Day 3 (October 19, 2014)   Jaipur: City Palace

Before   


   We’ll leave Delhi by train as early as possible to reach Jaipur with the most of the day to explore it.

   We’ll spend that rest of the day on the center of this pink city.

Jaipur city map

   The spots marked at map are:

 0- Hotel Umaid Mahal
 1- City Palace
 2- Jantar Mantar
 3- Hawa Mahal
 4- Jaipur tain station

After

   We leave the hotel as scheduled, at 4:45 AM, a terrible time if we weren’t sleeping yesterday at 7 PM.

   We’re put in a rickshaw which asks only 60 Rs for taking us, and our three bags, to New Delhi train station. Our train leaves finally from this station and not from Old Delhi’s as marked in the map of the previous page, but New Delhi’s is even closer to the hotel.

   Once in the station we look for our train number in the big screen at the entrance to find out we must go to platform 2. We go upstairs to the bridge which connects all the platforms and got to the end of it, from platform 15 to 2. Downstairs, in the platform itself, we check in the small displays on the roof, our car code to know on which part of this very long platform we’ll have to board. Then, we only have to wait for almost one hour. We’ve got a lot of time because I thought it would be more complicated.

New Delhi train station

   The train comes backwards and our place is at the end of it. The chairs are comfortable and there is a lot of leg room. We can see the privileges of Class 1A. Another privilege is the catering, as they’re continuously offering drinks and food so we get a good breakfast here. We have the curtain down as we’ve found out the landscape outside is not interesting, unless you want to see people defecating.

Ajmer Shatabdi's 1A ClassBreakfast at Ajmer Shatabdi
















   As the train left at its scheduled time, it reaches Jaipur at its time too: 10:20 AM. Somehow, we cannot see our name in any of the papers drivers are showing in our way to the exit, so finally we go to the hotel with the taxi of a young man and we close deal for all our visits for tomorrow by 960 Rs.

   We pay 100 Rs by this trip and reach our fantastic room after checking in and be told our driver was waiting on another exit of the station.

Cow in Jaipur streetOur room in Umaid Mahal Hotel
















   Plan for today is simple and give us a lot of spare time to relax: we must just explore the center of Pink City. When we leave to complete it, a hotel’s taxi driver offers to take us by 150 Rs, but when we’re arriving he persuades Eva to go to a gems factory without changing the rate.

   They show us how the gems are polished and created from stone in a very quick tour and then we’re addressed to the store to show all sort of rings. Our attitude makes him pass to the cheapest rings from the more expensive ones with big diamonds, until he goes to earrings. Eva ends getting one of those by 10€.

   We’re finally taken to City Palace. It’s some minutes past 12 PM and we’re not that good in time. We walk through the colorful gates by rickety streets full of cows.

Gate to Jaipur's City Palace

   We see the ticket booths for Jantar Mantar and go for it as it was one of the planned visits for today. We get our tickets by 200 Rs each and get into this peculiar astronomical observatory.

   On this flat area, looking as a modern art exhibition, stands out the giant sundial which has an accuracy of around 2 seconds.

Jantar Mantar in JaipurJantar Mantar in Jaipur
















   We see 12 similar structures, one per horoscope sign, which pretend to point to its each constellation.

Jantar Mantar in JaipurJantar Mantar in Jaipur
















   After completing this visit we get into the City Palace by purchasing our tickets by 400 Rs each.

   Diverse gates are addressing to diverse courtyards with buildings in the center usually with a lot of arches on them. In one of them, we find two huge urns which are recorded by the Guinness Book as the world’s largest silver vessels.

Jaipur's City PalaceSilver vessel in Jaipur's City Palace
















   Inside the buildings are used for exhibitions of cloths, vehicle, weapons or images of yore and where photos are not allowed. In the Hall of Public Audience I’m requested to remove a picture I did to my wife before knowing they were forbidden.

Jaipur's City PalaceJaipur's City Palace















Jaipur's City PalaceJaipur's City Palace

















   When we leave the Palace we’re quite tired and the heat has a lot to do with it. So we decide to change our walk through bazaars to Jawa Mahal by taking one of the lot of rickshaw offers we’re getting in our way.

   The plan now is stopping in front of the most characteristic landscape in Jaipur to take some pictures and take us to our hotel by 200 Rs.

Jawa MahalDetail of Jawa Mahal
















   The stop is quick and Jawa Mahal is spectacular: a hive of windows built for women in court could peep the live outside the palace walls without being seen.

   It’s time to go to our hotel and lunch by 1120 Rs, although it’s already 4 PM. I’ve ordered spaghetti and Eva Strogonoff chicken, with some starters and desserts. We cannot wait to go to sleep, but I can still get time to try the swimming pool.

Umaid Mahal Hotel's swimming poolUmaid Mahal Hotel
















   The idea is avoiding to get slept before the time. As yesterday, we’re delivered to the bed at 7 PM.