The Wandering Chocoholic

Jaipur, India

Forts, palaces and harems

Today was spent exploring Jaipur’s main sights and attractions.

We set out in the morning on the big bus again. First stop was a quick one at a lassi wala in the centre of town. Since getting here, I’d been looking forward to having some lassi, the ubiquitous yogurt drink of India, but being cashless made it tricky. Adi, our guide, treated us each to some on his dime. Thanks, Adi!

Next, a quick photo stop at Hawa Mahal, otherwise known as the Palace of the Winds, which is basically just a facade, not really a palace. The elaborate pink architecture is essentially a screen, designed to allow the royal wives and concubines to observe the street without being seen by anyone. A disappointing back-story for such a beautiful building.

Next up, the main sight in these parts: the majestic Amber Fort. Located just outside Jaipur, this 16th-century palace and fortress rivalled anything I saw in China, with its fortifications in the mountains vaguely resembling a mini Great Wall.

We walked the fifteen minutes up to the Sun Gate, passing the elephant track along the way. The poor elephants, all painted, working in the hot sun, carrying tourists on their backs. It was just heartbreaking to see them being abused like that.

Inside the Amber Fort, we had a licensed guide take us around and explain the history and architecture and whatnot. We took lots of photos of elephant gods, mirrored halls, beautiful gardens, archways, courtyards, and of course, harems. Because all the rulers in history were men who couldn’t keep it in their pants. Which may explain Donald Trump, come to think of it. Ugh.

No longer Cashless In India

After the Amber Fort, we set out on a mission to find some cash. It was becoming a full time job in India, but we had a good feeling about today.

Sure enough, after trying at only two or three places, Adi, our guide, was able to learn of a Citibank branch that would exchange money for foreign citizens. We made our way there to find very organized queues outside, including a much shorter queue for “women and foreigners”. Once again, I felt bad jumping the line, since most Indians had been waiting for hours. But unlike at the past two branches, this one seemed more official and nobody so much as batted an eyelash when we were waved indoors to the separate desk for tourists and foreigners.

Inside, we met a number of other travellers, including a British couple, some Americans, and an Israeli couple. All were as excited as we were to finally be getting our hands on some money. They wouldn’t exchange foreign money, but they would exchange old invalid rupees for new notes, up to a maximum of 5000 rupees (about $100 Canadian) per person. I had some old rupees that the hotel had given me for some of my USD stash, and Chris had some that she brought with her from Germany, so we all exchanged the maximum on each other’s behalf.

We handed over our passports, copies of our passports, forms, signatures, stamps, and got grilled even more thoroughly than we did at customs. Finally, we got an approved stamp, and then we had to go line up at a second desk to actually exchange the cash. There, we were handed stacks of 100-rupee notes (each worth about a toonie) that were so thick that we practically needed a briefcase to carry them. But all in all, we were in an out in about an hour. Mission accomplished!

I felt tremendously relieved and much more excited about the week ahead. Sure, we were managing despite the difficulty, but this will make things so much easier from here on out.

A bit of shopping

What was there to do now that we had some money? Why, go spend it, of course!

Jaipur is known for its gemstones, so we got shuttled over to a jewelry shopping area where we met up with the rest of the group (the ones who had cash) — they’d been off buying scarves and saris while we were at the bank. I hadn’t really planned to shop for jewelry, but they had some things that were right up my alley and reasonably priced for what they were, so I indulged and bought myself a silver and amethyst bracelet. No, I didn’t spend my ******** rupees; they took credit.

A visit to Bollywood

No trip to India is complete without the ultimate cultural experience: Taking in a Bollywood movie. After the shopping, five of us headed over to the theatre to take in the current production. The theatre itself is beautiful, with dramatic lights and decor. One of my most exciting moments today was getting a slice of chocolate cake from the concession stand… and being able to pay for it in cash!

The film we saw was called Shivaay. This was an action movie starring Ajay Devgan, a major Bollywood star who I’m assuming is the local equivalent to, say, Tom Cruise or Vin Diesel. It had dramatic Himalayan avalanche rescues, car chases, kidnapping, human trafficking, and a love story thrown in for good measure. The crowd cheered and shouted every time the main character performed a death-defying feat like swinging from a mountain cliff… or whenever he took his shirt off. It was all in Hindi without subtitles so I couldn’t understand most of it, and it was three hours long so we only stayed until intermission… and it was still the best movie I’ve seen all year. Good fun.

We took tuk-tuks back to the hotel at that point. It was still early, but we have a very early departure tomorrow. Plus, I’m coming down with a cold. Yeah, it was inevitable; between the horrible air quality, the long flights over here, and the fact that several people on the tour were already sick, I knew this would happen. Oh well. It’s not serious enough to slow me down much.

Tomorrow, we’re heading to Agra. Yep, that’s the one you’ve all been waiting for, folks. Watch this space.