Sunny, beautiful, and generally walkable. That’s what I thought about Jaipur. One of the most touristy cities in India, Jaipur is rich in history, culture, cuisine, and the people I met seemed lovely.
The first time I read about Jaipur was obviously while trying to memorize the names of the capital cities of all the Indian states. Chhattisgarh – Raipur, Goa – Panaji, Rajasthan – Jaipur and on and on. I actually loved reciting the names of the capital cities of Indian states. Okay, more like I knew mom would give me a thrashing if I forgot the names of the capital cities, so I did my best to keep up.
And the first person I met, who had some association with Jaipur was my IIT JEE physics coaching teacher. I can’t recall if he was from Jaipur or if he studied in Jaipur. Either way, how does it matter? From reading about the city, and hearing about it to actually walking around the city aimlessly was an incredible experience. For a moment I felt like, “Man! I could spend the rest of my life here.”
I have no idea how to write a travelogue or if there is a right way to narrate your experiences in a new city. So, I’ll mostly follow my own way – narrate the story as if I’m talking to myself. If someone finds it useful or entertaining, great! If not, I’m sure I can read them to my kids and their kids at some point in the future. People come, people go. Life happens, life ends. But the words must flow. Content creation must not stop.
A slight issue with trying to write a travelogue eight months after your travel is that you tend to forget some things, or at least you don’t remember them as vividly anymore. That’s where taking photos (of yourself, random buildings, other people, and trees) comes to your rescue. I have Google Photos open on one tab as I write these words. The recollection seems a bit easier now.
As with other trips, I did not really have a plan for what I was going to do in Jaipur. I thought I’ll go to a cafe when I get there, sit there for a few hours, and then think about where to go next. More often than not, that meant turning my location on and searching “best cafes near me.” I must inform you – that actually worked out great.
The first thing I saw as I stepped out of the Jaipur International Airport was a giant billboard that said, “Jaipur Rugs” and I thought, “Wow! These people really know how to market their products.”
As I said before – I did not have a plan. So, the next order of business was to find a cafe where I could sit and plan. I asked a few friends for suggestions, and ended up in Tapri. Unfortunately, not a lot of planning happened here. I got distracted by the mini samosas and the copper water jug. Also, that one guy slurping on his masala maggi was super distracting. Anyway, I remembered that I had not slept the previous night – so I bought some essentials (shampoo, conditioner, and a sunscreen), walked back to the hostel, ate a bowl of rice and went to sleep.
The real exploration began the next morning. Since I still did not have a concrete plan for what I was going to do in Jaipur amidst the sleep deprivation, copper pots, and maggi slurping, I decided to put my foot down and plan something – search on Maps, text some friends for recommendations, and walk as much as I could.
I went to Roastery, got myself a cup of coffee and extra cookies (free of charge – you just need to ask nicely and smile). I opened Google Maps and searched for places that my friends recommended. After getting an overview of the different landmarks, I decided to walk around that day, take a faster mode of transportation the next day, and go to the farthest landmarks towards the end of the trip.
After finishing my delicious cup of coffee, I started walking towards Amar Jawan Jyoti, a war memorial. What I did not realize at the time was that further down the road sits the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly. If you know me, you might have realized that I have a thing for democracy and places from where decisions impacting millions of people are made. I had a great time admiring the beautiful Rajasthan Legislative Assembly building.
Further down the road, I passed by the MLAs’ housing complex. My first thought was “Wow! These houses look beautiful. I wish I could get a house here someday.” As a matter of fact, I cannot because I need to first get elected to the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly to be eligible for housing there.
I went to the Albert Hall Museum after some more strolling. They did not think I’m an Indian citizen and asked me for foreign entry fees. I did not pay up of course. One person demanded to see my Aadhaar card (unique ID for residents of India). I flatly declined and asked him if me conversing with him in Hindi was not enough. Anyway, they gave me the Indian ticket eventually and that was the end of it. Inside the museum itself, I had a good time looking at pottery and reading their descriptions in Hindi.
One of them said, “Phooldaan, safed rang ka arbi laalten ke aakar ka, jis par lal rang ke dragon ebam suhnehre rang ke pushpa ankit hai.” Vase, Arabian lantern shaped, white with dragons in red and flowers in gold color.
