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We enjoyed our last breakfast at the Tigress and packed up for the 3 hour drive to Jaipur. Of course, that is totally dependent on the traffic. We had left early enough that the road was pretty much clear and we were sailing along, at least for the first 1.5 hours. Then, it ended. And not just a slow down, it was a total stop.
We were in a small town and had commented how happy we were that traffic was so light. Right about then, our luck ran out. McCloud (as Ken now refers to the Driver as he can't remember his name), did some attempts at taking a couple of alternate routes via dirt roads, but nothing was helping. So, we waded into the melee. There were cars every which direction, not crashed, just snagging whatever inch could be had to move forward. And, if that meant going sidewise on the wrong side of the road, then that is what they did. It was like a thin necklace that gets knotted up and you have to figure out how to un-knot it.
For about an hour, we were either at a total standstill or moving a fraction of an inch. I had settled in and was playing soitaire on my phone as I figured we could be there all day. To add to the craziness, we were definitely an oddity, as the locals would stand outside the car window and just stare...and we aren't talking from a few feet away, they were literally right at the window. McCloud had the doors locked, just in case anyone decided to join us (or have us join them).
Finally the police showed up and between them and some locals, they were able to start untangling the mess. Finally, we were able to make a little headway and an hour delay, were back on the road. We arrived to the ITC Jaipur, which like the other hotels is an oasis and you automatically feel calmer when you enter.
We grabbed a quick lunch and relaxed for a bit before meeting Basant, our tour guide for the 2 days. As we got into the car, it was obvious all three of us were a bit wiped. We had been on the go for 5 days at this point, and it had started to wear on us and our energy level was low.
Basant took us to the City Palace, which is part museum and part palace for the current Maharaja, who is now 18 years old. He has been in power since 2011, when his grandfather died with no male heirs. So, he was appointed the Maharaja, which is mostly ceremonial and he manages the family fortune as well as the Palace.
After getting the details on the Palace, we walked a couple of blocks to the astrological park, Jantar Mantar which has come very cool architecture astrological instruments completed in 1734. The park has the largest sun-dial in the world, which we were able to actually tell the time down to 20 seconds. It also has the various astrological signs which at night, can point to the start constellation for the specific sign.
While we had only been out for about 1.5 hours, we were ready to head back to the hotel. Basant was very gracious as I believe he expected to be out a bit more, but we needed some downtime. Karen took a swim, Ken and I both read and then all three of us relaxed at the pool bar for happy hour. We ended the evening having some wonderful food (Ken says the best meal he has had yet...especially the lentils!) before hitting the bed.
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