Jaipur: Pink city of Maharajahs and elephants

In every country there is one town or city that exemplifies a nation whether it be Siena, Stratford-upon-Avon or Heidelburg. Jaipur is the fantasy India you have come to see and is a mandatory stop on the 'Golden Triangle.' It has been a tourist destination for so long that the baggage of tourism (touts, beggars, hawkers etc) is very persistant here - and may wear you down. However it's setting and buildings are spectacular. And you would be mad not to come to India and not see the jewel of Rajasthan, Jaipur.

Quick Tips:

You need at least three days for Jaipur as there is so much to see. The heat especially in the hot season (March- June) is incredible and while we were there reached forty degrees. In this heat it is an idea to see the great sights in the morning or evening when the heat is less and have a quiet siesta during the heat of the day.

There is a reason for Jaipur's popularity and the sights here are some of the best in India. The City Palace can be generally walked to from your accomodation but others such as the fabulous Amber Fort need an autorickshaw or a bus that leaves outside the Hawa Mahal. Jaipur is very rewarding but you can feel you are a moving target in this city for beggars/rickshaw-wallah's etc. If you are sensitive to this then maybe base yourself in Bharatpur and do Jaipur on day trips.

Best Way To Get Around:

One of the highlights of Jaipur is getting around. The streets are bedlam - camel-carts, tongas, motorbikes, autorickshaws, bicycles, even elephants - weave their way around stalls and cows. Walking is tiresome, although fascinating, and you will be targeted by shopkeepers, hawkers etc so autorickshaw is probably best. This is a tourist town and bartering is pretty non-existant. If one tourist leaves then another one arrives who will pay their fare. Walking is a great way to explore the city as it is full of nooks and crannies, especially behind the imposing Ganesh pol (elephant gate) where pachyderms are kept in stables and can be seen from the street

Part of the tour that I had fixed up in Delhi was accomodation, and in Jaipur it stretched into the Four Star bracket. The Hotel Classic Holidays - Jaipur, was on the outskirts of the city on the road to Ajmer. I cannot praise this hotel enough and would certainly return to it. The rooms were superb with amazing airconditioning, large beds, a refreshing shower and cable television. The staff fell over themselves to look after my needs. And I was overcome with embarassment as one of the bellboys dutifully followed me around bringing me room service and sitting with me in the restaurant asking about Bradford (Yorkshire) where he had relatives. And after a hard days sightseeing it was great to return to watch cable television, and the challenge of finding a channel on the television that didn''t play Bollywood musicals.

On first view this resembles a rather surreal theme park.

This is Maharajah Jai Singhs open-air astrological observatory and dates back to 1728. With its views of the forts on the Aravalli hills and the giant instruments that lay dotted around - this is an excellent stop if you are touring the city palace.

When you exit the City Palace it is only a 400 ft walk to the entrance to the Jantar Mantar. Unfortunately the walk is a gauntlet of hawkers, beggars, souvenir salesmen and auto-rickshaw drivers. The worst are the children who show no fear in shoving postcards in your face. This was one of the few times in India that I did crack - and when I reached the ticket booth and the man wanted to charge me another 50 rupees for a camera permit - he got a blast on the harassment of tourists in India. But once you are through, the Jantar Mantar is worth all the irritation.

Inside is a lawn covered open area containing the giant instruments that Jai Singh used to view the heavens. They are aligned on the ground and made out of a sherbet-coloured marble that is stained with age. They point at the sky and consist of slants, circles, brick curves and pillars. Most are triangular, but some are semi-circular and all resemble the props from a bizarre science fiction movie.

Near the north wall is one that resembles a 60ft high ski jump. On closer inspection it was a colossal sun-dial - positioned so that its shadow would fall on the surrounding instruments. One of the most memorable was the Jai Prakash Yantra which was two vast hemispheres dug into the ground. It was rather deep and consisted of two curving slabs adorned with centuries old zodiac signs. But the highlight for me was the view of the hills surrounding Jaipur. There, languously draping the summit, was the photogenic Ramalgah fort. So find yourself an instrument, settle down and take your time admiring the view.....

