Jaipur

Friday, 13 February 2026

This morning after breakfast, eight of us set out for the Amber Fort located 11-kilometres from Jaipur. Unfortunately our group was reduced to eight with a couple of group members feeling a little under the weather today. On our way out of Jaipur we passed Man Sagar Lake and the mist shrouded Jai Mahal (Water Palace) with Chandresh telling us that we would return for photos later in the day when the light would be better. Arriving at Maota Lake, our first view of the Amber Fort across the water was spectacular. The viewing area was total chaos, packed with tourists and vendors trying to sell their wares to the tourists and … a snake charmer or two. Ugh, I tried to keep plenty of distance between me and the crazy men with cobras in their baskets!

After taking our photos across the lake, we transferred to Jeeps, well Chandresh kept saying we would be transferring to Jeeps, but Bernie noted they were actually Mahindra branded vehicles. They looked like Jeeps to me and we rode side on in them troop carrier style, so let’s just say they were Jeeps. As we set out, Chandresh told us that we were going to travel via the small town of Amer nestled in the valley below the fort.

After negotiating cows and goats on the roadway and more vendors approaching the vehicle every time we stopped, we made it to the village where we visited the Shri Jagat Shiromani ji Temple. The temple is a Hindu place of worship built in 1600 by the King Sawan Maan Singh in memory of his son Jagat Singh. The temple is unique in being dedicated to Lord Krishna, Meera Bai and Vishnu. Inside the temple, Chandresh anointed our Third Eye Chakras with pure sandalwood oil telling us that it would calm our thoughts and make us more clear thinking.

From the temple we proceeded to the Amber Fort. Imposing walls dotted with watch towers sit atop the surrounding hills to form the Amber Fort that protected the Amber Palace within. This was where the Kachwaha Clan of Amber ruled from, before the capital was moved to Jaipur in the 18th-century. The palace is a vast complex made up of the main palace and many smaller buildings and pavilions, with functions ranging from housing guests to the administration of the kingdom. A highlight was the Hall of Mirrors.

Leaving the fort we made use of the washrooms and Chandresh connected with a henna tattoo artist and negotiated for her to meet some of the girls at the hotel this evening to paint henna tattoos for them as a semi-permanent souvenir of the trip.

Karamvir drove us back into Jaipur to the Paliwal Carpets and Textile Factory. The factory is a Government sponsored cooperative that employs (I think it was about 4,500) locals. Our first demonstration was the block printing of fabric. As a sewer I found it really interesting as we were walked through the printing, setting and washing phases of printing the cloth.

Next, we were able to watch two rug weavers at work on their looms, as our guide explained that they weave camel wool and fine silk carpets at the factory. After that we were shown the finishing processes where they singe the waste from the back of the carpets and then wash them. Upstairs we observed a couple of women hand finishing the carpets by plucking out any stray threads that distracted from the overall pattern of the carpet. Incredibly fine work requiring excellent eyesight and a sharp pair of scissors.

Demonstrations over it was time for the part where we were given refreshments (yummy potato pakoras) and alcohol (rum and beer, even a green tea for me) to soften us up for the hard sell. Sorry, soft sell?? Our host kept assuring us that we were absolutely not under ANY pressure to buy.

BUT they just kept on unfurling rugs in different designs and amazing colours until someone finally broke and decided to invest in a carpet. Not us! After our Turkish rug experience in a similar setting, where we did weaken and buy a small rug, we held firm and did not invest in a rug from Rajasthan. They were beautiful and there was an amazing teal coloured one that was very tempting but, ultimately, we were happy to let another member of the group take one for the team!

We were escorted to another room, where we participated in a sari wrapping demonstration. That was a bit of fun with nearly all of the girls getting wrapped up in colourful 6-metre lengths of sari silk and having stick on bindis from a peel off sheet added to the sandalwood spots on our foreheads. Bernie was even persuaded into a bright orange Nehru jacket before posing with his harem – first wife by his side, ha, ha. With the only other man in our group out of action today it was just Bernie and the girls on tour today.

Yawn, then we were shown various other textile products in various grades and at various prices. Tablecloths, couch throws, bedspreads and doona covers in cotton, cotton blends and silk. Block printed, embroidered and appliquéd. None of it appealing. Not to me anyway so all of those items were easy to resist.

Not done yet! Next we were taken through to the shop to look at clothing made up from the fabric they produce. The one thing that I had told Bernie I could be tempted to buy would be some fabric to make up at home. Here they had a selection of clothes in various sizes on their racks with a promise that they could make up anything anyone fancied and deliver it to our hotel in the evening. I spotted a dress in a fabric that I liked – but mainly the fabric. I asked a salesman if I could buy fabric by the metre and he took my through to the section housing bolts and bolts of fabric.

