My first impressions of Jaipur were more positive than Delhi and Agra. The place has structure, I even saw a few large shopping complexes.
We drove through the gates of the pink city and it was quite marvelous as well as congested. All the buildings were made of apricot pink terra-cotta and the gates to the city were archways which gave it an almost medieval feel. Sharing the road were cars, bicycles, motorbikes, buses, tuk tuks, camels, cows and people. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. Shops lined the roads edge selling many different goods. The sound of loud horns ringed in my ears.
We arrive at our hotel and it was an Indian mansion turned into a heritage site. As we walk through the door an Indian lady threw flower petals from the window above and we were greeted with a lai around our neck as a man placed a red dot on our forehead followed by some grains of rice. A traditional Indian welcome I presume. The house was traditionally decorated inside with lounge chairs and stained windows. It was a huge place with long corridors and many rooms.
Jaipur is a town situated in the desert. It is quite dusty and the roads smell of car fumes due to the congestion.
It was lunch time so our tour guide recommended some good places for us to eat and we decided on suryi matra. We had to travel by auto rickshaw to get there.
The rickshaw ride was definitely an experience. I felt like I was on the old bush beast at wonderland. Bumping around, dodging traffic and getting a rush of adrenalin as you hear loud horns coming towards you, trusting that your driver has his eyes on the ball.
I take my hat off to these guys who push through the crowded streets merely inches between them and the other obstacles on the roads.
We arrive at the restaurant 90 rupees later ( the average price per ride ). The food at the restaurant was the best Indian I've ever had. We ordered a Thali which was various types of Indian vegetarian dishes and some naan and papadums to go with it. It was served on traditional silver Tupperware and cost us only 220 rupees for the 2 of us. Equal to about $2.50 each. They even had some Gulab Jammun ( aka gooblies - one of the many words Amber and I have made up for things we can't pronounce ).
If we couldn't think that there would be anything else to top off this meal, we were wrong. Here in a small Indian restaurant in the middle of Jaipur was the best chocolate cake we have ever had! Named death by chocolate, it was the most divine, warm, melt in your mouth piece of cake I've ever come across. Such a delightful surprise.
We head back on another roller coaster rickshaw ride and I'm feeling excited to be in such an interesting place situated in the heart of India.