India Day 6: Jaipur & Jodhpur

Woke up first thing, got on an Uber to the Amer/Amber Fort/Palace about 11km out of Jaipur. And it was worth it! With hardly any other tourists there we were free to meander at our pace and soak in the place.

The fort/palace has large ramparts and a series of gates and cobbled paths, overlooking a lake. Built of red sandstone and marble, it's laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard. It featured the Diwan-i-Aam, or "Hall of Public Audience", the Diwan-i-Khas, or "Hall of Private Audience", the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace), or Jai Mandir, and the Sukh Niwas where a cool climate is artificially created by winds that blow over a water cascade within the palace. Sadly the ancient air-conditioning system was no longer operational, but it was cool to see how they figured out a solution to the blistering summer heat back then. The Sheesh Mahal was quite something. Foil mosaic covering the walls and ceilings must have made the place glitter like diamonds with candle light at night. What mesmerised me was that there were parts where it seemed that there was another layer of "mirrors" behind the surface of the ceiling. I couldn't tell for sure. Pictured is the entrance to the palace/royal residence, the facade of which is giddy with mosaic tile work. I think in a way this design sense represents the Indian psyche: to work in as much complexity as possible on a simple facede. Pictured above the entrance is Ganesha, the Remover of Obstacles.

On the way back down, an elephant carrying tourists up (we DIDN'T take one of those) pooped right in front of me...looked very clean...

Rushed back to our hotel, looking at the sights of Jaipur city through the car window, packed up, checked out and dashed to the Jaipur Junction Railway Station. At this point, Bob and I have got the Indian railway experience down. While waiting for the train, I couldn't help noticing the elderly men working as porters. There weren't any young ones. Not that that mattered. I felt conflicted, they need the money so they work but this is hard labour at their age; is it really that difficult to carry your own luggage, if you can pack it, you can carry it, or wheel it. A family of three passed by with their luggage balanced on the porter's head, the wife carrying an expensive looking handbag big enough for her daughter to sit in. India, embracing a bright new future with a chokehold on the past.

The long train ride to Jodhpur was uneventful. Food we ordered yesterday appeared (very pleased), kept up with my reading, updated family and friends while Bob read read Harry Potter off of my iPad. I felt sorry for him during the last train ride, and got all the books downloaded for him.

Jodhpur was electric when we got there at about 7pm. We settled in at our guesthouse and went out to dinner after washing up. And the hunt for cash was back on! We casually looked at the wares sold here in the Blue City before heading out to look for ATMs. We lucked out again, didn't have to hunt long at all, but the queue here was less pleasant than in Jaipur. The men were pretty decent when women came up to withdraw money, giving them space and priority. I didn't see any monkey business at all; half expecting to witness personally the misogyny or sexual harassment all too common with India to some degree. There was so much respect, that men would give their cards and PIN numbers to women, who are let through to the line. A Belgian father-daughter couple took advantage of that. We had a quick chat with them and shared our 'multiple withdraw' secret. Pretty late by then. The Blue City has gone to sleep.