Jaipur is the capital of the state Rajasthan. Raj means royal and there were many little kingdoms here in the hilly terrain in the past. Some of them survive to now although they don't have power anymore but locals still address them as kings. One of them lives in Jaipur's City Palace.
The reality of Jaipur and what we expected from reading travel guidebooks do not match. I had this version of a romantic city in pink (Jaipur is called the Pink City since the whole old town is painted pink ever since a royal visit back in colonial years). The reality is a dirty noisy city. We did our walk inside the City Palace and surroundings and survived 30 mins. The city wall is much shorter than I imagined and almost toy-liked. Garbage is everywhere and even the guards just urinated standing in one corner!
We lost interest to explore the city further and headed to the prime attraction Amer Fort 30min drive away. Amber Fort used to be where this Jaipur royal family lived before they moved. It did not disappoint! The whole palace is built on top of a hill and complete with its own version of the "Great Wall"!
Luckily we had our driver dropped us off near the entrance. Otherwise, we would have to climb all the way up in 45C heat. The other option some people took is to ride an elephant just like old time! Poor things! They have to work in such hot weather!
We then drove 3.5h to our next major attraction, Fatehpur Sikri, just an hour drive outside Agra. Fatehpur Sikri is founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar. The huge ground is a bit daunting to explore in the sweltering heat. We did our best and the effort was rewarded with beautiful and striking sceneries.
Our driver recommended the restaurant Bon Barbeques for dinner in Agra. The food is delicious and the dinner starts with BBQ starters served on your plate and skewers on your personal BBQ. Then you'll hit the main buffet and finish with desserts. Surprisingly, restaurant meals cost similar to NA. Not sure it's the tourist price we are paying. Admission price for tourists to the key attractions on is at least 50X more than what locals pay (INR 500 for foreigners vs INR 10 for locals). Taj Mahal charges foreigners INR 1100!
You guys look surprisingly cool in the 45 degree heat!
ReplyDeleteAmazing architecture ! Once again so few tourists in your pics.
We have perfected the art of taking pictures in mere seconds and quickly dashing back into the shade! The only way to survive in this hot temperature!
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