INDIA 2010 : Jaipur’ing Rain

Nov 24 – We awoke to a heavy rain which is so out of character for this time of year. Our hoped for morning rising sun striking the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds) was out of the question. The streets along the bazaar had flowing water a foot deep in some places with an assortment of floating trash. Pedestrians and cattle took cover under what little there was for a store front overhang.

At the Amber Fort (above), the ancient capital of Jaipur, we opted not to take the elephants to the fort entrance in the rain, instead riding under cover in the back of a Gypsy. Built over a period of about two centuries the complex has palaces, halls, pavilions, gardens and temples.

From the entrance courtyard (above) we climbed to the Hall of Public Audience, beautifully ornamented in carved patterns of elephants atop two rows of columns. The public courtyard then leads through the decorated Ganesh Gate to the Maharaja’s residence at higher elevation.

By late morning the rain had abated making it easier to take advantage of several short stops before lunch. First to the 18th century Jah Mahal, the water palace on Man Sagar lake where we got our first close up looks at birds, such as Common Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt and Indian Pond Heron. Then, while I picked up some first aid supplies for Kay’s leg, the group visited one of the many textile shops that the city is famous for. We had a very pleasant lunch in an open restaurant where we could watch chapati’s (above) being made and were briefly entertained by a rather dashing Rajastani musician (below) from Jodhpur playing the sarangee.

Following lunch we began our road trip to Sawai Madhophur. We had a period of on off drizzle to start with, and no precipitation while we visited Chakso Lake. Surprisingly there was little in the way of waterfowl there but we did have a few shorebirds including Marsh Sandpiper and 2 Ruffs, one with a white head. While walking along the berm there were some eye catching birds in amongst the acacia woodlands such as Eurasian Hoopoe, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Yellow-crowned Woodpecker, Black-rumped Flameback and a Green Bee-eater (below) with a loose tail feather hanging from the end of its tail.

The weather soon worsened with a steady hard rain that made the journey on the already rough roads, considerably tougher. It was 8:30 pm by the time we reached The Tiger Den, our base for Ranthambhore National Park. The news the last few days had not been good. Pankaj, our guide for the park, told us that they had had a great deal of rain and the park had to be closed for most of that time. We would know in the morning if the park would be open, depending upon how much rain we get overnight.