Jaipur ki jai ho. Review on Jaipur

The Plan

I remember my trip to Jaipur more for the bike ride to reach there rather than the tour of the place itself. We were settled in Gurgaon at that time, and it was very easy to plan a trip to Jaipur, as the distance between the two cities is only 238 km. One Friday night after returning from a particularly hectic day at office my husband and I realised that a small break was necessary to recharge ourselves. So, we packed a couple of dresses and other essentials and next morning, at the crack of dawn, set out on our Enfield.

The Journey

Right from the start of the ride I understood why the Delhi-Jaipur highway is called one of the best motorable roads in India. It was as if we were flying. The road was smooth, with no cracks, no bumps, nothing to prove Newton’s first (or is it second… oh well one of the three) law-“Every body continues to be in its state of motion, or of rest, until unless acted upon by an unbalanced external force.” So, we drove at 100kmph almost constantly. With the morning breeze blowing across my face and the sweet smell of the flowers planted on the divider refreshing my senses I was in seventh heaven. Nothing can explain the thrill I felt. If I as a pillion rider could experience such thrill, then you can imagine the pleasure my hubby felt on driving at such speed in such perfect conditions.

The Arrival

After three hours of dream driving we finally reached Jaipur at 9 am. Even as we entered the city I understood why it is called the Pink City. Leave alone the palaces and monuments, even the houses, the bus stops et al were coloured pink. As we drove on we got a glimpse of teh magnificent Lake Palace (the wedding venue of Raveena Tandon). We soon checked into the nearest decent hotel we could get, plonked our bags down, freshened up and left for the tour.

The Hawa Mahal

We first visited Hawa Mahal. To enjoy it truly, it is best to hire a local guide. When your tour is accompanied by his narrations, you can actually feel the scenes of the Rajput era come alive in front of you. That increases the value of the tour. Otherwise, it is a bit dull because the Hawa Mahal only has historical significance, no real scenic value (Strictly my opinion. People may beg to differ). But as I said, when the guide gives you the fascinating history behind it you can actually see the ranis peeping through the five hundred jharokha of the crown shaped palace built in 1799.

Chokhi Dhani

After seeing Hawa Mahal, we had lunch at a small hotel. While having lunch we pored over the map of Jaipur to decide where to go next. A waiter, seeing our dilemma suggested we go to Chokhi Dhani. As we had never heard the name before, we were not very keen. But he assured us that we would enjoy the trip. So, reluctantly we set out at 4 pm and reached there at 5.30 pm. For entry, we had to book a ticket priced Rs.190 each. We wondered what was in store for us. As soon as we entered, a man dressed in typical Rajasthani attire came to us with two glasses of chilled jaljeera and welcomed us with a tilak while saying “Ram Ram Sa.” We became taaza after the cool drink. As we progressed, we became more and more pleasantly surprised. An entire Rajasthani village had been modeled out of clay, with typical scenes like women drawing water from a well and men sitting and smoking the hookah. These were interspersed with camel rides, elephant rides, palm readers (all real ones, not clay) and what you will. There was even the set up of an aboriginal village. Time just flew past as we explored this “village” in detail. Soon, it was dinnertime and we were guided to a Rajasthani restaurant. There also, we witnessed Rajasthani hospitality at its best. A man washed our feet, seated us on a gaddi on the floor and served a multi course delicious Rajasthani dinner. As we enjoyed our dinner, I blessed the waiter who had advised us to visit Chokhi Dhani.

The three-hilltop forts tour

The next day, Sunday, we took what is known as the three-hilltop forts tour. If you decide to visit these forts for the first time, I would suggest you hire a guide (available locally in front of each of the forts). It will spice up your tour.

First, we visited the Jaigarh fort (or Victory fort), about 15 kms from Jaipur. As we rode our bike up and up the hill, the view of the city below was just splendid. In fact, the view of the city is best from near the main gate of the fort known as Dungar Darwaza.The fame of Jaigarh fort is the Jaivana, the world’s largest cannon. But ironically, the cannon was fired only once, that too for a test fire, because it needs 100 kgs of gunpowder for one firing. But the fact that it was there deterred the enemies (Information courtesy our local guide). Jaigarh fort also has a museum of weapons, as Jaipur was a weapon producing centre of ancient times. The entrance fee here is Rs.10 for Indian tourists.

Next, we visited the Nauhargarh fort. This was not as impressive as the Jaigarh fort, but the guide’s story was as impressive again. He said, it was named after Nahar Singh, whose ghost refused to leave the construction site unless the palace was named after him. It houses the Durg Cafeteria. Personally, I did not like it. The service is too slow, the food is steeply priced and not tasty at all. Better to pack a small hamper and go for a picnic there. Nauhargarh was built by Jai Singh to strengthen the defence of Amber or Amer Palace.

So, finally, we visited the Amber Palace, again built by JaiSingh. I missed out on the elephant ride but the bike ride to the top of the hill was equally thrilling. The Amber fort was the capital of the Kuchwaha Rajputs from 1037 to 1728. It also houses the Shila Devi Temple, dedicated to Goddess Kali.

The Return

We also did some shopping and set out for Gurgaon at 4 pm. On the way back we were soaked to the bones by an unexpected August shower. Finally, reached home at 9 pm tired but happy.