The Jaipur jostle

Well, as predicted the flight from Udaipur to Delhi, didn't materialise and we were forced to cancel our flight and jump a car on a marathon 7 hour highway journey - which to say was hair-raising would be quite an understatement.

If you don't believe me - check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNR0IvK46DI.

We did arrive in Jaipur in one piece and after an equally manic drive through the city centre, we arrived at our sanctuary of Disney-esque tranquility, otherwise known as the Oberoi Rajvillas.  It felt quite surreal in this peacock-plastic-paradise.  But a welcome respite from the crazy Indian roads, nonetheless.  We ate quickly and retired early.

Up the next morning with a packed schedule; we'd lost a good half day with the flight fiasco, but were determined to cram as much of Jaipur in as possible.

Sun dial - Jaipur-style

Our driver and guide dutifully whisked us off to the jantar mantar an expansive astrological playset of instruments built by Jai Singh II in the early 18th century.  The accuracy of these enormous tools was impressive: we walked 30m from one to the next and discovered the latter was calibrated 2 seconds behind the former in order to allow for the correct Jaipur-time.

The Royals still live here....all 5 of them...

Jaipur palace

Time marched on (no pun intended): we sped to the city palace adorned with fabrics from kings of old, peacock painted portals, (enough of p-alliteration for now, methinks) and airy courtyards.  The princely yellow was in stark contrast to the commoner red of outside.

But one of our holiday highlights waited still to be witnessed.

Amber fort

Perched on a hillside and constructed way back in the 16th century with various additions after that, the yellow golden edifice is almost climbing down the hillside and dipping its toe in the lake below.  It creeps almost in its majesty.  Courtyard after courtyard we visited and thus to the inner sanctum, where the king kept his harem of hundreds of perhaps-not-so-willing concubines.

Ingenious water channels kept the place coolish in summer and a myriad of defence mechanisms helped keep the place free of storming.  It was like visiting the Alhambra of the east - awesome in detail, magnificent in imposing stature.

Hair cut anyone?

Palace dome detail

A quick photo-op at both the Water Palace and Wind Palace and we were done.  We needed to get on the highway (again) and zip to Ranthambore for the safari that was prescient with tiger-sightings.  How disappointed I was about to be...

Wind Palace

Water Palace

Udaipur - a golden city

Leaving the grandeur and shiny splendour of Indira Ghandi Airport in Delhi, we weren’t quite sure what to expect in the provincial city of Udaipur.  But with a porter to greet us and a speedy exit on the conveyor belt of our luggage, we were soon whisked off in a slick black Jaguar and on our way to the Taj Lake Palace.

 

Taj Lake Palace Hotel

We cruised through villages and hamlets, each adorned with a colourful array of Hindi hand-written signs.  The colours jumping out like 3D bill boards; yellow, orange, red, ochre, blue – the entire rainbow.

 

Hotel jetty

The city itself is not too big at about 500 000 inhabitants, but the usual cacophony of horn hooting greeted us on the city limits.  Closing our ears, and eyes sometimes, our driver navigated with skill the chaotic roundabouts and half-observed T-junctions and miraculously got us to the hotel jetty on the edge of lake Picholi in one piece.  

 

Udaipur City Palace

The golden sun was about 20 minutes away from setting and the glow bounced off the city palace behind us, rendering the peeling plaster resplendent and shimmering.  The entire lake was imbued with a picture-postcard atmosphere and as we donned our obligatory life jackets for the short ferry transfer to the hotel, I took a deep breath and pinched myself to confirm I was actually here in the land of the maharanas and maharanis and about to tread in the footsteps of Rajasthani royalty.

 

The palace, which is now the Taj hotel on the glass-like lake, was built by a former maharana in the late 18^th century – it was to complement their winter palace, just on the lake edge, and the lofty monsoon palace perched high on a distant hill – well away from torrential downpours.

 

We stepped off the barge and were escorted by the hotel doorman under a royal parasol to the triple doorway – common in Hindu culture – and were suddenly and surprisingly showered with rose petals from the balcony above.  As they fluttered down the air was filled with their exquisite scent and for a moment, just a moment, I felt I could “eat” the air.  I was beginning to feel like royalty indeed.

Rose petals fluttering earthwards

 

The hotel was updated in the 70s by the Taj group after the local royals gave up trying to make it a going hospitality concern – and the “facelift” they gave has been incredibly true to the original palace principles and layout.  The charming lobby lead to a first courtyard where nightly performances of local dancing were given – complete with resident fortune teller.  (The latter, seemed to be sitting alone for most of the time and I couldn’t help wondering, if he is indeed a fortune teller, why he couldn’t predict when the next customer was coming and save himself the apparent boredom of sitting palm-less for hours on end.)

 

The inner courtyard had a magnificent waterscape in the middle, in the shape of a lily flower; adorned with flowers and tea lights, the view was perfect.

Inner courtyard at Taj Lake Palace Hotel

 

We slept quite early but not before sampling the Indian cuisine in the hotel restaurant.  Shafiq was our waiter and very attentive he was too; suggesting dishes, and combinations and generally being a shadow to our dining.  Slumber came quickly as we watched the moon rise over the city palace across the lake from our bedroom window; I fell asleep thankful and feeling very lucky.

 

Dome detail at City Palace

The next day we headed out after a sumptuous breakfast to the city palace and the adjoining museum.  It was filled to overflowing with miniature paintings, furniture from bygone kings and intricate finishes.  The palace is actually built atop a series of small hills, so even thought it looks massive on the outside, the useable space on the inside is limited and the resulting warren of passages makes for an interesting ducking and diving kind of tour.  After a few expensive pashmina-type purchases, we strolled in lush public gardens, watched the mastery of miniature-painting artists at work and then headed back to the hotel.

 

Baxter had arranged a splendid private dinner on the Mewar Terrace in the hotel – the spot where former kings sat regally and surveyed their palace from on high.  The terrace was decked out with hundreds of rose and marigold petals and tea lights twinkled in the darkness of night.  The food was lavish and the champagne delightful: what a way to live.....!

Mewar Terrace

 

Jaipur is next – but sitting at the airport typing this up, we’ve just been notified of a 2.45 hour delay to our flight due to fog in Delhi – perhaps we won’t get to Jaipur after all.