SOUTH ASIA BLOG October 14th, 2024 - JAIPUR

 

10/14/24– I wake up to Sharece typing away on her phone. Apparently, she found a new hotel for us to move to in Jaipur, as this one obviously is not ideal. I take a quick look, trust her judgment and book it without thinking twice. We’re on vacation, we need the stuff!

We check out of our hotel around 11:30am, much to the confusion of the hotel staff who are wondering why. We tell them our plans changed and leave it at that. Then we book an Uber to take us the fifteen minutes to The Fern Residency Hotel. Just looking at the lobby makes us very happy with the choice, and luckily they have our room ready.

Man oh man, what a difference as we’re on the top floor with a gorgeous view of the city. There’s a rooftop bar, a pool and the place looks like a castle from the outside. Sharece did an excellent job.

After spending only about ten minutes putting our stuff away, we are eager to get the day started. First is food, and seeing that we are in India we opt for something familiar… Burger King. Hey, it’s just down the road- sue me.

We get to the mall entrance and have to walk through a metal detector to start. Weird but okay. Then we get to Burger King and I’m confused with the menu as the burgers state Veg (which I’m assuming is Vegetarian) and No Veg. The credit card machine is not working so the worker assists, charges our card an extra couple dollars for sundae’s we didn’t order (not a big deal) only to find out that No Veg means chicken. What! Where’s the BEEF!

Researching, we come to find that India (with their mostly Hindu population) doesn’t serve beef as it’s against their religion. Well, someone could’ve put that on the Visa label when we entered the country. They bring our Veg burgers and of course it’s spicy. I ask for a non-spicy kind and they say everything is spicy. Ugh, just give me some chicken nuggets and we’ll be on our way.

Finally, we’re off to the City Palace. Our Uber, for whatever reason, takes the long route through the narrow market streets turning a ten minute ride to almost thirty. The chaos outside is absolutely crazy with bikes, mopeds, cars, busses, rickshaws and people crowding the streets as blaring horns ring out constantly. Out of nowhere, two large elephants cross through traffic like it was nothing. A truly unique experience. 

Once there, we’re in awe over the pink palace of the Hawa Mahal. Built in 1799. Its built almost entirely of red and pink sandstone with many small windows throughout. It’s tough fighting the vast amount of people and the sun to take a photo, but we manage. Did I mention there are people everywhere here? 

Tickets to get in are GooglePay or cash only, but there’s an ATM around the corner. Still doesn’t take my CapitalOne bank card but my Bank of America works just fine. With Indian cash now in hand, we pay for our tickets and walk around the grounds. The Palace consists of four levels, each with its own small courtyard space and view. An interesting introduction to the world of India.

Next, we walk toward the City Palace. The buildings trap you like a maze and our internet and GPS don’t seem to work for whatever reason, so we do our best to maneuver without asking for help (as that would encourage the people trying to get our services for a guide). Somehow, we stumble into the ticket counter and low-and-behold they take credit card.

Walking through the gate, we see a wide open courtyard showing off the palace grounds and architecture. There’s a mini museum in the middle building with elaborate clothing attire throughout each room and a gallery of artist selling their work in the front building. 

To the side, there’s another gate that leads to an open area where the palace guides quickly line up to have their photo taken for us. They offer for us to be in the picture and we decline.

The last place on our list is the Jantar Mantar, which is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments built in 1734, and features the world’s largest sundial. Not much to the area as it feels like a park, but the a/c in the souvenir shop is well worth the price of admission.

With the day now complete, we call a Uber and wait by a busy intersection for it to arrive. Ten minutes turns to twenty as we dodge people, vehicles and a handy man, but we get the whole “just walk across the street and cars will stop” thing down. Key is to keep walking forward.