Forts and Palaces...

We are all weary from travel, but excited about the day ahead. A few stops here and there and we make our way along the countryside and villages closer to Jaiper and stop over at the Amber Fort. We wind around the hillside and there it is along the hillside. Like an elaborate sand castle. Exotic and gorgeous in the midday sun. We are invited to stop in to a small temple at the roadside before our trip up to the Fort in jeeps, for a small bit of lunch. We sit under a tree on a cement slab after removing our shoes, and are given plates of a very soft thin fry bread, like a pancake accompanied by a yogurt(curd :) and a spicey, greenish, thin sauce. Eat with fingers only....(left handers trying to politely eat right handed only). It is fantastic. Thank goodness I have a small hand gel for this trip, it comes in very handy.
We seperate into covered jeeps and take the steep, rocky road to the fort. Winding through the small village...children waving...motorcyclists hoping to have their photos taken pull nearly onto the jeep's rear bumper. We arrive outside the Fort and the moment we step from the jeep we are swarmed with men and children selling everything from postcards to pens to wooden carvings. They are relentless. It is a relief to get within the Fort out of the courtyard to be free of them. They have their wares to sell, but it is too overwhelming in the heat.
It is Persian style, elaborate and beautiful...more of a palace than a fort. We wander through, enthralled. The view within and without is amazing. It is beyond anything I have ever seen. Our guide is a local man named Ajah. He is knowledgable and does all he can to let us know such. That is the beginning of our time with him...and it will try all of our patience before our visit to Jaipur concludes.
Tamar returns after a short while with a much welcome pot of Massala Chai. The first of several I will have on this trip. It is glorious...many do not enjoy it...which suits us fine...more for us! It is sweet with loads of clove, cinnamon, pepper and a multitude other spices. We stay at the Fort until nearly dark and must make our way back to Daphne on the jeeps...the salesmen are again relentless. I stand my ground...no sale today gents.
We happily reboard Daphne and wake Nik from his nap (one of many he will have along the way...:). We make our way into Jaipur City...the Pink walled city. To our left just after sundown there is a lake, (which always catches my attention due to the lack of them). They stop and we are encouraged to go to the waterside to see Jal-Mahal...the Palace on the Lake. Amongst the curious, if not obnoxious locals, are the hoards of mosquitos...needless to say, we didn't stay long. Shame.
We went into town and it never ceases to be fascinating, sad, disgusting and so many other things. There is also an incredible beauty to it. Many people wave, clasp their hands in prayer and bow to us. It's welcoming and kind. I feel intrusive at times, like I am on the outside of a prison gate, looking inside. Yet, these people know that this is their lot and accept it. A gentle Grace about them. I am thankful that I can witness it, even the bits that make me look away and the smells that make me want to retch.
After witnessing the city and desolution, we pull into our 'hotel'. The Bissau Palace Hotel. Tamar calls it quaint. Most of us call it opulent...especially after what we witnessed. It is a former palace that has a definite charm and ambiance about it. Even a warning to keep our windows closed and locked at night to avoid an abrupt crasher that would be in the shape of a monkey. We freshen-up for a bit only to hop into what would be our first of many Tuk-Tuks to go to our guide Ajah's family's home for supper. Hot damn, what a ride! It is ground level with all the madness! Matt, John (a fellow American) and I are not prepared for a ride of our lives. It is with giddy joy and laughter we happily go, like 3 school kids on a carnival ride. We never wanted it to end. That feeling would pass after 2 weeks!!
We are welcomed into Ajah's family home by his sisters and given a gorgeous homemade meal. A fellow travelor (American), Amber apparently noted a 'bug' in her food Matt tells me later. Oh well...she came to complain about MANY things during the trip, we learned...so how much of that was really tur, we may never know... Ajah continues to give us his 'verbal tour of India'..like a Hindu automaton... until we all grow tired and head back to the hotel. Where we enjoy a nice cold beer at a former palace on the porch with the crickets and somewhat tropical surroundings. A nice balmy evening...life was good.
A bit of a lie in and we are off like mad people once again. A strong coffee and breakfast and off into the City to the Palace of the Winds. We are not allowed inside and police stop the relentless traffic to get us across the street. Watched closely by 2 street snakecharmers and a maimed beggar looking to approach us. We don't stop long. Off to a 17th century observatory built by Sawai Singh. I love it there. It is brilliance and science and the sun makes me feel content....plus, it's QUIET!
A nice tour and photos then over to the City Palace. A tour of pure decadence and military weaponry. The museum holds everything from huge robes encrusted with jewels of obese kings to rooms full of any type of military weapon in use at the time. Swords and knives of all shapes and sizes. The crowd becomes intense and we all bail out. We catch an overpriced Tuk for 4 of us back to the Hotel and spend the rest of the day lounging by the back pool with drinks and conversation. There are 4 of us that just don't care to fight the crowd in town...and Nik, of course.
Matt and I venture into town, a bit later, a few blocks down to explore. It is filthy, foul and we are instantly spotted. I have come to learn to not make eye contact and just move on...Matt is far more polite than I. We have enough in that short time and are happy to retreat to our fantasy world inside the palace hotel. Cowards.
We stay at the hotel on yet another rooftop restaurant and have dinner under the stars for our last night in Jaipur. I am a bit saddened by this, but we have many days to go. Tamar has an interesting time sorting the bills out with the waiters. This proves to be a common occurance in India. She just pulls it together and deals with it as she does the entire trip. Time is passed in chatting and exchanging ideas. One of many nights of this. It is one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Fatehpur Sikri is a fort a few miles out of Agra built by the grandfather of the builder of the Taj Mahal. It is in the usual Persian style and built of sandstone. As with all, the entrance is elaborate and the buildings geometrically laid out. The courtyards are wide and large. The inner mosque had a mirage type pool in front of it with men playing traditional islamic music. Children roamed about and only asked for a photo to be taken. Most of this was accepted unless is was to chaotic, then the children were ran off. I wonder if many of them had parents? It was difficult to tell at times.
A lovely, well-preserved building with grandeur, but again, the inundation of merchants became hard to bear and took the charm away from the site. Yet, the smiles of the children who watched us with open curiosity made up for it. My heart went out to them.