Jaipur

Jaipur was another 6-hour bus ride from Agra...and it was my favorite city on the trip, although I enjoyed the sites of Agra more.  Driving in to Jaipur it hit me as a sleepy little town, but that's not really true.  We got in on Wednesday afternoon, relaxed at the pool for a bit, then went in to town to get some dinner and explore the shops/city.  We got convinced to check out this guy's puppet shop in a back alley, which also led us to straight razor shaves for a couple dollars.  From there we went back and just relaxed at the hotel as we had another early morning for sights.

The next day we went to Amber Fort, where we got to ride elephants up the hill to the entrance of the Fort.

 

Here are some pictures from Amber Fort:

 

My favorite part of the entire trip came after this though.  We had a bunch of free time to explore the city, so we went to the main street where there were countless shops...shoes, jewelery, textiles, etc. Basically you go in to these shops and they try to sell you whatever they have, and for ridiculously expensive prices...so you say you start to bargain, and when you aren't getting what you want...my rule is to walk away and every 10 feet you walk is 100 rupees off...because these guys HATE to see you walk out without their product...so basically you end up getting the price you want by telling them no and walking away.  I ended up buying...a really cool elephant tapestry, a collapsible/folding knife, 3 different silver pendants, and a cool Ganesha painting

Overall, it was an amazing trip, but I am happy to be back in Bangalore with less than 1 month to go til home.  So it's back on the school grind for less than a month.  Thanks for reading!

Peace and Love,

JL