Hello Everyone!
Today we traveled from New Delhi to Jaipur. The bus ride was significantly smoother than the roads we have been on previously. Apparently the triangle between New Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra are extremely smooth and very similar to our highways in the US because it is such a touristy route. Also almost all the buses say “TOURIST” in big letters, so its VERY hard to spot, especially since we are Giant AC buses… On the bus ride I caught up on some much needed sleep in the morning and then enjoyed chatting and playing various camp style word games like “Picnic”, “Umbrella Planet”, “Glass Door” and more.
When we arrived in Jaipur I was flabbergast at how HOT Jaipur actually is. I honestly felt like the air I was breathing was fire on my throat and in my lungs. I guess that’s May in Rajasthan for you, and the reason that its the off season, because nobody else wants to bear this heat…I can’t say I can blame them. At the Jas Vilas Hotel, I’m pretty sure we had the best lunch yet, which is saying a lot since we’ve had very good food. The Indian food was amazing. Thankfully by the time we got to our rooms there was AC which felt very refreshing after the heat outside and in the restaurant that mostly had fans circulating the air.
If you’ve ever heard anything about Jaipur, you’ve probably heard it referred to as The Pink City. In reality the old city isn’t really a pink, but more a peachy-red color. The story of the color of Jaipur comes from Maharaja Ram Singh of Jaipur painting the whole city pink as a welcome to the upcoming guest presence of the Prince Wales and Queen Victoria on a India tour back in 1876. In the late afternoon we left the hotel and headed into the city to enjoy some street shopping. Its very interesting how much the atmosphere around street shopping changes so drastically city to city and the degree to which the quoted price of essentially the same goods change amazes me. Luckily, by now most of us have gotten significantly more comfortable with understanding the relative value of goods and knowing when its better to just walk away (which generally results in shop owners becoming suddenly willing to sell at your price).
Later we went to the Jantar Mntar, Jaipur’s observatory, for a showing consisting of music and a history of music and how sundials originated and various instruments in the observatory came to be in Jaipur. After the observatory showing we had a late dinner (~9/9:30-10:30pm) at a local play that had some performers who played musical instruments, did traditional Indian dancing, and did dances while balancing multiple flaming pots on their heads. When we got back to our hotel, which apparently we are the only guests because its the off season, we decided to go for a swim which was really refreshing. With the moonlight shining, a calm breeze, and an occasional bat flapping around us, it was a great way to cool off after our first day in Jaipur.
What a neat way to end the night! I never knew why it was called the Pink City -- thanks for the information!
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