Jaipur Travelogue
Jaipur Travelogue 2018
My dream of going to Rajasthan was finally fulfilled this year. Since we had very less time on hand, I had to be satisfied with only Jaipur but it as an awesome, memorable trip. We took a direct air asia flight which lands at 5pm or so. We stayed at Marriott resort, Kukas. This place is approximately an hour and half from airport so it was almost dark by the time we reached oh!! but what a view.
Such a superb hotel. Absolutely royal. This is a newly built property, around 10 months back and I give full marks to the place. It is tastefully done with traditional Rajasthani architecture in mind and superb blend of modern and traditional. The ambiance is awesome. Light music playing everywhere even in the remotest part of the hotel. We asked the golf cart, used to take us to our private villa, to give us a tour of the place. I can just wander around the place for hours and not get bored. It is so beautiful. The light effects, light music, the cold air blowing through our hair and the smell of the various flowers in the garden, it was just perfect. I instantly knew that I need not leave the place and yet I will have wonderful memories of Jaipur. Please note that this is a resort. Marriott has a regular hotel in Jaipur and this is the second property.
Our villa had 1 bedroom with an outdoor seating arrangement and a private pool. My son was overjoyed to see a pool and wanted to jump right in. Jaipur was quite cold than expected. Also, the hotel has a hill in the background and hence it was a lot more colder. Our day of arrival was spent soaking in the beauty of this place. We had dinner at the in house restaurant called Mohan Mahal. This restaurant is a replica of the Sheesh Mahal (of Amer fort) and is candle lit. The candle light reflected by the mirrors, combined with the live rendition of romantic songs on the santoor and tabla gave it a rare ambiance. Entire Rajasthan was served in our thali and I have never eaten such awesome mutton ever in my life. Just look at our menu
Starters: pyaz ki kachori, mouth watering lamb shole kabab, chicken silbatti
Soup: Haddi hariyali ka shorba lamb spinach soup
Mains: Laal maas, safed maas, shekhawati chicken, gatte ki sabzi, masala baati, saadi dal baati
Dessert: Ghevar, laapsi, laddu.
Yumm.
Day 2: This year Dassera was celebrated on different dates in various parts of our country. Jaipur had Dasera on the next day of our visit. The hotel had planned a special evening on this occasion and requested us to be a part of the celebrations. We therefore planned for a short site seeing session on this day. After a heavy breakfast at the hotel (I am also heavier by a kg after all this yummy food), we head out to Jantar Mantar. I recommend taking a guide otherwise its just a structure which does not make sense to us. This is the only Jantar Mantar out of five which is very well maintained. The ruler of Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh II, was an astronomer himself with interest in astrology as well. Jantar mantar is an outcome of his vision to have instruments which could measure time to the accuracy of 2 seconds. His first instrument was accurate up to 20 seconds but he wanted more precision due to which the second instrument was made. There are many instruments which are better version of the previous ones in the same area.
Our second stop was City Palace. This is just across the road from Jantar Mantar. It has multiple sections, the Deewean e aam and Diwan e khas. The places houses a museum of royal artifacts and other things which show the lifestyle of the kings. It is worth a visit. One area was cordoned off for some documentary shoot. Must see: the huge silver pots used to carry Ganga Jal to England, Mor Darwaza and the main hall of the king.
Our third stop was Hawa Mahal. Well, the place is so crowded and with the construction going on for metro, there was quite a traffic jam. Whether you go alone or with a tour operator, they show it to you from outside. Your car driver and guide convince you that there is nothing inside so it was more of a photo stop. I wish that these guides and car drivers do not influence us. If we want to see something or visit a place, we should actually be allowed.
I wanted to do some shopping and next stop was Johari bazaar which is just a lane next to Hawa Mahal. Now here comes a big warning. All tourist car drivers and guides get commission from shopkeepers here and they have mastered the art of convincing the tourist of how their recommendation is the best. Our guide actually forced us to a shop quite far off saying that entire johari bazaar and bapu bazaar is just a loot bazaar and they sell you all rubbish stuff. Jaipur is famous for its bedsheets and rajai in vegetable colour and they have some traditional prints too. Fact is that we were taken to shop called Rajasthan Textile Development Corp. for shopping. We were aware of this tactic used by drivers and in spite of this knowledge we were made to agree to their choice of shop by incessant hammering of how the shops in the bazaar are fakes and I could not believe it that I had fallen for their scam. The traffic at hawa mahal is such a mess that the driver also started saying that we will have to once again cross this traffic to take a 'U'. By the way, this RTDC is NOT a government shop and is extremely expensive and lastly the receipt does not even have a GSTIN. My mood was off since I did not get to go where I wanted to. I finally saw a design of my choice which was priced at, hold your breath, 1800Rs. My husband finally asked me to enjoy the "tourist ride" and just go ahead and buy it.
