India Trip: The Pink City

Landed at New Delhi Airport at 2200 hours (local time) on the 2nd of October, we have initially booked our driver to pick us up at the airport, which is included in the package. However, our driver seemed to be nowhere to be seen at the airport. One point to note that the moment you have exited from the airport arrival hall, you won't be allowed to re-enter the building (there were some drivers waiting inside the hall so we thought to go back in to look after our drivers but were stopped by the guard who appeared to be not understanding English much when we tried to explain our situation). We tried to contact the car agency through the phone provided (cost 5 rupee for 1 minute) but was hung up half way through the conversation. There were some kind samaritans who were willing to lend their phones to call the car agency on our behalf as the receiving end apparently had some issues understanding us earlier (and not to mention the line wasn't stable). In the end, the car agency claimed they didn't have our booking which came as a shock as the agency did reply our email earlier that day. Frustrated, we decided to take cab to our hotel. By the time we checked in at Treebo Natraj Yes Please, it was already passed midnight.

Earlier next day, we had our breakfast at the hotel (it's complimentary), and we walked to the car agency which happened to be nearby our hotel to sort out our car. Apparently the guy that has been responding to our email was out of office and his colleague wasn't made aware of our booking. We settled with Toyota Etois and were given slight briefing by the agency on travelling in India, i.e. tipping is a thing in India, avoid eating street food (for tourist), ensure the water bottles are properly sealed before buying them etc. Packed and checked out from the hotel, we headed straight away to Jaipur, Rajasthan which is 260km away.

When we arrived at Delhi late the day before, I wasn't aware of the seriousness of the traffic condition in the city. You shall prepare yourself of continuous honking on the road and the cars on the road are driven along exceed the designated lanes. Our driver told us the golden rule of driving in India, "Good horn; Good brake; Good luck". It's common if you pay attention to those cars on the road, they tend to have dents, even when the cars are still new (considered the plastic covers are yet to be removed from their seats). These are just few of my personal observations on the first day in Delhi on the road. More shall unfold sooner. Speaking of our car, in spite of maxing out the air conditioner, the back seat was still rather warm hence my friend used her portable fan to chill ourselves. You could imagine how hot the weather was. Apparently there's a tax to pay for drivers bringing passengers when crossing the state. This is not toll as there are proper toll gates for this. The tax is paid at a small booth at the road side with no proper allocated parking at the state border (there was one time our driver crossed the highway to pay for the tax). In my opinion, the drivers in India generally seem to have very low regard on safety.

Tax Collection Point by the road side 

The toll station. These people usually wander around to sell things to drivers while queueing. Things like sun shade, coconut, bottled water etc.

Jaipur, Rajasthan

After 5 hours being on the road, we have reached the state of Rajasthan, the state where Jaipur serves as the capital. Amber Fort is located prior reaching the Pink City and hence it was our very first stop for this trip. Declared as UNESCO Heritage Site in 2013, the fort was built on top of the hill. Some part of the fort kinda remind me of Great Wall of China. The cars are allowed to drive up to the entrance of the fort so hence don't fret about walking up the hill. The fort is accessible with 500 Rupee. This is my first fort to visit in India and hence I went in without expectation (or this overall trip in general). There were some maintenance work ongoing during our visit in front of the main entrance. The place is pretty well preserved. Some of the structure are made up of white marble which keep the heat away during the hot weather compared to other parts which are made up of sandstone. One hour is suffice to cover the whole place.

The parts of fort I don't think is accessible. 

This view resembles the view of Athens from Acropolis

 The floating park in the middle of lake is so picturesquely serene, complemented by the green hills.

Entering the hall 

Secret garden within the fort and marble building in the distance

On our way to the city of Jaipur, we dropped by Man Sagar Lake to have a glimpse of Jal Mahal which literally means Water Palace. During our visit, we couldn't see anyone offering a ride to the centre of the lake. I read there used to have gondolas around the lakes but it has stopped for years.

I know cows are sacred to the Hindus. Seeing them on the streets of India is common scene. This also means that you need to watch out for the "inevitable" when you walk on the street. 

Jal Mahal, the "Water Palace", as if it was floating on the lake and can only admire it from far.

Afterwards, our driver brought us to textile shop which is famous for the "pashmina". The guy at the shop demonstrated how the printing on the cloth is done. The cloth could be made into scarf, shawl wearable clothing and several others. Jaipur contributed 70% to textile industry in India. In case you want to know, the shop accepts credit card if you wish to buy any or they also accept certain currencies with the rate fixed at their shop. Next to the shop is a jewellery store. There were some guys doing some polishing work on the mineral stones.

The guy demonstrated the printing on cloth, with the four assistants

The guys work on the stones at the jewellery store next door.

We checked in at Pandya Niwas before heading to Surya Mahal for our dinner. Surya Mahal is located at busy street of M1 and this place serves a good escape for a decent meal. It is entirely vegetarian restaurant and serves mostly Southern Indian cuisine.

Mixed Uttapam - my dinner for the night. 

Next morning, my friend and I had a stroll on the street of Jaipur. The experience was rather different and exotic for me compared to my previous adventures. It was indeed an eye-opening experience to another whole new level seeing the locals live their life, in this part of the country at least.

Never thought that I would see camel in India too.

Before concluding our day in Jaipur at the City Palace, we stopped by Hawa Mahal for this shot. You may enter the site with 200 Rupee. Now you could have guessed why Jaipur is also known as the Pink City. Most of the structures are coloured in pink, in which believes signifies hospitality.

City Palace reminds me a little of Forbidden City in Beijing when the palace is confined by 4-sided brick wall. The largest silver vessels in the world as per Guinness World Record are located at this palace. Sabha Niwas "Hall of Private Audience" (no photo is allowed in this hall) portrays the generations of Kings that ever ruled the region.

The largest silver vessel in the world 

A lady painting mehndi on my friend's hand

There was a guard requested us to take photo with him. Being within the paid site, I thought he was just being friendly with tourists for visiting the place. Been travelled to some other places in the world, these are those kinds of approaches you would wanna avoid because they usually will ask for money. Next thing you know, he did. I need to learn who is sincere or otherwise.

That concluded our trip in Jaipur and next we headed to the city of love.

JAIPUR - Agra - New Delhi