After that I went to a cafe adjacent to Hotel Narain Niwas Palace. The coffee itself was mostly okay, but since it was raining outside, I spent some time flipping through a book about the Jodhpur Lancers, while admiring the beautiful walls and carpets of the cafe. Having walked about 7 km, I decided to call it a day – went back to the hostel, had some rice, and slept.
I started the next day with an English breakfast at a cafe called Bae (wow!) and some coffee (of course). As usual, I opened Maps and found out that the Jaipur metro line isn’t very far from where I was. As a public transport enthusiast, I had to go and check it out. After some online search, I found out that I can get a metro card, and pay for it online too. So, I got the card. The card had a photo of the Hawa Mahal printed on it, so I decided that I must go to the Hawa Mahal next. Fortunately, visiting the Hawa Mahal is super convenient using the metro line.
I realized that I just had to go to Badi Chopar and take the appropriate exit. They did not question my citizenship this time. The entry to the Hawa Mahal was super smooth.
I spent a few hours walking around and taking a ton of photos. Every corner seemed so pretty. Walking there, seeing the crowd below on the street, and the architecture itself made me quite happy. The Sun was just winding down – I felt a sense of happiness that I hadn’t felt in a long time. I don’t know what it was, but I was genuinely so happy at the Hawa Mahal, it is difficult to describe it in words.
That could have been the highlight of the day, except that it wasn’t. The best part of the day was yet to come. So, at some point I had mentioned to one of my flatmates that I have never been to a North Indian wedding before. In fact, I have been to just one or two weddings before that. Clearly, I lack the wedding experience. Or more like “experiencing weddings” experience. Anyway, he told me that I could drop by and see it for myself.
It was the most beautiful evening of my entire life thus far, honestly. The bride and the groom looked so pretty, and so did everyone else (including my flatmate, but he would probably refuse to acknowledge it). Once I got rid of the “I’m so under-dressed” feeling, I walked around, observed people and food, and generally had a great time. Some people even talked to me. I also found out that I’m from the bride’s side. Before that I did not know the couple’s names. None really seemed to mind me going quite close to the procession and observing everything. I very much appreciated that. A decorated umbrella, chandeliers, tons of flowers, fireworks, and garlands – there was everything.
A gentleman saw me taking photos of fruits and said, “Well, you have to eat them to know if they are any good, taking photos won’t help.” Fair point. So, I ate fruits, masala papad, drank soup, and badam milk, a few more things that I don’t remember. And then my flatmate introduced me to rabdi jalebi. That rocked my world. Freshly fried jalebis with rabdi is something out of this world! My first North Indian wedding experience was a great success.
I went to yet another cafe called O’Baque the next morning. It might be one of the most aesthetic cafes I’ve been to thus far. And trust me, I’ve been to a lot of cafes in my time here on Earth. I saw a beautiful mirror there, and then my reflection in the mirror and realized that life is good – I could see happiness on my face. I felt something similar to what I felt while exploring the Hawa Mahal. Feeling genuine happiness from inside is one the best feelings ever. I was so happy (maybe it was the coffee, or the macaroon) that I decided to walk from the cafe to Jantar Mantar, a 47 minutes walk.
Tip: You can swipe left or right to see more photos.
I could not help but admire the structures in Jantar Mantar. It was also eye-opening in the sense that all of modern civilization and all these structures we see around did not simply come about. We actually built them according to our needs, during different periods in history. The weather was quite pleasant for me to walk around and think about civilization, human progress, and our collective and individual roles in that progress. It was quite the thinking (to myself).
I ended my day by going back to Tapri because I wanted the eat those mini samosas again. There was none slurping on their maggi this time, the tea was lovely, so was the pudina chutney. I also made sure to write down my Instagram username on the feedback form because someone suggested it after seeing my previous feedback. I walked about 9 km that day.
I went to the City Palace the next morning. A tour guide showed me around. He obviously spoke very highly of the royal family, and in the process told me that the previous generation of his family also worked in the palace. Unprompted, he asked me about my educational qualifications – I thought for a moment and then decided to tell him lol. That was a bad decision on my part because he asked me very Jaipur-specific history questions after that. I said, “Sorry, I don’t know the answer to that” a few times, got a few questions correct while thinking to myself, “Wow! I did not come here for a quiz.”
