Jaipur

We packed in quite a bit in 3 days in Jaipur , which is probably why so few details remain. Our first domestic flight in India went off without a hitch. Yes, the traffic going to the airport was horrendous, but we got there in a half hour and our flight departed right on time. There are several low cost carriers in India, and we chose An airline called Indigo air primarily because it took my credit card. Using an America credit card online is relatively difficult in India. A lot of sites don't take them, the rail ticket site, the phone company , or the online food store we order from. And so far, Indigo is the only airline that has accepted my card without problem. I asked the hotel to have to pick us up at the airport, which was not only unnecessary but expensive since not only was there q prepaid taxi stand. It Uber worked as well. So I spent to $22 going from the airport to the hotel and only $2 for the hotel to the airport.

Once we arrived we had to make a decision about our itinerary . We arrived Friday noon and would leave Sunday morning, so there was no time to spare. We decided we would hire a car to drive us to th sites outside of town, which consisted of q couple of forts, and then spend Saturday exploring the city on our own. A car four four hours would run us about $25, which is about time the going rate, but if you get it through the hotel there is a level of security that you don't have if you just go out on your own and hire someone.

Amber Fort is supposedly on the must see list for anyone going to Jaipur,  and so as not to miss anything But first there is the matter of getting the on overage so please we have no idea how much it costs. Given with the landlord and said I'm figuring it's about a 40 but the first couple folks asked for 80 to 100 and then Yong finally chimes and "50 all the time 50."And the guy agrees we took the driver up on his suggestion to hire a guide, which turns out to be a mistake. It onl cost around $3, but the guy was short on information and seems interested only in getting us through the fort as quickly as possible and getting us to go to his village to look at handicrafts. About halfway thrum the tour we paid him and told him e wanted to explore the fort on our own.. In truth, they did not seem all that much to see. The best part about visiting the various forts is that it takes y outside and above the city And certainly the highlight for me was the restaurant atop the third and final fort we went to, from which e watched the sunset and I had a beer, which are remarkably hard to come by in India (though not as difficult to obtain as a cheeseburger--unless y want q literal cheese burger,that is, a burger made of cheese, which I made the mistake of ordering once).

The second and only full day in Jaipur saw us out on the street by 9 am. Jane was not too keen on going to the museum, but developed an interest in the pottery on display. My memories armor the carvings that illustrated the stories of the Hindu gods. From there the next major site is know. As the City Palace, which is where the royal head of Jaipur still resides, although he has no political power.The most famous building in the complex is known as the welcoming hall that wa used by the rulers of Jaipur to greet other dignitaries.it was constructed in the early 20th century and was voted at one point the most beautiful 20th century building, though I have a hard time seeing it.

Jantar Mantqr, an enclosed area about the size of a football filed which contains about a dozen or so gigantic astronomical instruments Serving as sundials and to mark the locations of various objects in the sky.

Finally we found our way to what is known as the Tower of the Winds, which is a 5 story structure do that those looking out cannot be seen by those on the outside. It was built so that the wives of the rulers (and the early rulers had multiple wives) cloud view the city while retaining their modesty.

The sites put us smack in the middle of the pink part of the pink city. The traffic in and around the central part of town is as intense as anything in Delhi. We wound up callin an Uber  by one of the three entrance gates -- traffic pouring by on all sides-- and having to ask a kiosk full of Indian policemen to help us explain our location to the Uber driver.

But the day ends peacefully as the cab dropped us at the Hotel Pearl Palace and its rooftop restaurant which I had read about in my guide. The Lonely Planet guide continues to deliver excellent recommendations, and this rooftop oasis in the midst of a chaotic city was no exception . The only drawback was that the clay oven would not start operating until six thirty and so we were deprived of sampling its signature dishes .

The weather was beautiful for our entire trip. February and March are the best time for visiting this part of India, known as Rajastqn,which sits I the desert and gets blazing hot starting in April.