observatory with the largest sundial in the world (accurate to 2 seconds) and many other larger than life instruments for astrological research. I didn’t follow all the science (I had gotten somewhat confused even at Greenwich) and had a harder time with the accent of our scientific guide.

Back to the hotel for a little birthday celebration for Martha on our tour, then Ann and I went “Peacock hunting”. The peacocks were somewhat shy, but we took pictures of a few.

Dinner on our own. I would have liked to go out, but Ann didn’t want to chance a problem with her stomach. Also, one of the other couples e had met, Sal and Edie, had had a little problem as well, so we decided to stay at the hotel and eat at the “fine” restaurant. We had 7 altogether, as we also were with Sal & Edie’s good friends, Ed and Fran, and we invited Ritu to be our guest. As the native speaker, Ritu basically ordered for us and we all shared. We had chicken, mutton, veggies and prawns and dal. The prawns were supposed to be “spicy”, but it really wasn’t much. [Sorry Harry, too many people asked about the food] Ritu spoke of her childhood in the Himalayas, and how her family’s lives have changed over the years. It was fascinating to hear her perspectives. When the bill came, there was a 3% service tax, 2 types of education tax, 14% VAT on food, 15% VAT on beverages and an additional 20% VAT on alcohol. Is this what we are coming to???