Coming back to the hotel was like going back to paradise. We (read my son) had already befriended the hotel staff and everyone was giving us extra royal treatment due to this new friend of theirs. My son has this quality of making friends quite easily. A day before as we ate the thali in this "thali restaurant", the chef made pasta for his little friend when he said that he does not eat spicy food. The hotel had arranged for an elephant ride followed by high tea, garba, fireworks and ravan dahan. The temple inside the premises of the hotel is so beautiful. It was surreal. My kid wanted a second round on the elephant but once we explained to him that each time we take a ride on the elephant, the animal has sit down for us to climb up (using a ladder). It is a big effort for this huge animal to sit and stand. My kid is an animal lover and he understood this and decided not to take another ride. BTW, we missed the high tea since my kid wanted to go swimming in between. By the end of the day we were famished and headed to the second restaurant Sukh Mahal. Dinner was followed by a cake, complimentary from the hotel since they came to know that it was our anniversary.
Some trivia on Jaipur. The ruler wanted to make Jaipur like heaven. Similar to heaven where you have to cross seven gates to reach it, the city and palace also have seven gates. We did come across many gates but I did not count it. I am taking my guides word for it. The city has number of temples and comes only next Varanasi.
Day 3: Today, we had booked a private taxi from Namaste Jaipur tours (9571915083). We got the details of this company from tripadvisor and had exceptional feedback. You can book a cab or rickshaw for site seeing in Jaipur or outside Jaipur as well as for airport pick up and drop. This is not an advertisement but I have friends who refer to my blog for such travel trivia while booking their tours and I give safety a lot of importance. I found this person reliable hence the info. Our plan was to do Amer fort (also called Amber). Few points to note here. The cab goes right up to the top. However, if you want an elephant ride to the top, you have to go there in the morning because the rides are available only in the first half of the day. Please find out the timings before hand. We went by car so no idea. On the way to Amer is a step well called Panna Heera kund. Please do make it a point to visit this place. Must see.
Amer fort has the original palace and was the original place of residence for the kings of Jaipur before the city of Jaipur was made. It has the third largest wall surrounding it. The fort is huge and it is really up to you how much time to spend here but if you are a history buff, then even three hours would be less to see the entire place. I came across a blog describing Amer fort after the trip and now I realize that although we spent three hours, we barely saw this huge place. You may want to read this. https://www.inditales.com/amer-fort-jaipur-rajasthan/
Secondly we did not take a guide here. Most places have descriptions put up in many places so you get the gist of it. I heard of one interesting trivia from some person standing nearby. He was mentioning that there is conspiracy theory that the girl whom Akbar married was not Jodha at all. Jodha was poisoned and a Muslim girl (raised in the palace and who was influenced by her Hindu surroundings and used to follow Hindu customs) was married to Akbar as Jodha. However I have not come across anything like this anywhere on the internet. Also since the person was a stranger I was not in a position to initiate a conversation with him. Coming back to Amer fort, I will list it as a must see fort especially for the Sheesh Mahal and to observe the architecture in that era. At one place they had a water cooling system to be used in the summer. It is interesting. It seems there is a tunnel connecting Amer and Jaigarh fort but I did not come across this place. So please do explore this place. We did not go the Jaigarh and Nahargarh because we were hungry and each fort takes an equal amount of time. Also, kids lose their patience after a while. Actually there are so many places to see and observe that a lifetime is also less. Most of our life is spent in earning a livelihood and following a boring routine. I wish I had unlimited money to explore this whole world.
Today I decided to do some shopping and this time I had taken a vow not be bullied by anyone and finally I made my purchases. Back at the hotel after navigating a huge traffic jam, we wanted to eat at Marriott's roof top restaurant Hawa Mahal. It is yet another beautifully designed restaurant. Unfortunately, a private party had booked the entire place.
Day 4: End of the trip. It was our day to head back. We had the morning free since our flight was in the evening. So before check out today, me and my son went swimming. We both love it, it's time well spent. We too some photos of the place. We bid farewell to our friends and the city bringing back treasure trove of memories.
