JAIPUR...the SUBHOJIT way!!!!

21st September, 2013

Now I come down to the Pink City of India, Jaipur. Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan and the land of Rajputs. It is known as the Pink City of India as most of the structures and market places are in this colour. The city is supremely rich in architecture, culture and history. There are a million places to see within the city and it is bustling with tourists from all across the world. It is also the business capital of the state and there are flourishing markets in the city which deal in everything from jewellery, cloth, footwear, handicrafts to stones, artefacts and ceramics. One needs to be very careful here as a tourist because most shopkeepers will swindle you out of a lot of cash. Foreign tourists need to be very very careful but that doesn't mean Indian tourists can sit back and relax, they will sweet talk you into buying anything. Over the years of my travelling across India I have come to realise that in most tourist places the people are trained to deal with tourists and the ones who go out of their way and sweet talk you are the biggest of thugs!

Coming to our hotel first, we stayed at the magnificent Umaid Bhawan Palace. It is a royal hotel which was very affordable at the time of our travel. During season time a double room is anywhere between Rs 10000 - 14000 a night. We stayed here for Rs 1800 (breakfast included) a night! The same owner has two hotels and the other one is Umaid Bhawan Mahal, which is on the other side of the street to Umaid Palace. Umaid Mahal is the better of the two and has a wonderful roof top restaurant with excellent food. The hotel provides you pick up facility from the Jaipur station. It is located in the Bani Park Area of Jaipur.

The rooms are very spacious and they also have a well maintained swimming pool. The staff is cordial and helpful. The breakfast here was good too. A good spread every morning with a lot of variety. They too have a roof top restaurant and a fully loaded bar. The rates are reasonable and affordable. They have car hire facilities too. 

For sight seeing in Jaipur one can rent a car or book an auto rickshaw. A car would charge you around Rs 1600 for a day trip whereas an auto rickshaw will charge you just Rs 600 for a day trip. Unless it is very hot I would suggest one to take the auto rickshaw.There are numerous places to see in Jaipur. The ones we went to were the City Palace, Jantar Mantar, Hawa Mahal, Jal Mahal and Amer Fort. One should start with the City Palace as it is in the heart of the city and everything else is connected. Buy a pass for Rs 150 and this is usable in all the sights. For foreigners the pass is separate and costs more too. In Jaipur too their is a charge for cameras everywhere, it is anywhere between Rs 100 - Rs 250.

The City palace, Jaipur is is a royal structure and would probably take the full day to see. The architecture is a proof of the royal past of the palace. The royal family still lives there in one side of the palace. There are a lot of artefacts preserved, these provide an insight into the lives the royal people led. There is a souvenir shop situated at the exit of the palace where one can pick up a lot of things to take back although let me warn you that they are way over priced.

My advice to those going to see the Jantar Mantar is please take a guide or else visiting this place makes no sense at all. We thought we would read the boards and figure out the equipments but we understood nothing from them. Thus, Jantar Mantar for us was a waste of time. Every single instrument looked the same to us and we thought they did the same things too!

Hawa Mahal is situated just behind the City Palace and in the main market area of Jaipur. You don't require a guide here as there is nothing much that needs an explanation. It was built for the royal ladies, in those days they weren't allowed to come out in public so they sat behind the colourful windows of the Hawa Mahal to watch the Royal Procession. The place is not well maintained but from the top the view is breath taking.

The Amer Fort is a must see in Jaipur. It is a little far off on the hill top which is visible from anywhere in the city. The Amer Fort was the old capital before Jaipur. The fort gave a birds eye view of the entire region and provided a very advantageous position during war. The Amer Fort is on Amer Road which is basically the highway to Delhi. There are various ceramic shops and they have a lot to offer. From plates to bowls to key chains, these ceramic shops make everything. They are not reasonable as most of them are very highly priced but they are of a good quality. On your way to Amer Fort also comes Jal Mahal or Water Palace. You aren't allowed to go to the fort but just see it from the road and take pictures. Here on the lake you can stand and feed fishes. Just buy a bread loaf for Rs 10 and make small pieces of the bread and feed it to the fishes. There are a lot of them and they all fight for each piece. 

One can take their cars only till the bottom of the hill while visiting Amer Fort. From the bottom you have to hire a jeep which will take you up to the fort. These jeeps charge you between Rs 200 - 300. You have to bargain here too. A tip for Amer Fort is that you need to take a guide. They charge around Rs 150 for the whole tour but it is worth it as there is lots to know here. Amer Fort has a Kali temple which is closed in the afternoon for a couple of hours, so all Kali devotees need to go early morning or a little later in the day. The architecture and view of this fort is excellent. It is truly royal in the true sense of the term. It hosts the famous Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) within too. Visitors are not allowed inside the Mahal anymore. There is gift shop in the fort which is very reasonably priced and have good select items. On your way down from the fort these jeep drivers take you to hand loom shops which are a big hoax. Do not fall for anything they say as they are all over priced and mostly even bad in quality. You get most of these things in the markets of Jaipur at much cheaper rates.

That was all the sight seeing we did in Jaipur. Later in the night we went for a movie at Rajmandir. Rajmandir is the biggest movie theatre in India both area wise and capacity wise. The crowd here is the real India crowd. They whistle at every small scene or clap at every possible dialogue. It is a must experience in Jaipur. The place is very well lit up both inside out and the architecture is also wonderful. 

Now coming to shopping, Jaipur is a shoppers paradise with merchandise from these markets travelling across the globe. The natives of Rajasthan are probably the best in handicrafts in the country. Rajasthan is also a region which is very rich in stones. There are many many different variety of stones found in this region. These stones are used for making jewellery and various other things. Jewellery is very famous in Rajasthan and Meenakari is the most famous style of craftsmanship. Places like Lal Bazar, Johri Bazar, Gopal Galli are the main market places that you would want to visit. These markets have everything from jewellery, handicrafts, clothes, sarees, blankets, bed sheets and also famous Rajasthani mithai (sweets). We visited the markets and picked up a few things here and there. One has to just browse through the entire market to see what one wants. One advise - load your pockets and then head out and try keeping the women as far away as possible!  

As for food Jaipur again has the best thali places. In the main market area there is the world famous Laxshmi Mishtann Bhandar or commonly known as LMB is the best thali in town. Everything is made in pure ghee and the restaurant serves a huge variety of dishes. They are very strict about their no sharing policy with the thalis! A meal for two here would cost around Rs 900 easily as the thalis are not cheap. Another thali place is Natraj near Rajmandir cinema. Natraj is a very clean and the thali is equally good. It is also cheaper than LMB and a meal for two here would cost around Rs 600. Opposite Natraj is Lassiwala, this is the best Lassi in town. Now there are a couple of lassiwalas over here but the original one is open from 9am till 4pm only and they are shop number 312. This lassi is a must try. Malai Ghewar is also a must try at LMB. We were so tired of eating Rajasthani food towards the end of our trip that our last meal in Jaipur was on the roof top restaurant in Umaid Mahal Hotel where we ordered Chinese food! MI Road that houses Natraj and Lassiwala is the main food street of Jaipur with the best eateries situated here. 

This was pretty much our Rajasthan trip or as my wife calls it our 'Desert Diaries'. It is a beautiful land and there is way too much to see and experience. For a full experience one needs to have a lot of time in hand and stay a little longer. The interiors of the desert i.e. Bikaner and Jaisalmer are different in landscape and beauty. We also missed out on Jodhpur. Well there is always a next time. Anyways keep reading my blog. Next destination is Hampi in Karnataka!