On our full day in Jaipur, our first stop was the Amber Palace and Fort. As we arrived on the outskirts of the Fort we were greeted by a baby elephant and a cool cobra snake charmer! Andrew had a go at charming the snake (sounds like a great euphamism!) and we both patted the adorable 7 month old baby elephant.
I'm going to borrow some information on Amber Fort from this link as it was hard to remember all the fascinating details about Amber Fort.
Amber (pronounced Amer) of Rajasthan is situated about 11 kilometres from Jaipur of Rajasthan and was the ancient citadel of the ruling Kachhawa clan of Amber of Rajasthan, before the capital was shifted in the plains to present day Jaipur of Rajasthan. The Amber Fort of Rajasthan set in picturesque and rugged hills is a fascinating blend of Hindu and Mughal architecture. The Amber Fort of Rajasthan looks stunning, all-built in white marble and red sandstone. To add to the Amber fort of Rajasthan’s charm, Maotha Lake makes its foreground. The crystal mirror image of the Amer Fort, on the still waters of the lake, seems to be a beautiful illusion. The rugged forbidding exterior belies an inner paradise with a beautiful fusion of art and architecture. Amber of Rajasthan is the classic and romantic fort- palace with a magnificent aura.
In 1592, construction of the Fort was started by Raja Man Singh I. However, the Amber Fort of Rajasthan took its present form during the reign of Raja Jai Singh I but the Meenas were the original builders of Amber of Rajasthan, which town they consecrated to Amba, the Mother Goddess, whom they knew as `Gatta Rani' or `Queen of the Pass'. Built over the remnants of an earlier structure, the palace complex which stands to this date was commenced under the reign of Raja Man Singh, Commander in Chief of Emperor Akbar’s army and a member of the Emperor's inner circle of nine courtiers in 1592. Amber was modified by successive rulers over the next 150 years, until the Kachwahas shifted their capital to Jaipur during the time of Sawai Jai Singh II.
The picturesque situation of Amber of Rajasthan at the mouth of a rocky mountain gorge, in which nestles a lovely lake, has attracted the admiration of all travelers. It is seen to be a remarkable example for its combined Rajput-Mughal architecture. The outer appearance of the Fort of Rajasthan, being rough and craggy is totally different from its core. The interior of the Fort provides a soothing and warm ambience, which is least expected from its outer appearance. The marvelous decoration of the Amer Fort of Rajasthan is influenced by both, the Hindu and Muslim manner of ornamentation. Exquisite paintings of hunting scenes on the walls depict the temperament of the Rajputs, who were adventurous, revolutionary and self-indulgent.
I'm going to borrow some information on Amber Fort from this link as it was hard to remember all the fascinating details about Amber Fort.
Amber (pronounced Amer) of Rajasthan is situated about 11 kilometres from Jaipur of Rajasthan and was the ancient citadel of the ruling Kachhawa clan of Amber of Rajasthan, before the capital was shifted in the plains to present day Jaipur of Rajasthan. The Amber Fort of Rajasthan set in picturesque and rugged hills is a fascinating blend of Hindu and Mughal architecture. The Amber Fort of Rajasthan looks stunning, all-built in white marble and red sandstone. To add to the Amber fort of Rajasthan’s charm, Maotha Lake makes its foreground. The crystal mirror image of the Amer Fort, on the still waters of the lake, seems to be a beautiful illusion. The rugged forbidding exterior belies an inner paradise with a beautiful fusion of art and architecture. Amber of Rajasthan is the classic and romantic fort- palace with a magnificent aura.
In 1592, construction of the Fort was started by Raja Man Singh I. However, the Amber Fort of Rajasthan took its present form during the reign of Raja Jai Singh I but the Meenas were the original builders of Amber of Rajasthan, which town they consecrated to Amba, the Mother Goddess, whom they knew as `Gatta Rani' or `Queen of the Pass'. Built over the remnants of an earlier structure, the palace complex which stands to this date was commenced under the reign of Raja Man Singh, Commander in Chief of Emperor Akbar’s army and a member of the Emperor's inner circle of nine courtiers in 1592. Amber was modified by successive rulers over the next 150 years, until the Kachwahas shifted their capital to Jaipur during the time of Sawai Jai Singh II.
