Royal Traveling; Welcome to the land of Rajas :: "Rajasthan"

We have spent two days in Jaipur. Jaipur also called "the Pink City" – it so named because the city was painted pink to welcome a prince to the city in the 1700’s and it has been pink ever since (more orange to me, but I was told I must call it pink, no matter what I think). 

I can recommend some of  the famous place which according to me deserves a must visit.

Victory Tower where we had a great view of the city. It was very nice to see all the funky buildings some of them are old.. and some of them are very very old, view is great although less pink than we imagined. From there we went to Jantar Mantar – a park where a lot of astronomical equipment that the king Jai Singh had constructed in the late 1700’s. I found it to be very cool – but my companions did not care much for it. It was crazy to see these huge cement pieces that could (and still can) tell time and predict celestial events.

Afterwards we headed up to Amber (pronounced Amer) fort. This is a fort outside the city. It was a very nice fort, particularly from the outside. We enjoyed checking it out and seeing the inside. There was even an underground tunnel connecting it to another fort. It was definitely worth the visit. One option to get up to the fort is to walk or you can take an elephant up. We were there in the afternoon and the elephants were already gone for the day. amazing views and a beautiful wall/room decorated with tiny mirrors.

After the fort we stopped at the Water Palace or Jal Mahal. This palace sits in the middle of a lake – with three floors below ground level in order to help the royal family stay cool in the hot summers. People can not actually visit it – but it can easily seen from the road side, while returning from there we saw signs for Pizza Hut! (So obviously, we went).

Next day we went to Central Museum or the Albert Hall lies in the Ram Niwas Garden. It is a vast and verdant garden housing a zoo, a greenhouse, an aviary, a museum and a sports ground. Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II built it in 1868. The Albert Hall has been converted into the Central Museum which proudly displays Rajasthans art and culture and outlines the Rajput morality.

The hall was named after Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria's husband. Alberts son the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) laid the foundation stone in 1876. It was designed and devised by Colonel Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob (1841-1917).

It now houses an exquisite collection of metal ware, decorative wares, miniature portraits, sculptures, paintings, natural history specimen, an Egyptian mummy among various other objetart. Rajasthani village life is also displayed through costumes, pottery, brass-ware and woodwork. The Durbar Hall, usually locked, houses several stunning carpets including the magnificent Persian Garden Carpet, one of India’s finest art treasures. It was made in Kerman, Persia in 1632 and represented the garden of paradise based on a quadrangular design. The museum also has some melancholic specimens on display like a horse skeleton, a human skeleton, and a stuffed cobra.

Hawa Mahal or Hall of the Winds or City Palace is another spectacular building. Hawa Mahal consists of five tiers of corridors on the inside, with pierced screen windows that overlook the street below.. At the top of the minaret is open space with all-round view of the city. Standing up there, I can see the sprawl of Jaipur, the Aravali Hills spreading to the east limiting the growth of Old City, and the plains to the west where the new city is growing quickly.

Pink city was built over a period of almost 3 centuries and still glows in radiance of its rich cultural heritage. Your travel to Jaipur in Rajasthan is sure to leave you absolutely mesmerized and keep you asking for more..