Jaipur: Amber fort

It was with great pleasure that the four intrepid travelers got off the train (after 25 hours!) and into the larger and hotter wilds of greater Jaipur.

Some might remember that Jo and I spent the first summer after we got married here in Jaipur, and some might also remember that for various reasons this was not the honeymoon of our married lives (go back 4 years, yes 4, in the blog for a recap of highlights and lowlights). As a result, coming back to Jaipur was an interesting nostalgic experience.

We took (or tried to, more in a later post on how a religious holiday foiled our plans but provided for new experiences) Dave and Gail to see some of our favorite sites, including Amber (pronounced Amer) fort.



Going to tourist sites in India is always an experience, not just for seeing the historic site, but also for the circus of touts that descend upon those predictable tourists.

Here's Dave, Gail, a cobra and a boa are being mesmerized by those snake charmers (at least Dave and Gail weren't coerced into wearing turbans like the tourists who came after us) ((what is missed in this photo is the argument that ensued as the snake charmers were not happy with how much money we gave them after the picture and kept following the car, unfortunately not blowing their flutes....)



To say it is warm in Jaipur, even in March, would be an understatement.
While at the fort we were like ninjas, darting back and forth between the shady points, where with the wind blowing we were basically in heaven...

Here's, Dave and Gail enjoy a cool break in the painted shade


The fort is a fairly short hike up. While we did the hike up the hot stone steps, many opted for a scenic ride atop a painted elephant. These elephants after their working day at the fort were walked into town to the Elephant festival which we attended later that day (more later on that)

Painted Elephant



While traipsing through the fort, we came across an impressive structure, seen through the stone screen lattice. Now, when I was in Ajanta/Ellora with SaraH several weeks ago, we stumbled across a similar structure high up in a tree. "Oh they're totally bees", SaraH said..."No way, they're not bees" says I...

They're bees....millions of them.


Close up of bees


After our trip to Amber fort we went to visit the nearby Anokhi museum. Anokhi, along with Fab India, is one of the principal Indian clothing companies frequented by Westerners, and also one of the forces behind the resurgence of block printing (basically a process where a carved wooden block is used to print a repetitive design on fabric).
Anokhi Museum


The museum is absolutely amazing on numerous levels, and if I'm ever in Jaipur again, I would totally love to spend a day or two in the museum taking a little class on how to make the blocks and create the block prints. The museum is also housed in the most amazing restored Haveli (old mansion-more on these in the next post)

Housed in a beautiful restored Haveli (notice me hiding in the shade)

Train Travails

For someone with even just a cursory knowledge of India's geography, it's likely obvious that the country is immense. In visiting India, whether for the first, third, or umpteenth time, most people like to explore different and disparate places. The reasons are fairly obvious: with such varied geography and culture, one gets to see a different “India” in each region. As those of you who have been following the blog know, we decided to take a trip to Varanasi. From here, we headed West to Rajasthan to see a bit of desert life and scenery. We (namely Jo and I the trip planners) wanted to expose our traveling wards to the culture of train travel. Let's just say we've had easier train trips, but this way they got a pretty real taste of train travel.


Jo and Gail bored to tears 2 hours past the train departure at 1 am


Dave reading a student's dissertation while waiting at 2 am....



Getting to Jaipur from Varanasi should be about 17 hours. Just a nice simple overnight ride. Why did ours take 25? Well, the Jhats, a disadvantaged group have been protesting the government, and shut down many of the rail lines. As a result we all got to spend some very quality time together in the train!




Personally, when the trains run on time, I love traveling by train. If you're an obsessive doctoral candidate, you can get work done.



Or maybe a bit of relaxing, watching the scenery and daily life fly by...






or when you're held us for several hours you can just play banjo between the train cars with the doors open, letting the wind blow and living out some hobo fantasy....




Lesson learned....train travel can be a great way to see the country if you have some time...and lots of patience.