We woke up earlier today and enjoyed the complementary breakfast before checking out and calling an auto. The auto took a while to arrive and we sat out front as we waited. When it came, he took us first to the Hawa Mahal, the palace of the winds, located right downtown in the old city. We used our composite tickets we had bought yesterday and got in without having to pay any extra, bonus! We climbed all the stories to the very top where we got a panoramic view of the old city Jaipur and the surrounding areas. We saw the bustling market and streets below, the instruments of Jantar Mantar off in the distance, framed by the craggy hills and the crumbling fort walls. Boxy buildings could be seen miles in each direction.
When we tore ourselves from the view, our driver took us to the Amber Fort. From below, across the lake, it looked absolutely stunning and picturesque. After climbing what seemed like an endless amount of stairs, we reached the fort and set out to explore its web of passageways, rooms, and courtyards. We got lost in the tiny hallways and stairwells and tried to imagine what life would have been like when the royal family lived there and when old Jaipur was at its height. From the fort, we looked out over the lake and the beautiful garden in the middle. The old fort walls off in the distance and the blue buildings in between the granite cliffs. After trying to explore all that we could, we met back up with our driver to head back to the hostel.
The drive took about an hour as we took the twists and the turns through many back roads and neighborhoods. It was cool to see so much of the city and to get a better grasp on the ordinary life we saw from behind the main streets. In the short time we’ve been here, I feel like I’ve already been able to get a good grasp of the place. We ate leftovers for lunch in the hostel kitchen and relaxed for only a few minutes before speeding off again to meet Alex and her mom at the city market to go shopping. We had planned on them picking us up, but after they changed their plans ten times we ended up getting an auto right back to where we had just been, by the Hawa Mahal, but it was okay because we got to see more of the city.
We spent the afternoon navigating our way down crowded lanes, tightly pushing past people and dodging those trying to throw their products in our faces. We stopped in numerous stalls as shopkeepers threw item after item at us until we chose one we like. Once you started it was difficult to escape without buying anything. My bargaining skills increased exponentially as I began to make the process more of a game and would be steadfast in not compromising. If I couldn’t get my price, or at least close to I'd walk, only to have them running after me offering me a better deal. Eventually, it was the one I wanted or at least close enough I would compromise. I got two pars of pants for Rs 450 total, down from Rs 550 per pair, a skirt for Rs 250, down from Rs 1000, a fixed price item for less, and a set of 12 henna cones for only Rs 100. I bought so much stuff in the whirlwind, realizing how many gifts I needed and having so much fun in the process. After two hours, our feet had started hurting and we were getting tired. We made our way back through the maze to where we started.
Ashok, the Eterno’s driver/guide, picked us up and took us around town, stopping at two restaurants before we settled on a third. A grill was situated out front and the delicious smell of tandoori chicken wafted through the air. We sat on the rooftop enjoying the cool evening air and the pleasant atmosphere. I ordered chicken tikka (boneless tandoori chicken) and most everyone else also ordered something from the grill. The food was incredible! This was the first time I’ve had chicken like this in India, as it is a much more northern style of dish that is hard to find in the south. The spices were spicy but in just the right proportion and the chicken was extremely flavorful and succulent. Alexandra’s mom was kind enough to treat us to dinner again and as we were paying, a man with puppets approached our table and began a show with his marionette dolls. He started with a dancing lady before breaking out the Kama Sutra puppet for the most inappropriate but eye-wateringly funny act. By the end we were all crying from laughing so hard, but simultaneously glad it was over.
We caught a rickshaw from outside the restaurant and headed back to the hostel to relax for a bit before our late night train to Jodhpur. The British girls still had their room and were kind enough to let us shower in there before we left. My hair only took seconds to dry when I was done, from the heat in the air. We hung out with the hostel staff until our cab was supposed to pick us up for the train station. When it was 30 minutes late and there were less than 30 minutes until our train, Manish helped us to get an auto by waking up a sleeping driver alongside the road and pestering him to take us. Luckily we finally gave in and we arrived on time, though it was getting a little close. But our train even ended up being slightly delayed as it was coming all the way from Delhi. We struggled to figure out where on the platform to stand so that we could get in the right car. This train we had to book 2AC (a higher class) because 3AC was sold out by the time we booked our tickets and Abby even had to get 1AC. We walked from one end of the platform to the other, asking people along the way. The platform seemed endless and once we had made it all the way down a nice man told us it was back where we had come from. We started back down the tracks, starting to get slightly frustrated. The train started pulling in to the station and we thought we saw our car at the front so we turned around once more, and started walking as fast as we could to catch up with the train. Tired, we finally made it, only to then have a guard tell us it was ten cars from the rear. By that point panic started setting in, worrying that we wouldn’t make it on the train. The trains don't stop for long and we'd already wasted a lot of time. With all our luggage we started running down the platform, accidentally pushing people out of the way. I worried the train would start rolling and we'd have to jump on the moving train into a random car and wait for the next stop, but finally, we made it and as soon as we climbed aboard, the train lurched forward. Breathing a sigh of relief, while also trying to catch my breath, I started hunting for clean sheets to make my bed and lay down for some rest.
