India – Day 5 – Jaipur

Day 5 felt like a slower day. We began it in the beautiful hotel dining room. We were first up and had the place to ourselves. The first thing I asked for was masala chai. Such a rich, sweet, beautiful tea!

And such a gorgeous English formal dining room. We had a view of the pretty backyard and the too-blue swimming pool apparently there for no one to use. Don’t get me wrong, it was available to all. Just, no one among us partook…or, of course there is the other possibility. We were up first and were able to enjoy it to ourselves prior to the chaos of others. (-;

After breakfast, Ranny picked us up in the bus and we went to the Jaipur observatory. It was built, if I remember correctly, in 1727. Karen, one of the women in our group, said it best. “It’s basically a garden of clocks.” Exactly what it is! Sundials abound. And as we compared shadows on sundials with our own sun gods–Samsung and Apple–they all matched up to a tee.

We each also discovered monuments representing our own astrological signs. I’m still not quite sure what these fixtures measured, or how they worked… but they had their purpose to the ancient astrologers who erected them.

After the observatory we had a stop at a local jeweller, which is something we’ve come to expect with guided tours like this one. One isn’t exactly pressured to buy, but we get a little tour of their operation and then are brought to their showroom for an opportunity to do so.

We each bought cheap keepsake bracelets after seeing how the beads are buffed and polished to a shine.

Ranny then took us to an area restaurant where we had a buffet which included a Dahl I couldn’t get enough of. He arranged for a horoscope reader to meet us there and have our horoscopes read, if we so chose. I did not. Those who did enjoyed it.

I couldn’t help but notice the swagger glare on a nearby wall as we dined. I think you’ll agree with me when I say this guy’s got game…

For the rest of the afternoon, we all had free time. The two of us set out into the streets of Jaipur on our own. The streets are never anything less than overly lively. It’s a carnival of noise and sights and smells. One would never tire of such a cacophony of chaos! I can’t get over its beauty. I am drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

Last night, our last night in Jaipur, Ranny arranged for a gaggle of tuktuks (that’s the title I’m choosing to call a group of these wondrous green and yellow bubbles of fury) to take us to the more modern part of Jaipur for an a la cart dining experience. It was a lovely, harrowingly terrifying, but exhilaratingly wondrous romp through the impossible streets of the city (all the lys and ings are necessary whenever one discusses the movement of life through these streets, believe me!).

Today, we are up at 4:30 and we are slowly getting ourselves moving. 6:00 we board the bus and leave this vibrant city. Off to Agra, and the world famous Palace built for love lost—-TAJ MAHAL!

Goodbye to Jaipur, an exquisite jewel not to be missed when visiting India. Onward, we go…