The City Palace is still highly revered and immediately next-door are the seven stories of the Chandra Mahal, the current royal residence. Indeed when we visited the guide, with great pride pointed out the royal car that was parked in the grounds. Smartly dressed guards stand at the entrance and they will happily pose for photographs with you. What a surprise - they stretch out their hands for a tip!
There’s loads to see here and we only had 90 minutes to complete our tour. We did it, but it was a bit of a rush. In the centre of the inner courtyard is the Diwan-I-Khas (Hall of Private Audiences), which is decked out with beautiful chandeliers and good quality marble. A couple of palace attendants were on "shooing" duty – attempting to keep birds out of the hall and from settling on the chandeliers. At the entrance to this building are, at over 1½ metres, the two largest silver articles in the world. They were used by Maharaja Singh when he visited England for the King's coronation. Being a devote Hindu he would only use the holy water from the River Ganges.
The Diwan-I-Am (Hall of Public Audiences) is a magnificent building in its own right but it houses a fascinating collection of artwork, tapestries, and original manuscripts. The Original carpeting is still intact (although now stored in gigantic wall mounted rolls. There’s a painting of the massively built Sawai Singh – he weighed in at over 250kg and was almost 1½m wide (almost as wide as he was tall!). Indeed on the first floor of the "welcome palace" (a tapestry of European and Islam architectural design) we found one of his items of clothing. Indeed he was huge. If you’re into fabric and design this is the place for you and as an added bonus you’ll get a great view of the Palace from the balcony. Don’t be tempted to sneak a photograph – we saw one tourist being hauled out of the building as he’d taken a crafty photo of one of the exhibits.
In the queen's apartment is the armory museum, a display of ferocious weaponry with the whimsical touch of the "welcome" display being created out of some formidable looking knives. The "added value" of this museum is the fantastic mirrored ceiling. Just imagine the impact of this room with candles flickering at night or the reflection of the daytime sunlight.
Finally we were entranced by the courtyard leading to the present day Palace. Having strolled down a dark narrow corridor we entered this large airy quadrangle with four very special gates. They depict the four season in beautifully intricate design. But the one that is the most stunning is a "peacock design" - this almost beggars description. It is truly wonderful and has been perfectly preserved over the years. You'll surely want a photograph or two of this (as long as you have remembered to purchase your photographic permit!).