This was one of those days where I wished to drop everything aside and run away from Delhi, on budget. One of the immediate option that struck me was "Jaipur- The Pink City"
Got my bus tickets booked, from redbus that costed me around Rs.8oo both ways. It was as if moon was guiding the bus through her brightness.
Means of transport - By air, Road, Rail.
By bus, it was a over night journey.
Tip 1 : Travel mostly in nights, so that you don't have to spend on hotels for that day and also you have the entire day for sightseeing.
DAY 1
Reached Jaipur in the morning around 5'ish. Checked into Hotel Muskan Palace, a decent one in budget. Started our exploration by 7'ish, after having breakfast.
For breakfast, I preferred street food Poha which is not only economical but a much healthier option.
The beauty of the city palace lies in inner courtyard that has 4 closed doors, representing 4 seasons and dedicated to different Hindu gods. Below are some of the clicks at those doors-
After City palace it's time for Jantar Mantar, a huge sundial which is an astronomical wonder. It's right infront of City Palace. Do hire a guide to know more interesting facts about our ancient science.
After City palace and Jantar mantar, it's time for a puppet show in front of the palace. Here comes the funny part, Me trying to act socially responsible handed Rs.500 as a token of appreciation for the dying puppet art before the show began. After the show, that man started demanding me more. I was utterly shocked, and just left that place.
Its time to try out an elegant traditional Rajasthani costume, at the backdrop of Hawa mahal.
Now it's time for Hawa mahal, but even before that, it's time for my lunch.I'm sure you agree to the fact that a trip to Rajasthanis incomplete without trying Dal bhati Churma?
I can't recall the dhaba's name. It was near by Jal mahal. Though ambience was basic, food was extravagant.
After heavy lunch, I felt extremely sleepy. It was already 2'ish and two more places to cover for the day. So, went next to Hawa Mahal.
It gave an amazing view of the city. It has around 953 windows spread in five floors, originally an extension of City Palace. Took around an hour to explore. It was around 4'ish. It's time to head towards much awaited Nahargarh fort.
Tip2 : It's relatively not easy to find a cab that goes here and a real task to come back due to very few availability of cabs. Better be prepared.
More than the fort, what's really impressive was the view from the fort, it stands on the edge of Aravalli hills. It once stood as a defensive wall to protect Jaipur, and never came under attack due to it's strategical location.
It's totally worth spending the evening and waiting for the sun to set. No exaggeration, we can find stars both beneath us and above us. I meant the city lights.
It's a visual retreat. But a real pain heading back, due to the repeated ride cancellations from Uber and Ola. Ultimately had to hire a big auto which charged a whooping Rs.400, I met two more travellers in the fort, thus the burden has been shared.
It's dinner time, and we chose to keep it simple. So had light food at an eatery near by. After dinner, I headed back to room, where as my fellow travellers wanted to get a bit of night life in Jaipur so they headed to a pub "Blackout".
On the way back, we got a glimpse of Jal mahal. It gets it's name from the fact that it is partially submerged in the Man sagar lake. It's a five storey building, where four storeys are submerged in water and only the fifth is seen. People often say, they hear some kind of screams from inside the mahal. Thus none goes near it after sunset.
Rajasthan is endowed not only with architectural wonders but also a historical sagas of wars, kings, bloodshed. It also have several spine chilling haunting stories.
I wished to visit Chokhi Dhani, but the timings didn't match.
DAY 2
GALTA JI HANUMAN JI TEMPLE
Famously known as Monkey temple, was truly amazing. Started around 7am.
This is an absolute jewel, Looks like it's being compressed by two hills. It is a temple with several kunds( a fresh water tank), that is believed to never get dry. It's midst Lush green trees with many monkeys.
This is 10 kms away from Jaipur, on the way we can see the huge boundary stones marking the territory of Jaipur.There's a Nat geo documentary on the life of monkeys in the galtaji named "Monkey theives".
It was already 10 am, and my next visit is to Amer Fort. Hiring a guide at the fort was not only informative in terms of historical knowledge but also to know which film scene was shot in which corner of that fort, also not to forget, a good amount of photos.
Tip 3: Buy a composite ticket on reaching any of these places, that costs Rs.300 for Indian Citizens and Rs.1000 for Foreigners, that includes an entry to Amer fort, Hawa mahal, Albert museum, Jantar mantar, Nahargarh, City palace.
I was really stunned to see such a magnificently humongous structure.
It's absolute spectacular to see the symmetry of structures and it is also known for it's blend of Hindu- Islamic architecture. It has six courtyards, all of them were unique and served different purposes.
It took nearly 3hours, to get an insight of the temple-- Sheesh mahal, Sukh mahal, different gates and six courtyards. Of all, fourth one's a bit interesting, since it was the place where Royal women including their mistresses used to live. This part was extremely secluded as the kings used to visit their queens or mistresses without being noticed by any.
Another must visit place is Jagat Shiromani temple. Dedicated to Meerabai, a devotee of Krishna and Lord Krishna himself in Lord Vishu avatar.
It was already 5'ish, and I had nothing since afternoon as there are no much eateries near Amer fort. Was exhausted and hungry, thus started to a cafe with a view. White sause pasta was real delicious and the view was epic.
Couldn't have had a better way to end the trip than to this view. What a view and What an amazing pasta. Yummmmm...!!
Took a bus back to Delhi, with great memories, with fresh energy to kick start a new week.