This day will be spent on the visit of the great places in
Jaipur’s outskirts.
We’ll get transport for the entire day in the city.
The main visit, and probably the first one, is to Amber Fort. In our
return trip to Jaipur we can enjoy the view of Jal Mahal, the Palace at
Lake.
The spots marked at map are:
0- Hotel
Umaid Mahal
1- Amber Fort
2- Jal Mahal
3- Royal tombs
4- Galta
After
After a good breakfast we’re ready to be picked up
by the
driver from yesterday, Khan, at 9 AM. We leave the Pink City to Amber
where we’re going to visit its popular fort.
Khan stops by the lake to get some nice pictures of the fort from here.
He will be waiting for us at car park and points us the door we should
appear later but, as we want to do the way up on an elephant ride, he
take us to the right place.
The elephant ride has a fix price: 900 Rs, and we
get
up one of them running away the pressure of vendors. Somehow, we’re not
free of them as they’re still yelling their offers all the way up to
the fort. Saying “no” a hundred times is useless and spoils a little
bit the experience. Anyway, the way up to the fort is spectacular, with
the stone paths between the yellow walls and the views getting better
as we go higher and higher.
Once at the fort we get our tickets by 200 Rs each
and
scape definitively from all vendors by getting in the fort complex.
Buildings recall the ones we saw yesterday at City
Palace:
structures with arches and unequal levels, but here they have a
characteristic look making them different. There are fantastic spots in
the fort.
We're seeking the shadow whenever is possible.
When we’re
feeling the exit is near, some music makes us look for its source. It
is coming from a snake charmer who stops every when and then by closing
the basket where the cobra is.
In a moment he makes signs to the public offering a place at his side
and I go with no second thoughts. I can see here how he plays the flute
until the cobra stops staring at it. In my case, it happened when the
snake turns to look at Eva, who is getting closer for pictures, and
then he sets the cover in front of it and close it in the basket. I can
see how the cobra attacks that cover with its lethal, but now useless,
bite.
We take what we’re pointed as car park exit, but soon we
see the car park is up here and it is not the place our driver is
waiting for us, that is in front of the fort, by the lake, and we’re
now actually behind it. We keep our way down hoping this path turns
somewhere to the lake, but it is strange we’re the only pedestrians
here.
We find the cheapest gift store just when the way gets flat, almost
reaching the town, and then we have a nice walk along the road between
elephants, cows, pigs… but we are the only foreigners around. When we have a while walking and see the road leaving
the town it’s the moment to assume we’ve got lost, so we stop a
rickshaw to take us to the right place by 100 Rs, although it was
already occupied by a young Indian woman who makes us place at her
side.
In our way back to Jaipur Khan tells us Galta is the next visit as it
is closer but, before, we have a short stop in an avenue by the lake,
with good views to Jal Mahal, also known as Water Palace for clear
reasons.
Once in Galta we’re assigned a boy. They tell it is
for our security as monkeys known the local boy and won’t attack and
there is no charge, just tip him at our will. We start our way up and
the heat is making it harder than what it really is. There are monkeys
all around and the boy is explaining us things as if we were there
because of the monkeys.
At the top, the boy points us a small white house and says
that is the monkey temple and propose turning around to come back. It
is then when I tell him we’re not there because of the animals, but the
landscape of the real temple, set in the gorge between two stone walls.
That temple is far down the mountain and, although the way to it
doesn’t seem complicated, we can guess a hard way up back to here, so I
think is that what this boy is trying to avoid for himself. When I say
I'm going and my wife states she doesn’t think to have energy enough as
per doing that way the boy quickly propose to take her back to the
gate. It seems I can make this way alone as the monkeys are not
dangerous anymore.
The way down is easy and there I’m welcomed by a man introduced as
priest of Hanuman – Monkey God – temple. He shows me an image of
Hanuman appearing on the rocks, which has been highlighted with orange
paint. I refuse to be put a wristband showing I’m not wearing anything
in my fingers, wrist or neck, but I agrees on drawing the orange point
in my forehead. Monkeys are looking shy from the temple door.
He obviously asks for a charity and I give 50 Rs for
the temple. The change of my 100 Rs note is going to the 50 Rs ticket I
knew I should pay for taking photos here. Admission is free.
I feel like special here, like Indiana Jones reaching an
isolated city. I walk between ancient walls, surrounded by monkeys and
some cow. A narrow stairs are the only way down, along the temple
occupying the gap in this gorge. The first opening in the temple wall
shows some women taking baths on this holly water and some boys come to
me as if I was coming from another planet: they want to touch e and
talk to me even if there is no way of understanding. The only adult men
here are the gurus, with grey beards and hairs and wearing austere
clothes.
I finish this special visit by taking the steeped way up with this
heat. I rest a couple of times in my way and join my wife and driver
really wet.
The tip for the boy is 50 Rs. He asks for more, but don’t say more when I recall he has tried to fool us.
Our last visit for today is Gaitor, the Royal Tombs, and we’re driven to it.
It takes a little bit more than expected to get there, with horrible
roads and narrow and busy streets, but the visit is quick. After paying
30 Rs each we get in to explore the three parts of tombs. We’re alone
here, which is really a gift on this country.
We’re again at hotel for lunching, around 3 PM, after
saying goodbye to our friend, who has been a sort of blessing in a city
where everybody seems to be here to get the maximum money from you.
We look after avoiding spicy food for a change and rest in our room and
hotel until the time to sleep. It’s just then when we can hear the
noise of the crackers in the streets and go to the terrace to see
something of the fireworks. Diwali is here!
