Day 5- Those stars are really really important – and I need to know exactly where they are!
So on Day 5, the 1st day of 2019, we had to say goodbye to our safaris and head north to Jaipur, the capital of Rajastan- the Indian state we spent most of the trip traveling in. On the road, saw some beautiful farm lands- yellow flowers of the mustard seed for as far as the eye could see, women dressed in beautiful saris working in the fields and of course more cow and sheep in the roads – including a huge group of cows being herded down the street
Jaipur is just a small little town of 6.6 million (there really are a lot of people in India), the chaos level is a touch lower than Delhi- but its still pumping. A little aside – but probably a good time to explain the stray cow…In the Hindu faith, cows are sacred- (hence no beef anywhere in India- only chicken and lamb) but oftentimes male cows are too expensive for a family to keep. Since they would not think of killing the cow, the family simply releases it into the streets of the city- where the community provides for it- hence the stray cows we saw in every city.
We stayed at a great little hotel with rooftop views and after a lunch with some delicious (but a bit spicy) Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken, we headed over to the City Palace- built by Jai Singh II- the warrior Maharajah who moved the capital of his kingdom from Amber Fort (see below) to Jaipur in 1727. Jai Singh really liked astronomy and built a very cool observatory- critical for mapping out the exact position of the stars for the birth a new royal baby- as horoscopes were thought to be critical for success in life. We saw the world’s largest sundial, star gazing platforms for every zodiac sign and a very cool device to map out which part of the sky was overhead at any time. Then onto the palace itself-where we saw magnificent carriage rides through the impressive gates (our favorite was the peacock gate) and world record largest water vessels (for transporting the sacred water from the Ganges). The City Palace also doubled as a museum, with artwork of all the Maharajahs over the years (including a very large fellow, and one who was a star polo player) , a early version of chess, and an awesome armory with some very intricately craved swords and rifles. After our tour of the City Palace, Jay and Bee got to practice the art of block printing- to make very cool textiles- and then we got in some shopping at great fabric store. The night ended with some more great food (Dad found a mushroom curry) and Indian dancing – ladies who balanced 5 bowls on their heads while swinging to the music!
Day 6- The Whole City is Pink?
Day 6 started off with another great breakfast and then a quick stop at the Palace of the Winds- an awesome building in the middle of old Jaipur built with 100’s of screened windows, so the royal women (who were not allowed in public) could still look out onto the market place. When India was under British rule- the Prince of Wales paid a visit- and they decided to spruce up the old section of Jaipur- with coat of pink (or maybe rusty orange) paint…Got our 1st glimpse at a snake charmer here too..very cool
Then off to the impressive Amber Fort and Palace- built in 1592 as the original capital of the region- it lies on the top of a steep hill protecting the palace just below- with a miniature great wall surrounding the city on all sides. A giant lake adds to the protection. Near the entrance gate, Jay and Bee marveled at the flight of 100’s of pigeons at once- quite a spectacle- also got to see folks riding up the forts on the backs of elephants (unfortunately these elephants are not treated so well, so we did not ride up). Inside the had amazing views of the “great wall”, ruins of the old city and the unmistakable Hindu temple towers. There were several awesome courtyards, including one garden courtyard with cool fountains. Awesome saw some really cool ceramic tiles and a room that was covered in tiles of mirrors. And got some really good ice cream!
Next stop for the day was a jewelry store- gave us a cool demo of stone polishing- emeralds are the local stone of choice- but they bring in diamonds, rubies and sapphires from all parts of the work to cut, polish and turn into fine jewelry. Then a walk through the bazaar of Jaipur- a fascinating mix of colors and smells. We got to try the local ice cream- Kulfi (thats two for today) – a compressed cream on a stick! Mom even bought a whole bag of great Indian spices.