The picturesque situation of Amber of Rajasthan at the mouth of a rocky mountain gorge, in which nestles a lovely lake, has attracted the admiration of all travelers. It is seen to be a remarkable example for its combined Rajput-Mughal architecture. The outer appearance of the Fort of Rajasthan, being rough and craggy is totally different from its core. The interior of the Fort provides a soothing and warm ambience, which is least expected from its outer appearance. The marvelous decoration of the Amer Fort of Rajasthan is influenced by both, the Hindu and Muslim manner of ornamentation. Exquisite paintings of hunting scenes on the walls depict the temperament of the Rajputs, who were adventurous, revolutionary and self-indulgent.
Andrew - charming a snake
So, there's a baby elephant outside the car
Amber Fort & Palace
Elephants climbing up to Amber Fort - we did it on foot
I loved the painting on this elephant; the tiger eating a deer with the Indian flag above it
The beautiful ceiling inside the Amber Palace
The Great Wall of India?
Inside the cool walls of the Amber Palace
Pigeons - they are everywhere
The hills around Jaipur
Jaipur
Amber Palace & Fort
On top of the hill around Jaipur
Andrew obscuring the face of the baby elephant
After spending half the day walking around the Amber Palace and Fort, we got to have the afternoon free and spent that wandering around the streets of Jaipur, with Andrew, Belinda, Patrick and I braving the bazaar area and bartering for some bargains, including visiting a renowned lolly shop, from where I bought back some treats to share with my co-workers when I return to work! Look out girls!
Inside the lolly shop in Jaipur
Yum!
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and enjoying the beautiful warm weather of Jaipur before we headed off to the same restaurant as the night before, for another incredible feast of phenomenal Indian food!
JAIPUR TO DELHI
After a phenomenal time the day before, sadly it was time to leave the Pink City which we had grown to really love and jump aboard the bus to head to Delhi, which was sadly our last destination in India.
Our noble steed for the trip from Jaipur to Delhi
Buses lined up at the transit centre in Jaipur
As we'd ventured further south in the sub-continent from our first crossing from Nepal, the weather had steadily gotten warmer during the day. Our bus trip to Delhi that took about 6 hours was without airconditioning and the seats Andrew and I had although having a window, it didn't open and we were on the sunny side of the bus. About 3 hours in I had that lovely feeling where I could feel the sweat pooling under my bum. Awesome. Seriously, I didn't come to India to not sweat, so it was fantastic and start to feel what the sun could really do. I can't begin to imagine how hot this place must be in summer. Whoa.
The countryside slowly started to disappear outside of Jaipur and then rapidly faded away to just a really big highway with some incredibly monsterous toll points. I found these fascinating as there were freight trucks, buses full of locals and tourists alike and many different cars. Including my favourites, Mahindras and the Indian Ambassador!
Toll points along the highway from Jaipur to Delhi
I want one! The famous Indian Ambassador
As the countryside progressed and the sun got hotter we eventually started to notice more houses, more people and eventually we could tell we were encroaching on the outskirts of Delhi. The transformation from poor to rich was not as evident anywhere else in our travel in India as it was here. Slums were making way for more and more monsterous multi story buildings made of steel and glass, with an abundance of money blindingly obvious. Delhi really was such a contrast to the rest of India. I wasn't prepared for how confrontingly like Australia it was, in that it was flush with development and growth. It seemed like the first place we'd seen in India that didn't want to be India anymore and wanted to be like the powerful countries of the west. I found this a little sad as for me the charm of India had been the simplicity of the way people lived and how life seemed to be about need rather than want. Delhi was the city of want.
The sprawl of Delhi, long before we even arrived
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