Jaipur, Pink City photo essay

We transited through the famous Pink City of Rajasthan on our way from Sawai Madhopur. It was just a short drive with nothing eventful to write about. Jaipur is the nearest airport to Sawai Madhopur and it was from there that we were scheduled to catch an 11 o´clock Go Air flight to Goa. They say that misfortune never comes alone and in our case, that applies to bad travel experiences. We left Sawai Madhopur by car at 6 in the morning only to learn midway that our flight was delayed until 5 in the evening. That left us with nearly half a day in Jaipur and as luck would have it, our Sawai Madhopur driver fleeced by taking us to over-priced restaurants and highway eateries. By the time we arrived at Jaipur, it was around noon and we took the opportunity to visit the beautiful Amer Palace and its surroundings. Pink City was filled to the brim owing to a public holiday and herds of goats overtook us as we crawled in a queue all the way up to the famous fort.

Jaipur from the Amer hill

Overcrowded, yet beautiful Pink City

It was a gorgeous sunny day with blue skies and the old pink buildings of the old city blushed rose red. The sight would have been magnificent if the crowd was not so overwhelming. Despite that and the pushing, elbowing, and being requested to take selfies, we loved what we saw. Our first stop was the multi-stepped Heera Panna stepwell. After that, we explored Amer Fort, gaped at its magnificent interiors, and watched wide-eyed tourists sitting atop elephants and going round and round in the palace courtyard. From there we went to an elephant painting camp where Akash came in close contact with these gentle pachyderms. Our last stop was the magnificent City Palace. That too was overcrowded and it was quite a hassle to get out of the traffic in the old city. Needless, to say, we were quite relieved to get out of Jaipur.

Heera Panna ki Baori a.k.a Heera Panna stepwell

I still love Jaipur

It was a pity because Pink City is truly beautiful and one can enjoy themselves a lot there. Moreover, it holds a special place in my heart because of my daughter and I simply love the gorgeous, old-world feel of this erstwhile royal stronghold. Take a look at this photo essay and you can decide if there are many places in the world that will look so alluring even when brimming over with tourists.

Amer Fort

City Palace is still the official royal residence in the Pink City of Jaipur

At the Elephant Camp

At the Elephant Camp

Here´s some more from the Rajasthan series

RESPONSIBLE TRAVELING-BECAUSE I CARE

 

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