The Pink city : Jaipur

Jantar Mantar is a UNESCO World heritage site since 2010. It was built by Sawai Jai Singh who was a Rajput king, when there were no watches, calendars and any other high end machines and also for studying about the sky.It is one of the best architectural wonders in India consisting of 14 major geometric devices to ascertain time and auspicious occasions, determining the position of the stars, sun & the moon.This place gave me good knowledge regarding the ancient way of studying astronomy and how everything was calculated & determined prior to invention of calendars, watches etc. The guide that was hired gave complete & detailed knowledge regarding each instrument that was present there. He also explained the functioning of each instrument in detail or else it would have been quite a herculean task for a laymen to understand it by himself/herself. The guide also solved all my curious questions with a good explanation to each one of them.And After gaining all the required knowledge from the location we left for city palace..

City palace is another architectural beauty which was constructed in olden times. This palace contains many palaces within the complex and each palace has its own unique museum, open for the tourist.In one such museum, which showcases the costumes of the Kings in Jaipur. The most surprising costume was of one of a king ( whose name I forgot :P ) & its was surprising because the King weighted 250 kilograms (550 lbs) and was 4 ft wide. Shocking isn't it? His costume was as huge as a bed sheet. At first I couldn't make out what it was until the tour guide told me that it was the clothing of that King. I was in a state of disbelief, like literally & kept staring at that costume for the next 2 minutes. Photography is obviously not allowed inside any of the museums but believe me this place was just worth the visit.

Hawa mahal which means the Palace of Winds, is situated just at a 5 minutes walk from the exit of the city palace. This mahal consists of many windows so that the queens of the olden days could witness all the street festivals going on in the city without having the need to show their faces ( Old tradition in India). It is situated right in the market area. another palace to visit.

Amer palace/ Amber fort was my next and the last destination in Jaipur. This palace is situated on top of the hill and it offers magnificent view to all the tourists. you at least require half of the day to roam around in this palace. At the entrance there are many guides so you can hire one (recommended) because the architecture of this palace is so thoughtfully done that it is difficult to understand it by ourselves. Oh & please try to bargain if you are hiring a tour guide.There is a garden inside the palace and on the opposite sides of the garden are to similar looking small palaces. Out of the 2, one palace had mirrors all over its walls and on the other just plain cool marble. The guide explained us the reason, He said " During summer the royal family lived on one side of the garden and during winter on its other side" It was quite funny though until the guide gave us the further explanation that," because the winters were very cold & due to electricity problems the royal family lived in the palace of mirrors, they used to ignite a candle, and the reflection of that candle would be seen in the mirrors of the entire wall which would brighten up the palace" OMG ! This was plain, simple physics which I couldn't think at first. The guide also said that," As the summers were very long & hot in Jaipur the royal family lived on the other side of the garden because the material used in constructing this side of palace is always cool and therefore it saved them from the heat." OMG again! This infrastructure was a highlight of the entire Amber Fort.Within the palace, he showed me the suicide point (has the most beautiful view making it difficult to guess), the kitchen (has a pan almost the size of swimming pool), the jail for the prisoners etc. there were many many things to see inside this palace itself.When in Jaipur don't miss this place !