Agra, Jaipur, & Jaisalmer

49 degrees. That was the temperature in Agra on the second day of our 10 day trip of northern India, and it didn't get much cooler for the rest of our vacation. Although the heat was at times oppressive, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

Our first stop was Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal. We awoke at 5:15 a.m. to see the Taj at first light and it didn't disappoint us, living up to its reputation.

At the Agra Fort, we encountered a group of 30 beautiful Chinese women in coordinated outfits. Turns out they were contestants of the Hong Kong beauty pageant shooting footage for the upcoming event.

Our second stop was Jaipur, which is known as the "Pink City" (because of its many pink buildings). We hired a guide to see the major sites, including the Palace of Winds,  Jantar Mantar (a medieval astronomical observatory), the City Palace, and Amber Fort.

The entryway of our hotel in Jaipur - like many other buildings in Rajistan - was ornately decorated in beautiful tiled mirrors.

Our train journey to Jaisalmer proved to be an adventure. Delayed by close to 3 hours, we didn't get going until 3 a.m. At one of the dusty stops, I ventured off the train in search of some refreshments (we had been told by a fellow passenger that we'd be in the station for 15 minutes).  I nearly gave Pearce a heart attack when the train began to move only a minute or two later (thankfully I heard the whistle and ran into one of the other train cars before it left).


In the second picture below, you can see Pearce's berth. In second class, there are four berths, plus two on the end. In reality, there isn't a whole lot of difference between first, second, and third class A/C, although you pay 50%-100% more for each subsequent class (and get a little more space/privacy).

Jaisalamer is a picturesque city on the edge of the Thar desert in Western Rajistan. Unlike all the other forts we visited, it is still inhabitated today. Our hotel was located within the fort's walls and since we were the only guests, we were lucky enough to be upgraded to a room with a wonderful view of the city below!

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One evening we toke a jeep ride out into the desert for a camel ride. On the way, we stopped at a monument where a wedding party was taking pictures (you can see the bride below). 

Jodhpur & Udaipur

The final two stops on our whirlwind tour of Rajistan were Jodhpur and Udaipur. Jodhpur's buildings have a distinct blueish hue (hence its nickname as the "Blue City"). The cobalt colour was applied to the buildings to moderate the heat and ward off insects. 

In the centre of Jodhpur is the beautifully maintained Mehrangarh Fort, with its soaring, impenetrable walls. Like many other forts/palaces in Rajistan, it is currently managed by the  descendants of the former Maharaja.The hand prints below are supposedly of women who performed Jauhar by throwing themselves into a funeral pyre following the death of their husbands or a defeat in battle.

 

Throughout Rajistan, many of the men wear turbans. The turbans' varying sizes and colours help to denote the castes of the men.

Udaipur, our final stop, is known for its many lakes. Ironically the lakes, including Lake Pichola below, were completely dry when we visited. This is mainly due to the failure of the previous years' monsoons. Udaipur was recently rated by Travel and Leisure Magazine as the "most romantic city in the world".


The shear number and opulence of India's uber luxury hotels is a little mind boggling. Rooms at the Lake Palace hotel below start at $350, with some topping $6,000.  We attempted to go for drinks at one of the luxury hotels in Udaipur, only to be politely turned away saying they were "all full with reservations for the evening" (although I have a  suspicion that our arrival in an auto rickshaw and casual attire had more to do with it).

Udaipur's City Palace was built in 1559 and is the former home of the Maharana of Mewar (the kingdom in which Udaipur was located). In Mewar, the kings were referred to as Maharanas, as opposed to Maharajahs.

The first painting is of a former Maharana, while the second is a "miniature" style painting (which Udaipur is famous for). Although many of the paintings themselves are indeed very small, the name actually refers to the size of the images within each painting.

This palace screen - one of many we saw in the forts and palaces throughout Rajistan - is designed to shield women in Purdah. Purdah is the practice of preventing women from being seen by men and was popular in Rajistan.

There were many handicrafts for sale in Rajistan. One must be wary though: we were told over and over again that we were looking at real camel leather bags (reality: goat leather) or camel bone and ivory artifacts (reality: plastic). Although I enjoyed the shopping, by the end of the trip I had had my fill of bargaining.

On our final day, we rented a car/driver/ guide and toured the area surrounding Udaipur. The drive through varied landscapes and tiny villages was beautiful, and we visited a fort and the Ranakpur Jain Temples. Jainism is an offshoot of Hinduism and the two religions share many similarities.