Ahhhh....a lay in till 7.30am and much needed it was too....still in Agra and thinking about the $23,000 marble decorated table we were trying to be persuaded to buy last night at the carving and inlaying demonstration....Paul tried his hand but just wasn't as good as the locals!
On the coach and drive to Jaipur stopping on the way at the red sandstone Fatehpuri Sikri Fort....once again we see an amazingly preserved building, vast inside with different quarters and palaces built for the king, queens (they all had several wives...and always one who was favourite....I can understand that!!) The architecture and the detail takes your breath away...it is stunning.
Back on the coach we head for JAIPUR.....a long journey but worth it when we get there in the early evening.....a bustling city full of pink painted building....and to the wonderfully modern Peppermint Hotel where we quickly change and head off to dinner. An open air restaurant with traditional Rahjistan singers and dancers and fire-eaters....a very good night indeed with many of us joining with the entertainment after a few beers and glasses of wine......not the fire-eating I might add.
NEXT DAY BRINGS......the much awaited visit to the Amber Fort and an elephant ride up the top of the hill where it sits majestically.....
More fantastic palaces and a great tour guide who gives us an understanding how the Maharajas of the times lived (with their several wives and wives servants) ....on the way back down we get chance to see a snake charmer at work (well collecting money for his performance and the pleasure of being photographed)..
On the coach and drive to Jaipur stopping on the way at the red sandstone Fatehpuri Sikri Fort....once again we see an amazingly preserved building, vast inside with different quarters and palaces built for the king, queens (they all had several wives...and always one who was favourite....I can understand that!!) The architecture and the detail takes your breath away...it is stunning.
Back on the coach we head for JAIPUR.....a long journey but worth it when we get there in the early evening.....a bustling city full of pink painted building....and to the wonderfully modern Peppermint Hotel where we quickly change and head off to dinner. An open air restaurant with traditional Rahjistan singers and dancers and fire-eaters....a very good night indeed with many of us joining with the entertainment after a few beers and glasses of wine......not the fire-eating I might add.
NEXT DAY BRINGS......the much awaited visit to the Amber Fort and an elephant ride up the top of the hill where it sits majestically.....
More fantastic palaces and a great tour guide who gives us an understanding how the Maharajas of the times lived (with their several wives and wives servants) ....on the way back down we get chance to see a snake charmer at work (well collecting money for his performance and the pleasure of being photographed)..
...plus Paul does a deal on a couple of hats.........
enter the Maharaja and Maharani of Doncaster....just checking out their summer floating Palace!
NEXT THE BLOCK PRINTINGAND CARPET MAKING DEMONSTRATIONS....
and $500 later we have an beautiful Indian camel hair rug winging its way by DHL to England
TO THE OBSERVATORY AND CITY PALACE & GATE CRASHING THE WEDDING PREPARATIONS...all in an afternoons touring. The Palace is the home of the current Maharaja or Rahjistan (although he lives most of the time in London)....anyway he wasn't in residence but the palace had been hired out that night for a celebration and there was pink, gold, glitter, thrones and lounge beds all over....which some of us took advantage of for photo opportunities! The Palace itself was vast and stunning as we had expected it to be.
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