INDIA 2010 : Delhi to Jaipur

Nov 23 – Pam, John, Kay, Joe, Mary Kay and Bob arrived a day early to rest up from the long journey to Delhi and take in some of the sights of old Delhi. It was a fascinating though long day for them. Kay suffered a slight mishap, scraping her shin while getting out of a rickshaw and sadly missed going to the colorful spice market.

Although we all skipped the fancy wedding that was going on at the Uppal, in lieu of much needed sleep, we certainly were well aware that this 3 day festive occasion was going on! Before getting on the road to Jaipur we all made sure that we saw a Red-whiskered Bulbul in the hotel gardens, a bird that I have not seen elsewhere in the lowlands.

The drive to Jaipur was long, very long, 6 1/2 hours long! Some of the sections having a terrific amount of traffic, as well as a few fender-benders, and, overturned and jackknifed trucks. It is surprising given the volume of trucks that we do not see more accidents. Maybe it is because the writing on the back of each truck, “Horn Please”, actually keeps them a degree more alert.

Approaching the Pink City of Jaipur we encountered the beginning of what would turn out to be heavy rain. The name Pink City is slightly misleading, for at the time that it was painted, to cut down the intense glare for the Prince of Wales’ visit in 1876, there was no name for terra cotta, which is probably a better choice to describe its color.

We picked up our guide Raj for the city tour and promptly headed to the Observatory (above). Built of stone and marble there are many different designs and shaped medieval astronomical instruments in this wonderfully preserved observatory, including the world’s largest sundial, accurate to 2 seconds. There was no sun to tell the time at the Jantar Mantar outdoor observatory!

About a hundred meters from the Observatory we entered the gate to the City Palace complex which blends Mughal and Rajastani architecture.

One of the intriguing pieces on display, are the the two gangajali or silver jars made from melting silver coins, which are the world’s largest silver objects. Each jar stands over 5 feet in height and weighs 760 pounds. When the devout Hindu Maharaja of Jaipur sailed to England to attend the coronation of Edward VIIth in 1902 he had them filled with holy water from the River Ganges.