Popularly known as the “Pink City,” Jaipur is the capital of India’s sprawling, northwestern state of Rajasthan. Last week Sean and I spent four days here, exploring the wealth of stunning sites while wilting in the hot sun. With a population of over five million this busy city offers a little something for every taste — historical sites, bazaars, temples, art, wildlife, Bollywood movies and the ever-present flavorful cuisine.
We found Jaipur to be equally enchanting and exasperating. The prevalence of cheeky monkeys, loping elephants, camels, kingfisher birds, colorful markets, historic forts, delectable food and beautiful vistas made us fall in love with the region again and again. Yet, the intense heat (when factoring in the heat index, it’s around 115 degrees Fahrenheit) and overabundance of homicidal drivers, pushy vendors and aggressive beggars left both of us aggravated and spent.
Setting aside the annoyances, I’ll share some of the day-to-day pleasures of our time in this mesmerizing, 17th century metropolis. Think of it as a daily things-to-do list should you ever find yourself in Jaipur.
Feeding the pigeons of the East – It will come as no huge surprise to read that we love animals and that I, in particular, have a soft spot for soulful-eyed, furry creatures. Thus, you can imagine our mutual delight whenever we spotted and interacted with the ridiculous number of monkeys in this city. Red-faced macaques were the most common but we also bumped into quite a few easy going, black-faced langur monkeys. So, so cool!
Learning about other religions – While Hinduism is the predominant religion in India, the devout also co-exist with such faiths as Islam, Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. While in Jaipur, we had the privilege of visiting several tranquil temples and of learning a bit about what the followers of Hinduism and Sikhism believe. Talk about enriching experiences!
Finding a breathtaking sight/site at literally every corner – I’ll write more about this in another entry but I will say that tooling around Jaipur became a non-stop, jaw-dropping event. Everywhere we looked, we found something new and astonishing to see.
Shopping at the bazaars – You know the stereotype: women love to shop. Well, I defy that stereotype by being a browser. Sadly, I couldn’t do ‘my thing’ and just look around Jaipur’s bazaars. If I slowed down near a stall or was so daring as to pause or even stop, I’d be crushed by boys and men selling trinkets, women telling me to buy them food and the vendors themselves. However, when I knew what I wanted — a copper serving dish — and found a vendor willing to sell one at a fair price, the bustling bazaar seemed pretty darned good to me.
Eating delightful Indian food – Imagine that. Great Indian food in India. Over the course of our stay we indulged in zesty curries, delicate dals, crisp garlic naan, fluffy Basmati rice and so many otherworldly soups. Jaipur was an Indian-food-lover’s heaven. Unfortunately, as we were obsessed with avoiding “Delhi belly,” we steered clear of the street food stalls and stuck with restaurant meals. I’d like to think that we still had a true taste of India. At least I hope that we did.
Not being killed in traffic – I know. It sounds as though I’m ending this on a snotty, ugly American note. However, not being clipped, scraped or hit full-on by the non-stop, careening cars and trucks was a constant concern. Consider the fact that in the first hour spent with our cross-country driver JP, he smacked the side of a moving semi, bounced off the truck and then pulled off the guy’s front bumper before screeching to a stop. Thankfully, we weren’t hurt — not even by the angry mob that clustered around our car — but we did get a quick, early lesson in how terrifying traffic here is.