Stay Duration: July 20th - July 24th
Jaipur is distinctly Rajasthan. Until this point in my trip I hadn't noticed what state within India I was in - Up to this point India had been shades of green and grey, busy, populated and surprisingly modern. In Jaipur the climate and color changed drastically from the early part of my journey that had hugged India's lush west coast. Rajasthan seemed like a new country, an older country, and it was a synopsis of all the components I have always associated with India - desert, temples, palaces, animals lined streets, and snake charmers.
My train ride to Jaipur reminded me off home, and when I stepped off the train it felt like North Dakota on a hot summer day - Trade sunflower fields and large combines for small plots of land, bull and plow; swap fishermen and hunters for Snake Charmers and Rickshaw drivers; trade horses, ducks and deer for camels and cows.... and... elephants, pigs, goats, monkeys, snakes, peacocks..... OK, I'm not in North Dakota (or Kansas) anymore.
I arrive In Jaipur with a couple of new friends - Some Americans from sweet home Alabama, "The Italians" - Elizabeth and Augusto, and "The train manager" back from business in Mumbai. After a long conversation with "The Manager", we came up with a rough equivalent to an American "grocery store"; he called it "Reliance Fresh".
If you know me, you know I have a strange passion for grocery stores. Saying "He/she is like a kid in a candy store" is like saying "he/she is like Eric in a grocery store." I just get excited. Unfortunately, India does not truly have a major grocery store. Reliance fresh was not that reliable (and not that fresh) and big bazaar... Well, it really wasn't that big. While India Lacks its own version of Safeway, Wally's, or Woolworth's it does have an amazing amount of individual vendors and they tend to conveniently congregate. For example, if you wanted to purchase a fresh mango you could find yourself on a busy corner with 20 fruit stalls side by side with the same fruit menu: Mangoes, papaya, pomegranate, sweet lime, apples, pears... You might suffer a bit of deja vu as you travel from stall to stall but you can find what you want; From my first experience I took home 5 mangoes, two sweet limes, and two pomegranates... delicious
Jahal Mahal (Water palace) - with Elizabeth and Augusto - "The Italians"
City Palace/Astrology Observatory with Sandra the Aussie
Eating at Ali's place -
Other Jaipur Jems ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Amber Fort
Hawa Mahal
Monkey Temple
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