Jaipur and Amber
From Delhi it was almost five hour bus ride in heavy traffic to reach Jaipur, Rajasthan's
largest city with a population of almost three million.  It is one of India's most visited
tourist destinations.
Upon arrival in Jaipur our tour group had a restaurant lunch while I took a autorickshaw
taxi to the railway station to buy overnight sleeper tickets for the train trip from Delhi
to Jaisalmer two weeks later to begin our independent journey described and illustrated
in the "Rajasthan" section of this website.  On a few other occasions we also went on a
group tour and arranged with the tour operator for additional time on our own after the
end of the group tour before our trans-oceanic return home.
Many buildings in central Jaipur are built of pink sandstone or are painted pink, making
Jaipur known as the "Pink City".   The best known pink building, part of the Royal Palace
Complex, is the 5-story "Palace of the Winds" created by one of the Maharajahs to enable
the royal ladies to privately watch the goings-on of the street below.
Hawa Mahal "Palace of the Winds"
We also visited other parts of the Royal Palace except for the section occupied by the
current Maharajah with his family and retainers.
Near the Royal Palace we visited Jantar Mantar a very interesting outdoor
astronomical observatory begun by Maharajah Jai Singh in 1728.  Included are a huge
sundial and several giant devices to chart the apparent movement of the moon and stars.
We took a walk through the large market area with its many stands and small shops,
many selling identical products.  There were also several holy cows on the streets,
eating selected garbage and oblivious to the traffic going by.
The following day the bus took us to Amber Fort, about ten miles (15 Km) from Jaipur.
This is an enormous fortress on a plateau.  Like most tourists we went up to the fort
riding on the back of an elephant.  Like most forts we visited in India, Amber combines a
fortress and royal palace.  The palace is magnificent, the setting beautiful (and militarily
defensible).  Then water shortage required moving the feudal capital to Jaipur.
Next morning our tour bus left Jaipur and we soon had the good luck of meeting a
camel caravan transporting animal feed.
A camel caravan near Jaipur
Amber Fort, Rajasthan, India
Elephants with drivers awaiting tourists.  In the foreground, guides ready to guide,
Between Jaipur and Amber we passed the Lake Palace and made a brief stop at a
rug-weaving establishment.
Lake Palace between Jaipur and Amber
Rug weaver