Remember those old portraits with the Maharajah dressed in a turban, dripping with jewels, and reclining on cushions watching dancing girls - well you can see where it happened at the city palace.

The Maharajah of Jaipur, Jai Singh, still lives there and his servants and retainers are still visible and move around the palace dressed in orange turbans and white costumes. For a while you can forget the chaos of Jaipur outside and lose yourself in a world of exotic architecture and ancient rituals.

To get perspective its better to get some history of the area. Jaipur is not an old city, it was built in 1727 on the orders of the great Maharajah Jai Singh who moved it away from the cramped conditions up at Amber. The city palace was the heart of the fiefdom and the all-powerful Jai Singh designed most of the city from scratch although it didn''t take on its salmon-pink colour until a visit by Prince Albert in 1856.

During the Raj era it got on very well with the British and formed a buffer state between them in Delhi and the Mewar Rajputs down in Udaipur. When independence came they joined with Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur to form Rajputana, which eventually became Rajasthan. Nowadays the Maharajah still maintains his fabulous wealth and respect, and his palace is open to the public as the Sawai Man Singh Museum.

It is easily reachable on foot from anywhere in central Jaipur as it forms the heart of the old city. The palace itself takes up around five blocks and incorporates the Hawa Mahal and the Jantar Mantar observatory. Auto-rickshaw drivers know the palace well and a fare shouldn''t cost more then 30 rupees. They congregate outside the entrance and may be very vocal on trying to get your fare when you exit. There are also beggarwomen and child hawkers waiting for visitors but the tourist police keep an eye on them.

The first place you enter is the epic Tripolia Gate(see picture) this takes you through to the inner courtyard. This first courtyard contains the Mubarak Mahal, an elegant ivory palace which housed the women of the court, generally the power behind the throne,the Queen Mother.

Then it is through the Sarbata Chandra Chowk which was flanked by elephant statues to the great courtyard. Bright pink walls soared above me leading to cool marble corridors. And in the centre was the Diwan-I-Khas - the hall of public audience. This pavilion was made of gleaming white marble and was where the Maharajah would greet visitors. Musicians would play nearby, and ladies of the court would look on wearing colourful saris. The columns, crystal chandeliers and great water jars were still evident.

The great water jars were used to hold water from the Ganges for when Jai Singh visited England. He didn''t trust the foreign water, which I think is rather a sweet reversal of the English visiting India today.

If you follow the corridors behind the Diwan-I-Khas (which are adorned with exquisite miniatures) you come to the old audience chamber. The dusty exhibts consisted of guns, swords, elephant howdahs, jewels and the largest crystal chandaliers I have seen in my life. With the old servants carefully moving around the palace it was possible to imagine what life was/is for the Maharajah's of Jaipur. The palace is a piece of exotic history that is still living today...and well worth a visit.

The Amber Fort is breathtaking.

Up there with the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort in the great sights of the 'Golden Triangle' and a magnet for hundreds of Indian and foreign tourists. But the fort rises above all the attention to become one of the great sights of Asia.

Soaring over the city of Jaipur are the Aravalli hills. Perched on each one like sentinels overlooking the town are giant forts. These were built by the Kuchawa Rajputs to defend their kingdom of Amber. The Rajputs were of warrior caste, rather like the knights of medieval Europe. They ruled this part of the world from 1277 to 1727 when Jai Singh moved the capital down to his new city. They constantly vied with the other petty kingdoms of Rajasthan and were loathed by all due to their accomodation with the superpower of the day - The Moghul Empire. Today tourists climb its walls and look out over the Amber valley to the monumental forts overlooking it all.