After a few more questions, I asked him why he spoke to me in English initially, before I switched to speaking to him in Hindi. He said he thought I’m from Japan. I asked him if he heard about the state of Tripura, and the Northeast region. And then there was a general understanding that he knows some things more than I do, and I know some things that he might not know.
In one of the rooms, someone went around in circles, flawlessly moving her lehenga. And her tour guide was recording a video of the whole thing. That prompted my tour guide to ask me if I wanted photos. I said not really. Then he smiled saying it won’t cost extra. I told him that wasn’t the issue; but then he said that I should let him take photos of me “for the memories”. So I did a George Russell.
He received a call shortly after that. He informed me that they are bolting the palace doors because the whole of Jaipur is shutting down for the rest of the day. He reassured me that I need not hurry, but apparently they had stopped issuing tickets for the day, and I would be one of the last ones – I can leave after having some coffee. I asked him if there would be extra cookies. He said, of course, and free of charge. He said something and I remember it vividly to this day – “If you stay alive, you can come back to see the City Palace another time too.”
He was concerned if I’ll be able to make it back to the metro stop by myself. I told him that navigating using Google Maps is something I excel at, so he need not worry. Before leaving I asked him about the cheapest way to get to the Amer Fort. He asked me a few questions to get a sense of where I was staying and then told me that I could take a bus that goes from Badi Chopar to Amer directly.
I thanked him for his time, and we parted ways. He was not messing around. Jaipur had, in fact, effectively shut down. The metro stop looked deserted. Fortunately, the trains still ran, so I hopped on one, and walked to my hostel in a hurry. There was heavy police presence on the streets. They did not ask me questions, however. Once I got back to the hostel, I looked up the news – it quickly hit me why Jaipur had shut down, and why there was large police presence on the streets. If you are interested, you can read this news article.
I wasn’t sure whether Jaipur would be open the next day. I was slightly concerned because I had a flight to catch the next evening. Realizing there was nothing much that I could do, I went to sleep. After waking up I was glad to find out that things were back to normal. So, I decided to visit the Amer Fort. I walked to the nearest metro stop, took the train to Badi Chopar and waited for the bus. After some waiting, the correct bus came by, and I took the longish ride to the fort for $₹25$. I fell asleep on the bus and missed the entrance to the fort. Nothing to worry, I told myself. I walked up a long winding uphill road, and made it to the fort eventually. The walk was worth it.
That morning I also met fellow tourists in the hostel – one from Denmark, and a couple from the UK. I ran into them again at the fort, so we explored it together. They even took photos of me. It was lovely all around. We went to Panna Meena ka Kund after taking in the breathtaking views from the top of the Amer Fort. You need to visit and see it for yourself. At one point I pictured invading soldiers, trying to storm the fort, and how I’d have used the cannons. Anyway, the cool breeze quickly brought me back to reality.
There was no crowd at Panna Meena ka Kund surprisingly. I loved the symmetry. The stairs, and their shadows created a beautiful pattern. We spent a fair amount of time taking photos, and then it was time to head back. I had a flight to catch in a few hours. I said goodbye to my fellow tourists, and got on a bus. Since the Jal Mahal was on the way, I got off there and spent some time. The owner of a jhumka shop kept quoting prices to me for some reason. It made me wonder about a few things – it would be lovely to get jhumkas for someone someday, the trip was beautiful, and I was quite hungry.
So I headed to Masala Chowk to eat local food (someone rightly pointed out that I might try out local food since I eat rice at home anyway). I found out something about myself – as much as I’m open to trying new cuisines, I should stick to eating rice because my taste buds did not appreciate the local food at all. Slowly, it also hit me that I might miss my flight if I get stuck in traffic on my way back to the hostel. There was one last thing to do, however.
I took a cab to Johari Bazar, and bought a few bangles, some sweets, and gifts for my friends. Once that was done, it was time to hurry and get to the airport. There is something thrilling about almost missing your flight, but eventually making it on time. I threw everything in my suitcase, said a quick goodbye to the hostel staff and headed for the airport.
I had a lovely time in Jaipur – something that I’ll remember for a long long time. One of the reasons for writing this travelogue is to remember all that happened during that trip. It went well more than I had hoped for. In some sense, I left a small part of me in Jaipur (well, I also left behind my journal during the hurried packing, but the hostel staff posted it back to me. So all is well. You can read more about that here). I would love to go back to Jaipur someday.
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Until the next travelogue, bye!
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