Jaipur – Forts & Palaces

Kathy Hornbach
August 1, 2004

amberfort
Getting to Jaipur from Udaipur was another adventure – we headed out on a 3-tier, non-A/C train for an overnite trip. Narrow berths stacked 3 high with no bedding – it was “cozy” (in the real-estate sense that is to say “cramped”) and not particularly comfortable. But we made it.

By this time, we were getting a little worn out — a new city every day or two, out into the dirty, noisy, crowded streets to visit castles and forts; back to a hotel with uncertain hot water supplies and hard beds. We’d been having a fascinating time – but we needed a break.

 We were fortunate to have just that – a friend of a friend lived in Jaipur with his family, and we had arranged to get together. He’s helping oversee a major irrigation canal to bring water to this parched region. We had a lovely time, escaping from the city into the quiet of his home, then out to dinner at a lovely clean restaurant. It was just what we needed!

Next morning, it was off to see another fort, the famous Amber Fort of Jaipur. At this point, all the forts were starting to blur together. The fort is up a big hill, and the big attraction for most tourists was the chance to ride an elephant up to the fort. (We walked).

One memorable Jaipur “attraction” were the feral pigs. They were everywhere, nosing around in the garbage, blocking the road, sprawling in the dirt. Many Hindus are vegetarians and Muslims don’t eat pork so these pigs had no one coming after them. Ugh.

Copyright(c) 2024 Scott Blessley & Kathy Hornbach
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