My dream of going to Rajasthan was finally fulfilled this year. Since we had very less time on hand, I had to be satisfied with only Jaipur but it as an awesome, memorable trip. We took a direct air asia flight which lands at 5pm or so. We stayed at Marriott resort, Kukas. This place is approximately an hour and half from airport so it was almost dark by the time we reached oh!! but what a view.
Such a superb hotel. Absolutely royal. This is a newly built property, around 10 months back and I give full marks to the place. It is tastefully done with traditional Rajasthani architecture in mind and superb blend of modern and traditional. The ambiance is awesome. Light music playing everywhere even in the remotest part of the hotel. We asked the golf cart, used to take us to our private villa, to give us a tour of the place. I can just wander around the place for hours and not get bored. It is so beautiful. The light effects, light music, the cold air blowing through our hair and the smell of the various flowers in the garden, it was just perfect. I instantly knew that I need not leave the place and yet I will have wonderful memories of Jaipur. Please note that this is a resort. Marriott has a regular hotel in Jaipur and this is the second property.
Our villa had 1 bedroom with an outdoor seating arrangement and a private pool. My son was overjoyed to see a pool and wanted to jump right in. Jaipur was quite cold than expected. Also, the hotel has a hill in the background and hence it was a lot more colder. Our day of arrival was spent soaking in the beauty of this place. We had dinner at the in house restaurant called Mohan Mahal. This restaurant is a replica of the Sheesh Mahal (of Amer fort) and is candle lit. The candle light reflected by the mirrors, combined with the live rendition of romantic songs on the santoor and tabla gave it a rare ambiance. Entire Rajasthan was served in our thali and I have never eaten such awesome mutton ever in my life. Just look at our menu
Starters: pyaz ki kachori, mouth watering lamb shole kabab, chicken silbatti
Soup: Haddi hariyali ka shorba lamb spinach soup
Mains: Laal maas, safed maas, shekhawati chicken, gatte ki sabzi, masala baati, saadi dal baati
Dessert: Ghevar, laapsi, laddu.
Yumm.
Day 2: This year Dassera was celebrated on different dates in various parts of our country. Jaipur had Dasera on the next day of our visit. The hotel had planned a special evening on this occasion and requested us to be a part of the celebrations. We therefore planned for a short site seeing session on this day. After a heavy breakfast at the hotel (I am also heavier by a kg after all this yummy food), we head out to Jantar Mantar. I recommend taking a guide otherwise its just a structure which does not make sense to us. This is the only Jantar Mantar out of five which is very well maintained. The ruler of Jaipur, Sawai Jai Singh II, was an astronomer himself with interest in astrology as well. Jantar mantar is an outcome of his vision to have instruments which could measure time to the accuracy of 2 seconds. His first instrument was accurate up to 20 seconds but he wanted more precision due to which the second instrument was made. There are many instruments which are better version of the previous ones in the same area.
Our second stop was City Palace. This is just across the road from Jantar Mantar. It has multiple sections, the Deewean e aam and Diwan e khas. The places houses a museum of royal artifacts and other things which show the lifestyle of the kings. It is worth a visit. One area was cordoned off for some documentary shoot. Must see: the huge silver pots used to carry Ganga Jal to England, Mor Darwaza and the main hall of the king.
Our third stop was Hawa Mahal. Well, the place is so crowded and with the construction going on for metro, there was quite a traffic jam. Whether you go alone or with a tour operator, they show it to you from outside. Your car driver and guide convince you that there is nothing inside so it was more of a photo stop. I wish that these guides and car drivers do not influence us. If we want to see something or visit a place, we should actually be allowed.
I wanted to do some shopping and next stop was Johari bazaar which is just a lane next to Hawa Mahal. Now here comes a big warning. All tourist car drivers and guides get commission from shopkeepers here and they have mastered the art of convincing the tourist of how their recommendation is the best. Our guide actually forced us to a shop quite far off saying that entire johari bazaar and bapu bazaar is just a loot bazaar and they sell you all rubbish stuff. Jaipur is famous for its bedsheets and rajai in vegetable colour and they have some traditional prints too. Fact is that we were taken to shop called Rajasthan Textile Development Corp. for shopping. We were aware of this tactic used by drivers and in spite of this knowledge we were made to agree to their choice of shop by incessant hammering of how the shops in the bazaar are fakes and I could not believe it that I had fallen for their scam. The traffic at hawa mahal is such a mess that the driver also started saying that we will have to once again cross this traffic to take a 'U'. By the way, this RTDC is NOT a government shop and is extremely expensive and lastly the receipt does not even have a GSTIN. My mood was off since I did not get to go where I wanted to. I finally saw a design of my choice which was priced at, hold your breath, 1800Rs. My husband finally asked me to enjoy the "tourist ride" and just go ahead and buy it.