To reach it is very simple. An autorickshaw will not cost you more then fifty rupees from the centre of Jaipur, if you pay him another thirty rupees he will wait for you when you come down and take you home (be careful though it may be via his brother-in-law''s gemstone factory). Or you can even take the bus from outside the Hawa Mahal all the way to the village of Amber. From there you can walk the winding trails to the fort or catch a jeep (100 rupees) or more atmospherically take a painted elephant (450 rupees)and sit on its howdah as it climbs up to the fort. Be careful around the start though the hawkers and touts can be very persistant. I had a child hat-sellar climb into the jeep with me - he so wanted the sale...

We took a jeep along the winding roads to the towering fort and through the main gate to the central courtyard - Jaleb Chowk. Yellow sandstone ramparts run all around the courtyard, with topiared gardens in the centre and steps led up to the Shila Mata temple and Maharajah's pavilions. Langurs (monkeys) scampered around while painted elephants took tourists around its cirumference for 50 rupees.

I tried the Shila Mata Temple first, dedicated to an aspect of the bloodthirsty goddess Kali. I had to take my shoes off and leave them with an old man. I was grateful for the cool marble on my feet and was caught up in the atmosphere of devotion in the temple.

Up to the main royal pavilions took me through Ganesh Pol (elephant gate). As you enter there is a magnificent marble courtyard; on its eastern side is the Diwan-I-am - hall of public audience. This was a maze of cool ruby coloured columns overlooking Jaleb Chowk, the columns were designed to catch the hill breezes and keep the rajahs entourage cool.

Through lattice windows the court could look out on a fantastic vista of the valley of Amber below. The mountains opposite were dotted with ruins and forts. From this height Moata Lake could be seen below us with its blue/green waters providing refreshment for horses and elephants. But directly below was another palace, and we could see geometric gardens and the road tumble down to the village of Amber.

The rest of the palace was just as beautiful. In places its white walls glittered in the sunlight as they were inlaid with thousands of pieces of silvery glass. Each of the hallways and pavilions was similarly decorated with gold or silver. But the highlight was the Jas Mandir. Myself and a number of tourists entered a darkened octagonal room. A chowdikar (old man) was there with a number of lit matches that he waved in the air. The light reflected off the walls to create a strobic, glittering effect - it was magical to watch the light dance and sparkle in the darkness.

Time flew by at the Amber Fort. And it was with real regret that I got back in the jeep and returned to Amber. This is one of the wonders of India and you cannot come away without being entranced by the Amber Fort.......

Jaipur''s most famous building is simply gorgeous.

The famous pink facade is seen all over the world advertising India and it is one of the must-see''s of Jaipur. The big surprise is where it is. It is part of the city palace, but overlooks one of the main thoroughfares of the Old City and is squeezed between ordinary buildings. So the effect of seeing it for the first time is amazing as it is so unexpected.

It is undeniably beautiful. It spreads up and out like a decorous pink and white fan dotted with latticework, screens and balconies. It was designed for the court ladies of Jai Singh to view royal processions without breaking purdah. As someone said, it is rather like a peacock, all show with very little underneath - it only extends one room wide in most places.

To get the best view of the Hawa Mahal you must cross the busy street and photograph it from the opposite side. Here enterprising shopkeepers will bother you and say they have a better view from their roof - for a small fee of course.

After viewing the Hawa Mahal, my driver Suresh, showed me some other highlights of Jaipur. Down by the lake outside the Pink City is where the elephants are kept. As we drove past there was a herd of about ten pachyderms chowing down on some hay. And their enthusiastic mahouts were perched on their necks and calling to drivers as they passed by.

Nearby was the stunning Galta Palace (see picture). This like the famous Lake Palace in Udaipur was built in the centre of a lake and seems to float on its surface. It is built out of yellow sandstone with cupolas and towers and could only be visited on stepping stones when the water is low. As it was the middle of the hot season, this was the case when I visited and skinny buffaloes grazed on the waterweeds exposed by the heat.

The next stop was unexpected. I was taken by my driver to a carpet factory in the old city of Jaipur. There I was shown looms that were worked by boys not more then 13 years old. The sight was rather pitiful and I asked to leave. Mentally noting that there is rather an unseemely underside to tourist Jaipur.