After some down time at the hotel, Jay, Bee and Dad joined Mr Cricket for some Ballywood excitement. The theater complex itself was incredible- a huge lobby with beautiful stone work and a ginormous theater that held maybe 10000 people. Even the concessions were unique as we had samosas and a pineapple cake (they even served traditional American sweet corn- shaved right off the cob) The new release was Simba- and the movie lived up to expectations- crazy singing and dancing, bright colors and an audience that reacted to every part of the movie with groans, cheers or clapping. Even in Hindi- we were able to follow the story well…A late night dinner with more mushroom curry wrapped up the evening!
Keep going, more words down lower 
Day 7- Into the Shekhawati
Today we ventured out further into the countryside- into the Shekhawati region. Here our residence for the night was one of the highlights- a beautiful estate built of powerful yellow walls with gardens, horse stables and goats in the background. The highlight of the region were the havellis- mansions of the traders from the mid 1800’s to the early 1900’s who made their fortunes in the cities of Bombay and came back to building amazing houses in the Shekhawati region. These mansions were painted floor to ceiling with amazing pictures of Hindu gods and goddesses and scenes from life in this period. The multiple rooms, arches and windows made it a great place for Jay and Bee to explore. A few havellis have been restored but unfortunately many are in decline.
Next up was another market- smaller as Nawalgarh is not a big city- but not all that much calmer- as again farm animals compete for space with merchants, shoppers, tuk-tuks and rickshaws. Highlight of this tour was street food- roasted peanuts, ghaver- a fried doughnut looking dough with condensed milk that had a lavender taste, and jalabi, dough twisted into an orange like pretzel (coated with brown sugar we think)
The afternoon allowed time to check out he stables at the hotel- and a bit more bird watching- sights of the common hoopoe and the long tailed shrike. Early the next morning, we went on a bird walk- the parakeets flying over the grounds were awesome and even saw peacocks flying up onto the rooves of the buildings! A friendly staff person showed us to a great spot for viewing a few parakeets up close.
The meals at the hotel were fantastic here- a delicious eggplant and stewed tomato curry being one highlight
Day 8 – Dune buggies in the desert
Day 8 started with another drive through the country – this time to a even more grandiose palace to spend the night- Alsisar! Amazing grounds with a pool room, a WWII themed bar (India play a big role as part of the British Empire in WWII) , rooms with thrones and pictures of royalty and the most impressive dining room we’ve seen (ever)! Our room was nearly as big as our whole apartment! After an awesome lunch, Mr. Cricket gave a long lecture on arranged marriages- fascinating as 96% of marriages in India are still arranged- a very elaborate process where the families look to raise their social standing through marriage. The women’s family seek out a suitable mate from the community- keeping in mind their place in the caste system, their profession and even how good the man’s family house is (multi generation households are still the norm in India as well). After the Dad’s meet to discuss a dowry (value can be as high as $80K and typically include an air conditioner)- then they visit the local astronomers to 1st make sure the stars truly align and find the appropriate perfect dates for the wedding. The engagement and wedding ceremonies consist of lots of elaborate dinners and parades through ton where the groom travels to meet the bride. The new bride is finally accepted by the women in the man’s house into her new home…
Jay, Bee, Mom and Dad decided to take a dessert safari ride. This time in a smaller jeep we headed though the hills of the desert- hitting every bump and rock. Saw some awesome antelope and deer and a few more parakeets and doves. The expanse of land spreading out in all directions- and the very cool ….trees (a scared tree because of its resistance to heat and dry conditions and its multiple uses). We stopped for a snack of cookies and Masala tea (a milk based tea with ginger flavor- had it all over India) at the top of a hill with a stunning view!
Back at the hotel, we saw an odd puppet show, some more Indian dancing and feasted in our gorgeous dining room that was obviously meant for poker because of perfectly angled mirrors on only one side of the room.
The first thing mom and dad did when I fell over! 
Day 9- The Return to Delhi
Day 9 was mostly a travel day- as 8 hours of driving back to Delhi- but had a couple of cool experience at Indian “rest stops” including a delicious Indian pizza and some beautiful birds and flowers. Back in Delhi, we found some nice lodgings for the night- hung out with our new friends from the tour one more time and tried our last bites of curry and Naan. What an adventure it had been!
