October 25, 2024
I began my walkabout this morning in search of the sunrise and to find unique beauty. It is hard when your senses are overwhelmed with the chaos of everyday living for the locals to look around for the beauty but I know it exists. Walking along the quiet street in the morning was so peaceful as I was joyfully greeted by the locals I encountered that were headed to work. A bit of interesting street art intrigued me along with the sweet shop where huge blocks of ice was being delivered to preserve the delicate sweets. With my soul recharged for the day I was ready to join the group for our adventure.
We boarded the coach for our drive to visit to Jaipur’s Amber Fort-Palace.
On our way we did a photo stop at Hawa Mahal. Completed in 1799 and constructed with pink and red sandstone; the exteriors of this palace stand out for the fact that it closely resembles the honeycomb of a beehive with 953 “Jharokhas” or small windows that are brilliantly accentuated with exquisite latticework. The windows were created to allow the royal women, who were not allowed to be seen to view events happening in the city.
As we approached Amber Fort the immensity of the fort became apparent. there are multiple fortress encased it a boarder wall that reminded me of the Great Wall of China.
The entrance to the main portion of the fort has a steep hill where elephants transport tourist to the top. As I watch the conga line of elephants climbing the hills I envisioned dignitaries of the 1400th century arriving to visit the royals.
You will be surprised that I chose not to ride the elephants. It was a struggle for me as I always want to do everything but after being in the Elephant Rescue in Thailand I understood the damage to the elephant of having people on their backs, so as much as I wanted to ride on these majestic animals I chose to take the jeep to the top. The jeep ride was so much fun as we bounce around the rough streets to the top. the 360 view of the area from the top of the hill was spectacular.
One of the largest forts in Rajasthan, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is considered a very well preserved 16th-century structure. Built on four levels out of pink and yellow sandstone and white marble, the fort boasts a number of unique courtyards, one of which is known as the Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace). Located in the Jai Mandir section of the fort are the private quarters of the Maharaja (Indian prince) and his family. Raja Man Singh had twelve queens so he made 12 rooms one for each queen. Each room had a staircase to the King’s room.
Amongst the mass of tourist were several couples doing their wedding photos in their beautiful garb. As I viewed them I speculated on which ones were love marriages vs arranged. The couple in my photos were very much in love!!!
On the way back we did a photo stop at Jal Mahal (meaning “Water Palace”). The palace is located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake.
After we returned to the hotel part of the cooking team for the meal that we will be creating for the kids in a remote village in a couple of days went on a mission to find ingredients. We wanted to cook something American to expose the kids to something new so we went on the hunt for pasta. We are going to do a version of pasta that I learned in Sicily. Grocery shopping in India is not what we are use to!! We went to the counter in a small shop shared our list and they pulled the items from the back storage. No walking the isles and picking from a selection of products. The local merchants were so kind and very patient with us!! What a fun adventure!!!
Wow! We are learning many new things from you! I did not know that it is a hardship for elephants to carry humans! Another nail in our coffins, though, because we enslave them, we help to preserve the species. A tiny thing, but notable anyway. Thank you, O learned teacher!