Jaipur, India

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Last weekend we decided to get on the car and hit the road going to Jaipur, India's "Pink City", the capital of Rajasthan. We wanted to finally discover for ourselves what the buzz our friends are talking about. It was a five to six hours drive from Delhi. On the way we were accompanied by big trucks, which made it more challenging for our driver to manuever since most of the drivers here in India are known not to have road ethics.

We reached Sugan Niwas Palace, a heritage boutique hotel and our home for the night, just in time for lunch. After settling in, we had a taste of Rajasthani cuisine with lamb stew, vegetable biryani, dal makhni and chicken in sambal sauce. Surprisingly the food was not as spicy as I would have imagined, which was so much better for me and my tummy ... hehehehehe

We could only choose a couple of places to go for the afternoon due to limited time since tourist spots normally close at 5pm. We decided to visit Hawa Mahal and City Palace. These are two fascinating historical landmarks located at the center of the city.

Hawa Mahal or the Palace of Wind was built for the wives, courtesans and attendants of poet-maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in the 18th Century. Its purpose was to enable these women to observe city life and processions while remaining unseen. The edifice of the building is only room deep and has no solid back wall.

The City Palace on the other hand was home to the Royal Family of Jaipur. The palace features textile artifacts displaying the finest royal outfits in silk, muslin and cotton embroidered intricately. There are also collections of daggers, swords and body armours in ivory, jade, silver and gold. All collections are dated as early as the 17th Century. We were also introduced to the biggest single silver piece ever made in the whole world - and it came as a big silver vessel.

That night we headed off to Chokni Dhani - the Indians night carnival. What I liked in this trip was that we were dancing our booties with the Rajasthanis to the tune of traditional drums and flutes. The kids who were performing were really captivating. You feel their energy while twirling and turning to the rythm. There were also elephant, cow, and camel rides but opted not to take them since Bianca wasnt up for it. For dinner we went to Rambagh Palace, a heritage hotel that was owned by the Royal Family and is now owned by the Taj Hotel Group of companies. Food was also good ... Thomas stuck with his Indian food adventure: dal makhni and biryani, while I stuffed myself with the safest choice of spotted grouper and steamed vegetables.

The next morning we bid goodbye to our new friends in Sugan Niwas and started our way back to Delhi. Side trips on our way back were Amber Fort Palace and the Neemrana Fort Hotel. In Amber Fort, which is considered one of the most majestic hilltop forts in Rajasthan, we took an elephant ride going up. It was more of an ordeal for me since I am super scared of heights. I wasnt able to back out with this one since I told Bianca a big story about how we'll take the elephant ride going to the castle and how much fun it'll be ... yeah, me and my big mouth! hahahahhaha. When we reached the top we were catered to the view of the old town sorrounding the fort. It was such a treat since the town below was not as commercialized as the cities in the state. Here we also saw how luxurious the walls were designed to the effect that they were made from pure silver.

Half way to Delhi, we stopped in Neemrana Fort Hotel. It is located in a small hillock in the Delhi-Jaipur highway. This fort is the oldest heritage hotel in India. Nothing to say much, just that we took lots of souvenier photos ... hehehehehe ...

So, those are most of the highlights of our trip ... and hopefully we get to see another state again :)