Off To Jaipur

Sunrise at the Taj Mahal was followed by breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast buffets so far have been absolutely wonderful. Lots of fresh fruit, cereals, choices of milk, a hot breakfast menu with eggs, waffles, pancakes, and of course for the adventurous with the iron stomach, Indian dishes.

An optional excursion to a textile and marble mosaic place was offered after breakfast. I passed. I needed a respite from the heat of the last few days. Bob, the hot weather lover, decided to join the small group going. He said it was very interesting, especially the marble mosaics. They were extremely intricate as you can see in the picture of the little piece held in his hand. Somehow they were cutting them on some sort of wheel and then another person would set them into the design. 

Of course once they saw how everything was made, the shopping opportunity came. He would have loved to buy a little something, at least in the room where things were less expensive, but we had a domestic flight in a few days that had a weight limit for our luggage and we were already dangerously close to the limit. Now that's one way to keep from bringing home too many souvenirs.

Bags were outside the door around noon and we went down to lunch. Soon after, we collected our backpacks and joined our bus group for the trip to Jaipur. Now it's hard to take pictures from a moving bus through slightly tinted windows but when we slowed a bit by a garden, I had to try. There beside some trees were the usual three monkeys you see--hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. But, there was on more. He was sitting with a cell phone in hand, scratching his head.

We passed several fruit stands on carts and we began to see more cows wandering--even on the highway! On the city streets, they tend to blend in but on the road, look out! You don't want to hit them. I think it has something to do with eternal damnation, or at least a huge fine. The cow represents Mother Earth and it is a source of goodness as its milk nourishes all creatures. We saw people feeding cows from their hands. Since they are sacred and a source of prosperity which I believe falls on you if you feed them. It also keeps them more nourished than rifling through the abundant trash piles for something to eat. The prosperity might befall those who sell the food to feed the cows.

Four hours or so of bone chilling traffic maneuvers with Honey expertly evading any potential collisions. Some of the trip was spent on an expressway of sorts but not as much it seemed as the day before. Lots of farmland once out of the crowded city but we realized that this drive and the one to Agra did not pass many homes. Where did the people who worked the fields come from? That was a question for another day.

Jaipur was much the same as Agra and New Delhi. Lots of traffic. Lots of people. Lots of shops, many on wheels. We passed a crowded market that extended for as far as you could see down one side road. A really nice looking building housed a secondary school but then we entered an area of makeshift shelters and run down buildings. To my surprise, our guide said we had arrived. Huh?

As the bus turned, I saw a nice red gate with a security officer who stopped us and checked out the underside of the bus with a mirrored stick before opening the gate to let us in. What was behind that gate was another beautiful Oberoi hotel. I've decided that I will dedicate a special post to our hotel experiences later. They were fantastic.

We had just about enough time to find our rooms and shower and dress for dinner. The hotel in Jaipur is a compound with lots of walkways and clusters of rooms like mini cul de sacs. When an attendant showed us to ours he said we were way on the end but right across from our special dinner evening.

Our dinner evening began at 7:30. Forgive me for sounding old and crotchety but I knew we wouldn't eat until 9. I groaned a bit but then we were whisked into a reception room where i got to choose from a colorful collection of large scarves and Bob was seated in a chair and a young man began to skillfully wrap a long stiff scarf around his head to form what I believe is called a pagri, or Indian turban. All the men sported those and the women, beautiful scarves. 

When we were seated, the entertainment began. Four young ladies in bright dress with flaming pots balanced on top of their heads began to twirl and twist to the music of the trio of men seated behind them. Later one lady would return and dance with three pots, then five pots and finally a sixth pot added. 

When the entertainment was done, I glanced at the time. Almost nine. Thankfully there were a lot of good choices on the buffet and I didn't need to eat anything spicey. The best part was a flat bread that was baked over on open fire off in the corner of the large outdoor patio. As the woman baking the bread finished several pieces, they would be brought to the table and offered to us. So good! 

The desserts here have been really good as well and going through the buffet, I asked about a bowl of what looked like small plums floating in a honey sauce. The server said it was a special Indian sweet, a type of cottage cheese wrapped in a sweet coating and with a honey sauce. At least I was right about the sauce. It was very delicious as was the brownie I took as I patted myself on the back for not taking the chocolate cake as well.

Do I need to mention that we were exhausted as we returned to our room? It had been a long day starting with sunrise. The next morning was not as early a call but it would be started before the heat of the day closed in. Jaipur is called the Pink City. I was curious to know what that meant.