Jaipur Pics

Jaipur was one of our first stops in Rajasthan. Straight off the train we were hasseled by a rickshaw driver who took advantage of the fact that his friend owned a guest house near one with the same name as the guesthouse we told him to go to. He brought us to the wrong area, and then introduced us to his "friend" who just happened to be standing right there on the street. We demanded he take us back to the correct area, which he did, but on the way he had the nerve to ask if we wanted him to give us a tour of the city the next day. We ended up finding a great guesthouse surrounded by some good restaurants.

We quickly learned that jaipur is very spread out and to get anywhere you have to take a cycle or auto rickshaw. This can be a challenge since the rickshaw drivers are notorious hasselers and try to get as much money as possible out of a white face. We were staying about 4 kms from the "Old City" and came in often to drink amazing lassies and eat aloo chat at "Lassi-wala". As part of the ongoing celebration of Joe's Birthday, we watched Vivah (a new Hindi Movie) at the Raj Mandir Cinema. The cinema was huge, clean, and beautiful, and it was a great escape from the dusty street. The movie was also very good, so for all those Hindi movie fans out there rent Vivah...it's a love story about an arranged marriage from engagement to wedding.

After a few days we were a bit fed up with all the hassels. We decided to see the sites and get out of the city. One of our favorite sites was Jantar Mantar, an astrological observatory from 1728 with a sun dial that can tell the time within 2 seconds (see pics)! We also had a great time at Amber Fort where they were shooting a Hindi movie that will be called Bulbuliya (complicated in English). We were a bit star struck and abandoned our friend and the guide he had hired to watch the dance scene being filmed. We also were lucky enough to come across some beautiful wedding processions on the streets.

All in all, we were not that fond of Jaipur, but it had it's high points. For our fellow travelers out there....we recommend spending only one night in Jaipur and then heading to Bundi.