When we tore ourselves from the view, our driver took us to the Amber Fort. From below, across the lake, it looked absolutely stunning and picturesque. After climbing what seemed like an endless amount of stairs, we reached the fort and set out to explore its web of passageways, rooms, and courtyards. We got lost in the tiny hallways and stairwells and tried to imagine what life would have been like when the royal family lived there and when old Jaipur was at its height. From the fort, we looked out over the lake and the beautiful garden in the middle. The old fort walls off in the distance and the blue buildings in between the granite cliffs. After trying to explore all that we could, we met back up with our driver to head back to the hostel.
The drive took about an hour as we took the twists and the turns through many back roads and neighborhoods. It was cool to see so much of the city and to get a better grasp on the ordinary life we saw from behind the main streets. In the short time we’ve been here, I feel like I’ve already been able to get a good grasp of the place. We ate leftovers for lunch in the hostel kitchen and relaxed for only a few minutes before speeding off again to meet Alex and her mom at the city market to go shopping. We had planned on them picking us up, but after they changed their plans ten times we ended up getting an auto right back to where we had just been, by the Hawa Mahal, but it was okay because we got to see more of the city.
We spent the afternoon navigating our way down crowded lanes, tightly pushing past people and dodging those trying to throw their products in our faces. We stopped in numerous stalls as shopkeepers threw item after item at us until we chose one we like. Once you started it was difficult to escape without buying anything. My bargaining skills increased exponentially as I began to make the process more of a game and would be steadfast in not compromising. If I couldn’t get my price, or at least close to I'd walk, only to have them running after me offering me a better deal. Eventually, it was the one I wanted or at least close enough I would compromise. I got two pars of pants for Rs 450 total, down from Rs 550 per pair, a skirt for Rs 250, down from Rs 1000, a fixed price item for less, and a set of 12 henna cones for only Rs 100. I bought so much stuff in the whirlwind, realizing how many gifts I needed and having so much fun in the process. After two hours, our feet had started hurting and we were getting tired. We made our way back through the maze to where we started.
Ashok, the Eterno’s driver/guide, picked us up and took us around town, stopping at two restaurants before we settled on a third. A grill was situated out front and the delicious smell of tandoori chicken wafted through the air. We sat on the rooftop enjoying the cool evening air and the pleasant atmosphere. I ordered chicken tikka (boneless tandoori chicken) and most everyone else also ordered something from the grill. The food was incredible! This was the first time I’ve had chicken like this in India, as it is a much more northern style of dish that is hard to find in the south. The spices were spicy but in just the right proportion and the chicken was extremely flavorful and succulent. Alexandra’s mom was kind enough to treat us to dinner again and as we were paying, a man with puppets approached our table and began a show with his marionette dolls. He started with a dancing lady before breaking out the Kama Sutra puppet for the most inappropriate but eye-wateringly funny act. By the end we were all crying from laughing so hard, but simultaneously glad it was over.
We caught a rickshaw from outside the restaurant and headed back to the hostel to relax for a bit before our late night train to Jodhpur. The British girls still had their room and were kind enough to let us shower in there before we left. My hair only took seconds to dry when I was done, from the heat in the air. We hung out with the hostel staff until our cab was supposed to pick us up for the train station. When it was 30 minutes late and there were less than 30 minutes until our train, Manish helped us to get an auto by waking up a sleeping driver alongside the road and pestering him to take us. Luckily we finally gave in and we arrived on time, though it was getting a little close. But our train even ended up being slightly delayed as it was coming all the way from Delhi. We struggled to figure out where on the platform to stand so that we could get in the right car. This train we had to book 2AC (a higher class) because 3AC was sold out by the time we booked our tickets and Abby even had to get 1AC. We walked from one end of the platform to the other, asking people along the way. The platform seemed endless and once we had made it all the way down a nice man told us it was back where we had come from. We started back down the tracks, starting to get slightly frustrated. The train started pulling in to the station and we thought we saw our car at the front so we turned around once more, and started walking as fast as we could to catch up with the train. Tired, we finally made it, only to then have a guard tell us it was ten cars from the rear. By that point panic started setting in, worrying that we wouldn’t make it on the train. The trains don't stop for long and we'd already wasted a lot of time. With all our luggage we started running down the platform, accidentally pushing people out of the way. I worried the train would start rolling and we'd have to jump on the moving train into a random car and wait for the next stop, but finally, we made it and as soon as we climbed aboard, the train lurched forward. Breathing a sigh of relief, while also trying to catch my breath, I started hunting for clean sheets to make my bed and lay down for some rest.