Jaipur: Pretty in Pink

On the train journey from Agra to Jaipur, with time to absorb the beauty of the surroundings, in an environment blissfully free of touts and without the fear of our bags being stolen or the intense and uncomfortable staring, we realised that the adverts from the tourist board proclaiming 'Incredible India' have a point. Rural Rajhastan is as flat as a pancake for the most part and very dry with a base of golden crops sprinkled with green trees dotting the patchwork. Out of the polluted cities, the rural areas are lovely, often punctuated by gaping canyons veering into jetting hills with water buffalo and huge grey birds frolicking in the lakes at their foot. It was nice to see Indians on the train - in particular the families - joking, relaxed and laughing together. The children offered to share food with us and we joined in their feast of the best vegetable curry and chapatis we may ever possibly eat. It was lovely to meet such warm and generous people.

When the train arrived in Jaipur, we fought our way through swarms of rickshaw touts and mosquitos - both equally annoying - to check into the Diggi Palace which had been recommended to us. It was a refreshing slice of beauty amongst a modern city (or modern compared to Delhi) and based in a 200 year old Haveli, the traditional buildings were beautifully decorated with colourful friezes and ornate carvings decorating the coving, ceilings and walls. The large gardens were heaven and as we imagined the British colonial grounds in old India - luscious flowers, reclining chairs, mischievous stripy squirrels and tall trees housing chattering monkeys, lending an edge of privacy to the secluded gardens. We fell in love with it as well as noting down some interior design and gardening tips!

We discovered that we had arrived on the tenth and final day of the Rajhastan festival and there were fireworks in the Albert Hall only half a kilometre from the Diggi Palace. We walked there in the evening but the crowds were rowdy, the catcalls and staring intense and we were conscious that we were the only foreigners in sight. A kind teenager came over and warned us that if we were to move further into the crowd then they (the crowd) may become 'abusive' and we could be in danger. Thanking him profusely we battled our way back to the sanctuary of the Diggi Palace and sank down into the comfy chairs on the roof top restaurant, ordered a beer and thanked the Lord Krishna that we hadn't been victim to the celebrations again. Latest we discovered that the Rajhastan officials came under fire for lack of security at the event.

For the next two days we commissioned an auto-rickshaw driver to take us around the sights of Jaipur and as we entered the pink city area we learnt what the fuss is about. It's quite simply all pink (or slightly beige due to the pollution), first painted in the 19th century to welcome Prince Albert and is now painted each year for the Divali celebrations. The markets that line the streets are tremendously busy as merchants sell the popular and native blue pottery, jewelry and textiles. Unfortunately foreigners get too much hassle to wonder around as it is predominantly a locals area however it was fantastic to observe from the rickshaw. Based on the number of near misses, our driver was an exceptionally skilled driver (although of course he could have been just lucky) as bikes, camels and even elephants seemed to advance on us at frightening speed only for us to swerve at the last minute. We were too busy to take in the scene however to worry too much and we let ourselves be driven to the first building - Palace of Winds.

We couldn't help sniggering in Beavis and Butthead style at the name until we learnt the origin - named as such for the cool breezes the palace allows through it's lattice windows to ease the heat for the ladies of the King who hid behind them to avoid being stared at. Beth wished it was only as easy as that in modern day India. Creamy buttermilk merged with creamy chocolate against a backdrop of strawberry milkshake were the colour palette used to coat the honeycombed spires and stone pillars of the wonderfully mystical Palace. Despite the 'bad people' our rickshaw driver had warned us of, we posed for photographs with timid smiling Indian families in the blaze of the midday sun (we're available for Barmitzvers, Christenings, weddings etc) that warmed our backs as the cool breeze soothed our faces.

Our next stop was the ancient observatory which seemed to have been largely built to observe heavenly bodies as far as we could gather from the information boards. We had no idea what it all meant but the architecture was fascinating and despite the midday sun it was wonderful to walk around. The observatory is actually more of a deep orange than pink depending on the time of day and position of the sun.

In the afternoon we visited a textile house to see block printing and we walked out covered in gold glitter, happily clutching a silk bedspread that we didn't need but fell in love with. A jewellery maker was next on our list to observe what Jaipur is truly famous for - the cutting and polishing of gem stones. Amethysts, malacites, turquoise and onyx gleamed invitingly at us and of course Beth left clutching rings and pendants worth over 200GBP in England but only the equivalent of 20GBP in India. Our final stop was to visit a beautiful tomb that a Maharaja built to commemerate his children who had died of malaria. The marble was so intricately carved we could not contemplate the time it had taken to finish even one horse and with the tiger fort on the hill as a backdrop we felt we were seeing some wonderful sights in an amazingly historic city. We spent the evening in the fragrant garden under the stars chomping on curried cottage cheese and watching the peacocks hop and call to one another beneath the bunyan trees.

Our driver (always wanted to say that darhhhling!) took us to the Amber fort some 11km outside the city for our final day in Jaipur. On route we took photos of the lovely Water Palace isolated by a moat and only accessible via boat. The Amber Fort itself gleamed in all its amber sandstone glory as it towered above the Amber settlement. We took an elephant to the top, patting the huge beast who seemed very aware of how majestic it looked with its trunk painted with green and pink colours in contrast to the mottled grey of its body. Our guide to the fort was excellent and made the rooms come alive with stories of the King playing hide and seek with his 12 wives and the winner being rewarded with his body for the night! The wonderful fresco paintings of muted pastel flowers and Ginesh the elephant God have survived over 350 years in almost perfect condition due to application of the natural paint on wet plaster resisting droughts, monsoons and eager visitors hand prints. Further into the fort, the King's bedroom (for presumably when he was too tired to service his demanding wives) had thousands of mirrors set into the ceiling and when a stray ray of sun or even a torch fell onto it, the room came alive as if millions of stars were twinkling down on us.

Certainly Jaipur has been our favourite place in India to date - fascinating when you can observe its wonderful sights from the safety of an auto-rickshaw!