I found the same print that had caught my eye, but it took me a while to convince the salesman that I wanted to buy the fabric, but not have it make up, that I would sew it myself. At 700 rupee/metre (about AU$11.00) I purchased six metres for my fabric stash! Other members of the group commissioned pajamas and a blouse so we had to kill time for a while as measurements were taken, TWICE. Always safest to measure twice and cut/make once. That was dangerous because it gave me more time to look at fabric and silk scarves and be tempted. Phew, I managed to get out of the place with just the one purchase … of something that I HAD planned to buy if I saw something I liked.

Hmmn, off to the same place that we ate lunch yesterday. That was a bit worrying. Is this where Andrew and Emma picked up their tummy trouble? There had been quite a bit of discussion about whether Emma’s mulligatawny soup (which Andrew tried) was to blame??? Others had other varieties of soup yesterday though with no ill effects. We ordered à la carte yesterday but today we ate from the smorgasbord. Not convinced that that’s a safer option really??? Having had pakoras at the textile factory, I wasn’t after much and decided the penne pasta in a red sauce was a good option. Accompanied by the roti, fresh out of the tandoor, that arrived on our table unasked for. Hard to resist fresh roti though. Even though Chandresh told us yesterday that white flour roti has NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE! Ha, ha, it filled me up though and surely you can’t get sick from roti. Fingers crossed.

After lunch we moved onto today’s optional activity a city tour taking in: the Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Jantar Mantar. Well … two out of three ain’t bad. We started at Jantar Mantar, the largest of five astronomical observatories built by Sawai Jai Singh. Being clock and timepiece nerds we found this really interesting, because we were seeing the biggest sun clocks we have ever seen. The clocks were important for determining the date and exact time of a person’s birth to forecast their astrological future. The first ‘clock’ we were shown was accurate to 20 seconds. The biggest ‘clock’ on site, Chandresh told us was accurate to two seconds. I know we now have atomic clocks much more accurate that can measure nano seconds but, for when these were constructed, to achieve accuracy to within two seconds is impressive.

From the observatory we walked to the City Palace, the royal residence and former administrative headquarters of the rulers of the Jaipur State. Building commenced in 1729 when Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II decided to move his court from Amber. The palace features a blend of the Rajasthani and Mughal styles with some European influences. Part of the complex is private as it remains the home of the last ruling royal family. We could have spent so much more time exploring the palace, which incorporates a museum covering the heritage and history of the royal family, but if you want to take a quick tour of India, you cannot be doing it in depth. The two concepts are mutually exclusive.

Time to clamber back onto the bus to drive out to Jai Mahal during the golden hour. Chandresh was right about the light, the Water Palace looked so much more picturesque in the afternoon light. So, that was three things BUT not the three things included on the itinerary. The itinerary included the Hawa Mahal or ‘Palace of the Winds’, which was constructed for the royal ladies to watch royal processions without being seen.

We have driven past this gorgeous terracotta coloured facade, filled with hundreds of shuttered windows, several times but have not stopped for photos. We hoped that this afternoon would include time to take a decent photo of the palace, rather than one snapped through the bus window. Nope. Parking is the problem, we were told. There’s simply nowhere to park the bus so we would have to alight quickly while the bus was stopped in traffic and then wait for the bus to drive around the block to pick us up again in the slow moving traffic and that could result in a teen minute photo op turning into half an hour. We also suspect that there was some time pressure to be back at the hotel for the girls to have their session with the henna tattoo artist???

Oh well, we lost a wind palace but gained a water palace which WAS very photogenic. C’est la vie.

Aaaarrrgh! One more demonstration and shopping opportunity for the day. This time a gem cutting and jewelry. The demonstration part was quickly over and we were ushered into the jewelry showroom. I had NO INTEREST in buying any jewelry so, after a quick circuit, I sat down with Bernie. A couple of girls were interested in buying, but not at the prices they were being quoted for the pieces they liked. Finally, after another huge day, of sightseeing and the dreaded shopping opportunities, we were taken back to the hotel.

Our dinner was not included tonight so, after checking out the buffet on the first floor, we decided to eat in the bistro on the ground floor. We noted the pizza oven on the way in so … let’s try pizza in India. There were some traditional toppings and quite a few interesting ‘Italindian’ fusion options. Think tandoori chicken on a pizza. Then we had to decide between 9-inch sourdough crust or 13-inch thin crust. We decided on a thin crust margarita and a thin crust pepperoni. After a short wait our pizzas were delivered. Not bad, but the thin base was definitely not made with pizza dough. More white floor for a another meal boasting little to no nutritional value, ha, ha. As long as I don’t get sick from it, I’ll be happy.

Steps: 10,017 (6,26kms)