Thursday, 12 February 2026
This morning, after breakfast, it was time to head off on the first leg of our ‘Golden Triangle’ tour with the 250-kilometre road trip to Jaipur. But first, we had to spend more than an hour getting out of Delhi. Once again, we started our journey navigating Delhi’s excruciating morning peak hour traffic. In addition to the sights of yesterday, this morning we also saw school buses busily ferrying children off to school to start their days. As we commenced our journey, Chamdresh gave us an overview of Jaipur, the picturesque capital of Rajasthan, a city awash in pink, the colour associated with hospitality in Rajput culture. He also summarised some of the sights/sites that we will be visiting during the next two days. Looking to be cooped on the bus for several hours, I had the iPad to hand to catch up on recording our experiences from yesterday so, when Chamdresh finished his introduction, I started keying. A productive use of time and, hopefully, one that will stop me from sleeping for the entire journey.
Even though I have been busy on the iPad, at least I have been awake and able to observe the scenery. This morning’s drive we have seen a mix of small agricultural holdings and animal husbandry featuring sheep and goats. There are still cows everywhere but, as I understand it from Chamdresh’s summary, these are not owned per se, they roam freely and the community donates money for them to be fed. One horrible fact that he added is that plastic presents a huge problem for the cows because they often mistake plastic rubbish for food and, of course, that clogs up their digestive system.
After I brought the diary up-to-date for yesterday, I set the iPad aside and … promptly dozed off. It should be noted that, at this stage, Bernie had been dozing, chin on chest, for some time, ha, ha. Fortunately, I hadn’t been dozing for long when we made a comfort and refreshments stop at about just over halfway to Jaipur. Lovely, new, clean washrooms and an opportunity to buy hot drinks, ice cream and other snacks. Bernie purchased an ice-cream but I was too nervous. Maybe if he’s not sick later today or tomorrow I’ll try some ice-cream later on in our trip??
Back on the road, the Bank of Chandresh came through the bus changing money for us all. He was able to change AU$ for Rupee and larger Rupee notes for smaller ones to make it easier for everyone to make small purchases. I think he’s offering an exchange that doesn’t involve any commission so, more economical than withdrawing from an auto teller or using a money exchange place.
Chamdresh also started trying to negotiate some re-ordering of our itinerary for the next two days. He wanted to move tomorrow’s optional excursion to today as he said it would make tomorrow less hectic. This was so confusing as not everyone has pre-booked tomorrow’s optional excursion and then there were concerns about how it would fit in with today’s optional excursion. It’s awkward when head office schedules the set itinerary and the extra activities, possibly without the benefit of having guided the tour to know how much time activities take and where they are located in relation to each other?? I think Chamdresh’s bottom line was that it would be more efficient his way but, not everyone likes to depart from what is printed on their itinerary. It also seems that out in the field it’s hard for the guides to fit in the optional tours in what is already a very full itinerary?
There was litter in Delhi but the amount of litter on the roadside increased dramatically after we left the motorway to make our way towards Jaipur. Chamdresh has talked about initiatives to reduce the pollution in India but so far those efforts don’t appear to be showing any results. On our final approach to the city Chamdresh told us that Jaipur is also known as the City of Kites. Now there were lots of kites (the birds) in Delhi and I initially assumed he was talking about the birds. But no, on January the 14th the city hosts an annual kite (the ones with strings attached) flying festival, continuing a tradition started by the Maharaja Sarai Ram Singh II in the 19th century. So, what I thought was plastic bags in the trees was actually kites that crashed into them during the festival. Either way it’s ugly plastic rubbish in the trees.
After more than six hours on the road (to travel only 250 kilometres!) we entered the city of Jaipur having a few places of interest pointed out to us on the way to a restaurant for another later lunch. We were encouraged to order light lunches/snacks so that we didn’t spoil our appetites ahead of the cooking demonstration we are attending this evening, which will include a meal at its conclusion. By the time our light lunches were ordered and eaten it was nearly afternoon tea time so, after all that discussion earlier about bringing one of tomorrow’s activities forward to today, it was decided that we didn’t have time!!!
Rather than visiting the City Palace and astronomical observatory this afternoon we were taken to Jaipur’s colourful bazaar that is filled with Rajasthani heirlooms and trinkets aka junk I do not need. We were given an hour to explore and it was … OVERWHELMING! The girls from Perth were, I think, even more overwhelmed and asked if they could accompany us as we browsed the stalls overflowing with clothing, scarves, shoes and jewelry. Sure, we said, as the four of us plunged into the crowd to explore the market. I was determined not to buy anything but was happy to wait as the girls searched for scarves that were just right. Meanwhile, Bernie amused himself with his camera snapping shots of our chaotic surroundings.
Finally, about 6.15pm we were taken to our hotel. When we arrived I asked the helpful young man who provides a steadying hand as we alight from the bus his name. I asked Chamdresh what his name is but Chamdresh didn’t know it and, despite saying he would find out, he hasn’t got back to me. His name is Deetu. I don’t exactly know what his role is, Bus Drivers Assistant I guess?? He puts the step down for us to clamber in and out of the bus and offers a steadying hand as we negotiate the step and seems to help with parking the bus.
Now knowing the name of our whole guiding team, we made our way into the Hotel V Sarovar Portico where we will stay for two nights. We barely had time to settle into our room before it was time to head out again. Our accommodation for the next two nights is an improvement on the Radisson Blu, with this hotel in much better condition. Our room is tiny though. But, we’re not going to be in it much, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
At 7.15pm we met again in the foyer to be taken to the venue for our cooking demonstration, where we learnt the secrets of authentic Rajasthani cooking. We were given the opportunity to assist in cooking some traditional vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, while getting an idea about the different spices used to make the dishes more delicious and rich. The royal household of Jaipur is known for many succulent recipes and kitchen secrets that have been handed down from one generation to another over centuries and these cooking techniques and secrets were shared with us.
After the demonstration we were able to sit down to eat the food we had prepared along with some additional dishes that the chefs had prepared for us. The paneer dish that Emma and I cooked up was really good … despite Emma’s misgivings about how much chilli powder I put in the curry paste! She thought I was heavy handed with the chilli but it turned out just right. While we ate we were entertained with some traditional music and dance.
Steps: 7,973 (5.08kms)
