6th November 2018 Jaipur

Today we started our tour of Jaipur at 9 am. We quickly realized that our guide enjoys his work. First, we visited the Palace of the Winds, a beautifully decorated wall in the old town. Behind this wall, the harems ladies used to stand to watch the hustle and bustle on the street. We made a quick stop, got off, took photos, and faced the biggest challenge of all, crossing the street. The rule here is simple: just walk. But easier said than done. Our guide took care of us, and then we headed up to the Amber Fort, the city's landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage site for a few years now. It had almost as many tourists as the Taj Mahal. We went up to the fort by jeep. The guide's goal for the day was for us to explore Jaipur with all our senses, so we ate throughout the day. Our journey started with a type of bread in the jeep - fried, spicy, but delicious. At the top, we visited the fort, which was the seat of the Maharaja in the 17th century. It is a very beautiful and well-preserved complex.

We then returned to the city. Jaipur is called the Pink City because all the houses in the old town are painted in a pink color. The facades are wonderfully preserved, and the hustle and bustle on the streets is fascinating. It is loud, chaotic, but full of charm and we really liked it.

We visited an observatory with one of the largest sundials, and we were able to read the time with precision, down to the 20 seconds. This impressed us a lot. Next on the itinerary was the City Palace of the Maharaja. Unfortunately, not everything can be visited because the current Maharaja of Rajasthan still lives there.

In the handicraft hall, we bought beautiful silk scarves at very low prices. However, our guide intervened when it came to the Pashmina scarf, as he thought it was too expensive.

Then he took us through the alleyways, where we strolled through spices and fruit stands. He gave us some delicious fruits to peel, and we were looking for Pashmina scarves, which we then found at a much cheaper price but with the same quality. Vanessa wanted to buy practical Indian pants, and after making her selection, our guide stepped in, negotiated, and we had to leave everything we had chosen and walk away. Apparently, it was too expensive. Of course, the shopkeeper called us back, and suddenly the price was halved ... very exciting.

We were getting tired from all the impressions, and our driver was waiting for us. We returned to the hotel for a short break. After a power nap - I stayed by the pool, while Vanessa went to the room - we continued. Tonight, a typical Indian highlight was on the agenda: Bollywood cinema. In Jaipur, one of the oldest cinemas in India is located. Luckily, we read the plot of the movie on the internet, so even without subtitles, we were able to follow it. It was funny and wonderfully cheesy. Today and in the next few days, India is celebrating Diwali, a Hindu festival known as the Festival of Lights, comparable to Christmas for us. It is intended to symbolize the victory of good over evil. The whole city is decorated with lights, and we wanted to see this on our way back to the hotel by TukTuk. We quickly found a TukTuk, and we even agreed on a price to take us back to the hotel, slightly more expensive than our guide recommended, but still acceptable for us. The locals were also flocking to the city, and although there were not many tourists, we felt very comfortable. The traffic chaos was huge, and the TukTuk driver made great efforts to give us a feeling of the festival lights. After about 1.5 hours, we were exhausted from the traffic, the noise, and we were glad to be back at the hotel. We thought the driver deserved a nice tip, so we were generous. However, he suddenly demanded double the amount... Luckily, we quickly found another TukTuk and couldn't continue the discussion for much longer... Phew, all in all, it was a very eventful day in India, and we fell into the comfortable hotel bed, exhausted. We are grateful to have these small havens in our hotels.