Claire and Morten Travel Blog in India 2012: 01/04/2012

We ordered breakfast for 8:15 this morning last night while sitting in the garden. So we got up an hour before that at 7:15 this morning, showered and then went for breakfast. The breakfast wasn't particularly great but it would keep us going for the day.
At 8:45 our rickshaw driver from last night picked us up on time and we where on our way. First off was the Hawa Mahal, the Palace of Winds, which was very impressive - and we did the audio-guide thing there, which wasn't bad. The Maharajas sure knew how to have fun with all their subjects (women) there in the old days ;-)
Next off was the City Palace, which was pricey to see when also including the audio-tour again, but worth it given that there were so many sections to see, including an artists area, armory etc.
Then we walked across to the Jantar Manter, the observatory, where we had a look at all the sundials to determine time of day, date etc. It was a very impressive and nicely kept sight - one that we'd definitely recommend.
As we had agreed to be picked up after 3 hours with the driver we still had more than an hour left on the clock by then just before 12:00 so we decided to find a restaurant and have something to eat in order to keep us going until night. So while walking along the streets of the Old City next to the palace, we found a nice little place Gokul Snacks where I had a Samosa Chhola and a Chowmeing - and Claire had a Dosa with Sambhar. Including drinks it came to Rs.209,-, which was very little - but the Samosa was the best one we have EVER tasted - it was brilliant and I must look up the recipe for when I get back home to Ireland.
Afterwards we still had 15 minutes to spare and we spotted the Iswari Minar Swarga Kendra tower so after spending about 10 minutes trying to find the entrance while I texted our driver to tell him we were going to be late, we finally found the back alley from where you could enter the tower. There we found a nice old man who took us on a guided tour while walking all the way up to the top of the 42 meter tower - there were plenty of little holes that you could look out on the way up and he stopped us at those that had a nice view of a temple, a fort etc - most on the surrounding hill ranges of Jaipur. When we finally got to the top he sat down with us and pointed at buildings and monuments across the city while explaining it all - in the end he took a bunch of pictures of us from different angles and heights and we ended up tipping him an Rs.50,- for he good work.
Then it was time for us to leave and return back to our driver who was indeed waiting for us and looking a bit apprehensive until he spotted us - but never mind, best keep them on their toes ;-)
We then drove off to the Royal Albert Hall and surrounding park where we also visited the inside museum, which held an impressive collection of weapons, old ceramics, figures, loads of pictures painted on the walls etc. We spent a good hour there before returning to the rickshaw.
Our final stop was the Royal Gaitor, which consists on a bunch of tombs laid for a few Maharajas over times. There were hardly any people there, which surprised us a lot given the impressive marble domes and buildings there - and it was QUIET and tranquil indeed - definitely well worth a 1 hour trot and some relaxation while gazing across the monuments and hill next to them.
Then he returned us back to the hotel at 15:30 and we agreed to have him bring us to see the three Forts of Jaipur and to bring us to sunset point in the evening. So early rise again in the morning with a looong day ahead. But hey, noone ever said that tourism was easy ;-)
We relaxed for a bit before going for a trot, after considerable negotiation on the food front - and I obviously had Claire have her were, down to PizzaHut, about a 20 minute walk away from here. However, on the way we spotted a dress maker and I suddenly remembered that my H2O sandy-coloured long shorts were falling apart with big holes forming and I had been considering getting them repaired (yeah, I'm a tight arse ;-) So we went in to inquire on price for repairs and asked them how long it would take - in the end one of the young shop keepers agreed to take me back 2 min down the road with his motor bike. So off we went - I did think he drove a bit funny and it was confirmed when he said: "My friend, sorry for my driving but it is my day off and I have had a few beers!" - you WHAT?!?!!? was my response. So he was drink-driving another person (tourist) and told me while driving - so much for common sense. Anyway, I kind of didn't make a big fuss about it - I was just too surprised and at the same time tired and let him get away with it.
I got back and handed him a bit of money for the petrol for his bike and then delivered the shorts to the guy. Then we trotted off again down to PizzaHut and had a couple of thin-crust pizzas and iced-tea/lemon drinks and sat there for about an hour. We walked back and on the way back we picked up the shorts - they were already done - and not only that, but he had spotted a hole at the bottom of them and repaired that too. While knowing that he was probably charging us double the local rate we happily handed him Rs.120,- (€2) and were on our way back to the hotel again.
There we just relaxed for about 1 1/2 hours before going to sleep.

The Hawa Mahal in all its glory

Very colourful play of light from the windows and onto the floor inside the Hawa Mahal

The City - the Mubarak Mahal (Welcome Palace)

The Diwan-i-Khas, Gallery with two big Silver Jars

Guinness book of records material - two silver jars, each allegedly constructed from 14.000 silver coins

This is one of the four big doorways inside the palace

Jantar Mantar - The Observatory's main sundial

Various sundials

This is used in relation to the picture below to calculate the offset time

This sundial showed 11:25 but we add 31 minutes (see picture above) to this and get 11:56 - exactly what my Internet-NTP synchronised smartphone said ;-)