India. Jaipur
Upon arriving in Jaipur around lunchtime, we set out to find a guesthouse. We walked through streets lined with numerous guesthouses, entering several but not finding what we wanted. At one point, we found a place with a clean room and bathroom for $10, but when we learned they used a "bucket system" for hot water - meaning we had to fetch hot water from the first floor - we decided to look elsewhere. As we walked, an Indian man on a sports motorcycle approached us, asked what we were looking for and for what price, and then offered to show us a good hotel within our budget...
We ended up staying at a very beautiful hotel for $6 (the lowest price for accommodation on our trip). We remained skeptical until the last moment, but we never found any catch...
The next morning, we took a rickshaw to Jaipur's landmark, Hawa Mahal, or the "Palace of Winds". The facade of the building is pierced with 953 small windows...
Inside, we gradually ascended to the top floor...
On the top floor...
Here are the windows through which the Maharajas' wives peeked at life outside the palace, as they were not allowed to go out...
After Hawa Mahal, we visited the Jantar Mantar observatory. There, we saw many interesting structures for various astronomical measurements and calculations. The observatory is also home to the world's largest sundial, the Samrat Yantra, listed in the Guinness Book of Records...
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The next two instruments were used to calculate the positions of various celestial objects...
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The next complex of instruments was also used to determine the positions of celestial bodies...
Using metal rings, heights, times, and positions of celestial bodies in our vast universe were calculated...
Our next stop was the City Palace, where we experienced the refinement of Indian architecture. For example, the Mubarak Mahal was built by blending Rajput style with Islamic and European architectural styles, making it particularly attractive...
Chandra Mahal (Moon Palace) is the official residence of the current Maharaja of Jaipur, Bhavani Maharaja Singh...
Next on the itinerary was Pitam Nivas Chawk, the inner courtyard leading to Chandra Mahal. The gates here are adorned with themes of the four seasons and images of Hindu gods. The northeastern gates depict autumn, adorned with peacocks and Lord Vishnu...
The southern gates depict summer and are dedicated to Shiva-Parvati...
The northwestern gates depict spring and are dedicated to Lord Ganesha...
The Rose gates depict winter and are dedicated to the goddess Devi...
After concluding our visit to the palace complex with a museum tour showcasing various items and furniture of the Maharajas, we dined at a nearby restaurant near Hawa Mahal. Among the Indians dining around us, we felt like movie stars. They approached us, asked to take photos together, or tried to sneakily photograph us. We joked that the number of Indians who had taken photos with us during our stay had definitely exceeded a hundred :). These moments consistently eased our minds from sightseeing and brought us back to the colorful Indian life, especially when visiting less touristy places...
Next, we went to the Monkey Temple, known as "Monkey Temple". To reach the temple, we had to first climb a hill and then descend into a gorge. Along the way, we bought nuts and bananas to feed the local inhabitants...
At the first temple on our way, we were told about the sacred places we were visiting and were marked on the forehead with small dots - tilak...
From such a symbolic initiation, our descent to the heart of this place began...
We were simply amazed by what we saw. It felt like we had entered a lost city. We had not encountered such a richness of Indian color anywhere else. This place was the most impressive of everything we had seen in Jaipur...
Inside one of the temples located there, the spirit of Hinduism was truly felt...
This place seemed to be hidden in a parallel world, due to the completely different aura that surrounded it...
Mostly, there were women dressed in saris of various colors within the temple grounds, adding to the vibrancy of the place...
Returning the same way we came, we stopped to feed the monkeys...
We enjoyed their company so much that we couldn't say goodbye...
It was very cute and pleasant when a monkey held our hand, making us feel as if a little child was gently touching us with complete trust...
And here's a group of monkeys, already excited and somewhat scared, running past...
On the trees, there was a completely different type of monkeys. They had white fur, black faces, and long tails. It was clear that the territory was divided between two types of primates...
The next day, we rented a rickshaw for $9 and followed a pre-agreed route. The first stop was the Amber Fort, located in the northern suburb of Jaipur behind Maota Lake...
On the crest of a rocky hill runs the wall of the former fortress, somewhat reminiscent of the Great Wall of China...
The highlight of our visit to the fort was the way we ascended there... The ascent was on an elephant and became one of the brightest moments of the entire journey... But to get on the elephant, we had to endure a huge queue, about 300 meters long...
At first, I strongly doubted the need to ascend on an elephant, but Diana firmly said that she wanted to ascend only on an elephant... and we continued to wait... After waiting for over an hour, we finally managed to get on the elephant and start our ascent...
During the ascent, we were photographed several times by local photographers who earned money by selling already printed photos at the exit... Here is one of them...
As we ascended, we were treated to beautiful views of the gardens located in the center of Maota Lake...
The ascent took 20 minutes, after which we were disembarked in the main courtyard of the fort...
And here are the main gates of the fort through which we entered on the elephant...
Through the "Ganesh Pol" gate, we headed deeper into the palace...
After exploring the Amber Fort grounds, we found our rickshaw and headed to Jal Mahal - the Water Palace, which was built in the mid-18th century in the middle of Mansagar Lake and served as the summer residence of the royal family. The palace is built in traditional Indo-Islamic style.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the uniqueness of this structure, we went to the royal cenotaph - Gaitor. Here was the cenotaph (empty tomb) of Jai Singh II - the founder of Jaipur. It's a very quiet place that clearly doesn't enjoy popularity among tourists...
Our only companions were monkeys...
Albert Hall became our last attraction in Jaipur. Besides its very beautiful architecture, this building is also the oldest museum in the city and a favorite place for pigeons...
Inside the museum, we were particularly interested in the following exhibits...
After that, our rickshaw driver, having diligently completed the day's plan, took us back to the hotel...
Jaipur pleased us with a wide variety of attractions. It was nice to immerse ourselves in the world of Maharajas, ride elephants, and feed and observe a large number of monkeys, of different types again... In short, we filled our journey with unforgettable impressions that were different from everything else we had seen in India.
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