Jaipur: The Pink City

I’m picked up at 8am for a cultural city tour of the Pink city (which is actually terracotta, but that doesn’t roll off the tongue as well). There are two other girls on the tour which is good as it’s tiring being on tours alone and having to appear super engaged the whole time. Especially when they’re talking about boring shit like paintings and carpets. 

We tick off most of the hotspots today, starting with the vegetable and flower market, where I almost get trampled by a stray cow (they roam the streets like dogs here raking bins for food).

Next up is the Amber Fort. It’s set on a hill, and they have elephant rides to take tourists up the steep winding path. Each elephant will do at least 5 round trips between 8-11am. Who are these fuckwits that pay to facilitate this cruelty? Americans, probably.

We learn that the Amber Palace was occupied by Man Singh II. He had 12 wives, each one with a different sign of the zodiac to ensure good luck during his lifetime. He also had 21 mistresses, to ensure a constant stream of good times. That palace must’ve been riddled. He very graciously housed them all in private apartments though, so not a bad deal if you ask me.

We’re then taken to Jantar Mantar, a UNESCO world heritage site featuring a collection of astronomical instruments built in the 18th century. It houses the world’s largest sundial. The creator had originally built a smaller one, but it was only accurate to within 10 minutes, so he built another one twenty times bigger, accurate to 2. OCD much? We end with a tour of a textile factory where they showcase block printing and rug making and try to sell us shit we don’t want or need. 

 

The next day I’m tour free and excited to wander around the city at my own pace. I start with breakfast at Gulab ji chai, famous for its chai tea (which I’m obsessed with here) and bun maska, a soft bun slathered with a generous amount of butter. It’s a popular place as the street is rammed with locals.

I then begin my 30 minute climb to Nahargarh Fort. There’s motorbikes at the bottom charging £2 to take you up the 2km path, which is like 4 times the price of what it should cost. It’s still pocket change, but I’m eager for a little exercise now that I’m able to walk without fear of being mowed down. 

The fort is a popular sunset spot, which is understandable given the views from the top. Sadly the air pollution is still pretty bad, so visibility isn’t great. I’m actually starting to feel it in my lungs and missing the good old Scottish clean air! 

After enjoying a nice cold beer, I jump in a tuk tuk and head to the Monkey Temple, which requires another 2k uphill slog. It’s here that my celebrity status goes from B list to A list as I’m accosted by swarms of children, women, and families. One family want individual photos with me, which I agree to before realising just how big the family is! I should really start charging 100 rupees per photo, it’d pay for my whole trip.

The monkey temple is beautiful, but I’m a bit nervous around them after my experience in Bali (they’re vicious thieving little bastards there). Luckily the monkeys here are super chill and not in the least bit bothered by the people. 

That evening I have a food tour booked in the old city. I’m met by my guide, Rhea, who is super sweet and incredibly passionate. It’s nice to have a female guide for a change, as most are men.

Over the course of the next 3 hours i’m whisked around a ridiculous amount of street food stalls including samosas, kachoris (fried lentil patties), gulab jamun, Bombay mix, a massive bowl of chat and this incredibly delicious dish which is basically just a slab of butter with cardamom spices and honey. At this point my trousers are pretty tight and my heart is about to go into cardiac arrest from all the fried food and sugar. This is when Rhea declares, “right, and now we have dinner”. I laughed because I thought she was joking. She was not. We proceed to have a sit down meal in vegetarian restaurant, Ganesh, where we share a lentil dhal and a vegetarian curry with two types of bread. I’m about to throw up at this point, but I’m British and don’t want to be rude so I force as much of it down as I can. Finally, we finish with dessert which is ice cream with rose flavoured custard. This woman is trying to kill me. Taxi for Davies!