Adventures with Julia

November 9, 2011

Am having difficulties finding time and web connections to write and send posts.  Hopefully that situation will improve soon.

Our room at the Devi Ratn Hotel

On the night of November 3, we arrived in Jaipur at a new, only open for six weeks, hotel called Devi Ratn for a three night stay in one place.   We were expecting an exciting new experience and were rewarded with a very upscale, cold, prison-like, sprawling brick complex of odd shaped buildings.  Our room was cavernous with 14 foot ceilings, dark red paint on the walls, dim lighting, sparse furnishings, a window with lattice covering it so not much light entered from outdoors and a very tall door to an outdoor patio that was long and narrow.  The floor was alternating 1 inch stripes of black granite and white marble in a zig zag pattern.  It was interesting to look at for a few minutes, but no place we wanted to hang out.  We learned that every room was painted in strong colors and no one else wanted to be in their room either.  The public rooms were equally unwelcoming.  The worst of it was that the place was in semi desert country at least 20 minutes from town, so we could not even walk anywhere.   Daisy, our outspoken guide, said it was her first time to the hotel too  and she did not like it either.  We all agreed that ATJ should not send guests there again.  I give it good marks for cleanliness and a good bed.

The next morning we drove 11km from Jaipur to Amber, a major city during Akbar’s time.  It is well situated on a hillside with high walls surrounding it at some distance and overlooks a lake that provides nice reflections.  Once inside the large, open grounds of the palace, we were entertained by elephants taking tourists for rides.  Daisy thought the animals were not well care for and said we would get elephant rides in better places.  So we took photos of them.  On one side of the court was an open building called Shish Mahal, the Hall of Mirrors.  The inlaid mirrored motifs were visually delightful in the daytime and  must have been brilliant at night with candlelight bouncing off the thousands of little pieces of glass and mirror.  Apparently the hall was used by the women of the court.

From there we walked up into Amber Fort.  All I remember is a maze of steps, rooms, more steps and long corridors where vendors were up close and personal peddling their wares to us.   I spotted a lady selling heena work and asked how long it would take.  When she said 2 minutes, I quickly selected a design and she wasted no time applying the heena to the back of my lower arm, wrist and middle finger.  She was very good and fast.  Then she told me I had to let the heena dry for at least 30 minutes before touching anything.   I don’t know what I was thinking, but I was committed to have it look good so I held my arm aloft to keep it from getting bumped.  By the time we walked back to the bus it was fairly dry, but I left the residue on to insure a good result.  A few hours later the loose heena began to flake off and I finished rubbing the rest off.  It is a nice design and is supposed to last 3 weeks.  Hope so.

Our elephant "safari" at a reserve near Amber

From the fort we drove a short distance to an elephant reserve, where we were greeted by elephants and mahoots waiting to give us leisurely rides in the countryside with no other tourists around.  It was a very pleasant experience as each couple had an elephant to themselves.  Our elephant was named “Elle” and our mahoot was Anthony.  We have ridden several camels over the years, but this was our first elephant ride and we both enjoyed the 30 minutes on Elle.  We dismounted next to an outdoor pavilion where lunch was served in a green landscaped garden.  Altogether a very happy memory.

Before going back to the hotel we stopped at a textile factory and several of us ordered clothing to be made.  I know better, but got caught up in the action and soon found myself being measured for an Indian outfit after selecting fabric.  The clothes were made in 24 hours and delivered to the hotel the next evening.

Dinner at our hotel was a long and tedious affair as the staff was still very new and inept at their jobs.  We were really glad to go to bed when it was over.

A street scene in old Jaipur

On Saturday, November 6, we drove into the old city of Jaipur for a visit to the Astronomical Observatory and CIty Palace and a heritage walk through the old city, which was laid out in 1728 in a grid pattern with 7 blocks of buildings divided by tree lined avenues.  Emperor Jai, who had lived at Amber Palace, decided to move this large valley so his astrological equipment would have unobstructed view of the night sky.  In the process he created a modern city.  Build for 350,000 people there are now 4 million inhabitants in Jaipur.  We were told that when Prince Albert was planning to visit the city in 1883, the city was ordered to be painted the traditional color of welcome–reddish-orange or pink.  SInce then the colors have stuck and the street facades of the entire old city are still pink.  Jaipur is the only living city that designated a World Heritage site.

The Observatory was really interesting for its advancements so early in the 17th century.  The equipment still tells perfect time and gives celestial information known during those days.  Then we walked to the City Palace and visited the palace museum.  Most interesting to me were the costumes and the armory, which held many interesting weapons of the day.  There were some pretty lethal looking knives that you stab into someone and then squeeze open like scissors to further damage the organs.  I grabbed my belly just looking at them.  Pretty memorable stuff.

We skipped lunch after that, picked up a local guide and went for the heritage walk around several blocks taking in the assault on all our senses.  I enjoyed the experience, but some in the group were bothered by the smells, the incessant honking of horns and the pushy behavior of vendors.   At one point we climbed up to a second story rooftop for an unobstructed view of the frenetic street scene below.

We had all agreed that we wanted to have dinner at the famous Ramberg Hotel, so we drove back to our country prison palace, cleaned up and relaxed a bit and then drove back into town to the Romberg.  What a difference it was compared to our digs.  Classical, classy, in mint condition, warm and inviting with beautiful grounds, very upscale shops on sight and walking distance to town.   We all told Daisy that this is where ATJ should bring their groups from now on, even if it is more expensive.  Dinner was a served Indian affair that was not remarkable except for the dining room and the impeccable wait staff.  Afterward, we walked  around the grounds and into the Polo Club, apparently a famous watering hole, where Mark bought a couple of Cuban cigars.  The weather was balmy and most pleasant.  So far we continue to have perfect weather, even if a bit warm during the afternoon.

Finally, we depart the Devi Ratn and head for Pushkar on the morning of November 6.  Our group tour is named for the Pushkar Fair and we are finally getting to it after a lot of memorable experiences along the way.  The drive took 3 1/2 hours over more bumpy roads.  We arrived at our tented camp around noon, were greeted with the traditional welcome drink and cold wash cloth, which, by the way, we have received upon arrival at every hotel, and then walked to our tents via mat covered sand.  Our tent was comfortable large with a good bed, a full bathroom and, thankfully, air conditioning.  We did not end up using it much as we were not in the tent  much during the daytime and the temperature cooled down to the low sixties at night.