It was great and refreshing start for 2013 with our trip to Rajasthan . I had planned for this for a while, given the good Incredible India ads showing a colourful view of Rajasthan. Though I had originally wanted to cover Jaipur, Udaipur and Jodhpur only, my curiosity to walk over the deserts with a sunset backdrop, which was the first thing which comes to my mind when i think of Rajasthan, helped extend our tour plan to include Bikaner and Jaisalmer as well.
It was 14th Jan, the day of Pongal, post which we took the afternoon flight and reached Jaipur by 7 PM. Had hired an Innova for the entire tour, our cab driver picked us promptly from airport to our hotel Moon Light Palace. The rooms were cosy, colourful and comfortable. The temperature outside was quite cold < 10 degrees, and we had good nights sleep.
15th Jan - Day 1 - Jaipur Site Seeing
We were quite eager to jump out and explore and started by 8 AM.
We started with Amber fort, built by Raja Man Singh in 1592 AD. This is also called as Amer fort. With Marble and red stone carvings all around it was great feast to our eyes. There is an option to go on Elephant back to the palace from the main entrance, however we chose to reach by our car.
The wall colours used as we understood from our guide, where all natural vegetable coloured dyes. And you can get plenty of those natual coloured printed sarees quite near to the palace.
Sheesh Mahal - Mahal of glasses was a visual treat, however you are allowed to take pictures from outside ony. You also get to see the huge vessels used to make food for the royal family.
Just adjacent to the Amer fort is the Jaigarh fort perched strongly on the Aravali Hills. This houses Jai vana, worlds largest canon on wheels. Built by Maharaja Jai Singh, this was test fired only once and never got an real life opportunity against any enemy.
On our way out we bought nice hand dye printed sarees and beautiful local paintings, which really cost a lot in Chennai.
It had taken us around 4 hours for covering these 2 forts and it was already 2 PM, we had planned to cover City Palace and Jantar Mantar for the 2nd half of the day. On our way we covered Jal Mahal.
Post a late lunch we entered City palace by 4 PM. The maharaja still resides in this beautiful palace. Contrary to what we had read about the bravery of Rajput rulers, it was awful to understand that the palace was coloured pink in honour of prince of Wales. Which apparently as got extended as a theme for the whole of city and hence the name of Pink City. It was sorry tale to hear that Raja had helped crush the Indian Sepoy mutiny along with British army. In fact it had been no different in the past where Rajput rulers have been the supporting force of Mughal rulers in extending their territories. Some of Rajput girls have been married to Mughal rulers, which also reflects in the structural aspects of these palaces, which carry both Indian and Persian architectures.
History apart this palace is still a wonder and am sharing few of those wonderful snaps.
We were really tired at the end and decided to skip Jantar mantar. On our way back home we bought beautiful bangles (Jaipur is quite famous for its gems and jewels), which generally cost 4 to 5 times in Chennai or other Indian cities for that matter.
After some relaxation we had a one of our memorable dinners, with some authentic Rajasthani meals. We had Dal, Bati and Choorma, Ghevar along with some great gravies and soft, succulent parathas. Ghevar is a must try if you visit Jaipur !
It was 14th Jan, the day of Pongal, post which we took the afternoon flight and reached Jaipur by 7 PM. Had hired an Innova for the entire tour, our cab driver picked us promptly from airport to our hotel Moon Light Palace. The rooms were cosy, colourful and comfortable. The temperature outside was quite cold < 10 degrees, and we had good nights sleep.
15th Jan - Day 1 - Jaipur Site Seeing
We were quite eager to jump out and explore and started by 8 AM.
The wall colours used as we understood from our guide, where all natural vegetable coloured dyes. And you can get plenty of those natual coloured printed sarees quite near to the palace.
Sheesh Mahal - Mahal of glasses was a visual treat, however you are allowed to take pictures from outside ony. You also get to see the huge vessels used to make food for the royal family.
Just adjacent to the Amer fort is the Jaigarh fort perched strongly on the Aravali Hills. This houses Jai vana, worlds largest canon on wheels. Built by Maharaja Jai Singh, this was test fired only once and never got an real life opportunity against any enemy.
View of Amer fort from Jaigarh.
On our way out we bought nice hand dye printed sarees and beautiful local paintings, which really cost a lot in Chennai.
It had taken us around 4 hours for covering these 2 forts and it was already 2 PM, we had planned to cover City Palace and Jantar Mantar for the 2nd half of the day. On our way we covered Jal Mahal.
Post a late lunch we entered City palace by 4 PM. The maharaja still resides in this beautiful palace. Contrary to what we had read about the bravery of Rajput rulers, it was awful to understand that the palace was coloured pink in honour of prince of Wales. Which apparently as got extended as a theme for the whole of city and hence the name of Pink City. It was sorry tale to hear that Raja had helped crush the Indian Sepoy mutiny along with British army. In fact it had been no different in the past where Rajput rulers have been the supporting force of Mughal rulers in extending their territories. Some of Rajput girls have been married to Mughal rulers, which also reflects in the structural aspects of these palaces, which carry both Indian and Persian architectures.
History apart this palace is still a wonder and am sharing few of those wonderful snaps.
We were really tired at the end and decided to skip Jantar mantar. On our way back home we bought beautiful bangles (Jaipur is quite famous for its gems and jewels), which generally cost 4 to 5 times in Chennai or other Indian cities for that matter.
After some relaxation we had a one of our memorable dinners, with some authentic Rajasthani meals. We had Dal, Bati and Choorma, Ghevar along with some great gravies and soft, succulent parathas. Ghevar is a must try if you visit Jaipur !