Coming back to the hotel was like going back to paradise. We (read my son) had already befriended the hotel staff and everyone was giving us extra royal treatment due to this new friend of theirs. My son has this quality of making friends quite easily. A day before as we ate the thali in this "thali restaurant", the chef made pasta for his little friend when he said that he does not eat spicy food. The hotel had arranged for an elephant ride followed by high tea, garba, fireworks and ravan dahan. The temple inside the premises of the hotel is so beautiful. It was surreal. My kid wanted a second round on the elephant but once we explained to him that each time we take a ride on the elephant, the animal has sit down for us to climb up (using a ladder). It is a big effort for this huge animal to sit and stand. My kid is an animal lover and he understood this and decided not to take another ride. BTW, we missed the high tea since my kid wanted to go swimming in between. By the end of the day we were famished and headed to the second restaurant Sukh Mahal. Dinner was followed by a cake, complimentary from the hotel since they came to know that it was our anniversary.
Some trivia on Jaipur. The ruler wanted to make Jaipur like heaven. Similar to heaven where you have to cross seven gates to reach it, the city and palace also have seven gates. We did come across many gates but I did not count it. I am taking my guides word for it. The city has number of temples and comes only next Varanasi.
Day 3: Today, we had booked a private taxi from Namaste Jaipur tours (9571915083). We got the details of this company from tripadvisor and had exceptional feedback. You can book a cab or rickshaw for site seeing in Jaipur or outside Jaipur as well as for airport pick up and drop. This is not an advertisement but I have friends who refer to my blog for such travel trivia while booking their tours and I give safety a lot of importance. I found this person reliable hence the info. Our plan was to do Amer fort (also called Amber). Few points to note here. The cab goes right up to the top. However, if you want an elephant ride to the top, you have to go there in the morning because the rides are available only in the first half of the day. Please find out the timings before hand. We went by car so no idea. On the way to Amer is a step well called Panna Heera kund. Please do make it a point to visit this place. Must see.
Amer fort has the original palace and was the original place of residence for the kings of Jaipur before the city of Jaipur was made. It has the third largest wall surrounding it. The fort is huge and it is really up to you how much time to spend here but if you are a history buff, then even three hours would be less to see the entire place. I came across a blog describing Amer fort after the trip and now I realize that although we spent three hours, we barely saw this huge place. You may want to read this. https://www.inditales.com/amer-fort-jaipur-rajasthan/
Secondly we did not take a guide here. Most places have descriptions put up in many places so you get the gist of it. I heard of one interesting trivia from some person standing nearby. He was mentioning that there is conspiracy theory that the girl whom Akbar married was not Jodha at all. Jodha was poisoned and a Muslim girl (raised in the palace and who was influenced by her Hindu surroundings and used to follow Hindu customs) was married to Akbar as Jodha. However I have not come across anything like this anywhere on the internet. Also since the person was a stranger I was not in a position to initiate a conversation with him. Coming back to Amer fort, I will list it as a must see fort especially for the Sheesh Mahal and to observe the architecture in that era. At one place they had a water cooling system to be used in the summer. It is interesting. It seems there is a tunnel connecting Amer and Jaigarh fort but I did not come across this place. So please do explore this place. We did not go the Jaigarh and Nahargarh because we were hungry and each fort takes an equal amount of time. Also, kids lose their patience after a while. Actually there are so many places to see and observe that a lifetime is also less. Most of our life is spent in earning a livelihood and following a boring routine. I wish I had unlimited money to explore this whole world.
Today I decided to do some shopping and this time I had taken a vow not be bullied by anyone and finally I made my purchases. Back at the hotel after navigating a huge traffic jam, we wanted to eat at Marriott's roof top restaurant Hawa Mahal. It is yet another beautifully designed restaurant. Unfortunately, a private party had booked the entire place.
Day 4: End of the trip. It was our day to head back. We had the morning free since our flight was in the evening. So before check out today, me and my son went swimming. We both love it, it's time well spent. We too some photos of the place. We bid farewell to our friends and the city bringing back treasure trove of memories.
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posted by Anagha @ 11:31 PM
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