As the days have slipped into weeks and now a month travelling around India, Jaipur was our next stop on the adventure trail. Known as the “Pink City,” due to the rich colour blanketing the city walls and streets, Jaipur appeared to be a dust bowl of activity, with clouds of thick dirt and dust causing a permanent haze over everyday life here.
Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, started out as just a stop-over point to Agra, though this city became so much more to Deep and I and surprisingly unveiled itself at the very last moment, becoming one of our favourite Indian cities so far.
Jaipur has become a hub for overseas tourists over the years, with foreigners keen to fulfil the third corner of India’s “Golden Triangle” as well as explore the exquisite array of bazaars, said to be the best in all of Asia. The architecture of this city and the craftsmanship in the famous Amber Fort can be marvelled at for hours.
The centre of Jaipur city is enclosed by pink walls and gates, and features the grand 300 year old City Palace, the Hawa Mahal (known as the Palace of Winds, which was built to allow the women of the palace to watch street processions whilst being screened from the general society) and Janter Mantar (an ancient astronomical centre). Finally the Amber Fort, perched high on the hills in the outskirts of town, allows tourists and locals an insight into times gone by, as we are encouraged to explore the labyrinth of passage ways, dining halls and secret tunnels.
All these attractions feature on the tourist trail and in every guide book. But what Deep and I didn’t expect was to be embraced by this city in our final hours, a moment later and we would have missed the real essence that makes this city a stand out travel destination.
To keep a long story short, Deep and I were to leave Jaipur by train to Agra, only to find out there were no trains running that day. So back we went to the City Palace to see what hidden treasures Jaipur had left to show us. It was there that we met a very friendly tuk-tuk driver, who we’ll call Sunil.
Tuk-tuk drivers are usually not to be trusted when giving recommendations on places to see and things to do as for them there is always a hidden agenda. Of course when we met this man, Deep and I were a bit sceptical towards his idea of showing us the “real Jaipur” but then we decided we were on holidays, and embracing the unknown was where the real fun normally begins.
Sunil firstly took us to a Shri Hanuman Temple, aka Monkey Temple, situated at the top of a cobblestone trail, surrounded by a blanket of clouds. As we walked up this steep climb baby monkeys ran in front of our feet, their eyes wide with wonder while their parents unfazed by all this human attention watched the sun set over this marvellous city. The locals believe in keeping the monkeys well fed in an endeavour of creating good karma for themselves and the Pink City. They achieve this through the help of a random tourist or two, who are encouraged to feed the monkeys bananas, chappati and fresh fruit from town.
At the top of the hill, inside the temple we were welcomed by a young woman who encouraged Deep and I to start the Holi festivities by covering our faces in colourful powders. Outside the temple walls the monkeys continued to play like young children, letting out high pitched squeals to get their parent’s attention. After our descent from the temple, we were taken to an elephant camp to watch these enormous creatures be decorated in an array of colours in honour of the upcoming Elephant Festival.
As the day turned to night we finished our tour at a local Hindu temple which was covered in gold leaf and mirrors. Three young children kneeled down in front of a statue of Shri Rama-Sita, saying a prayer to the Hindu deities, before quietly slipping out the back door.
Some things in life do happen for a reason and if we had hopped on a train to Agra that day, we never would have seen what lay under the thick cloud of dust, the real Jaipur which is very rarely seen by tourists.
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