Fortunately, Ian’s musical choices aligned with ours. I even discovered that we had been at the same Mumford and Sons concert at the Camden Susquehanna Center back in February!
We stopped quickly at a roadside restaurant for breakfast before resuming our trip and two hours later, our cars pulled up in front of the Jal Mahal in Jaipur.
It is a little misleading to say that we pulled up in front of it, since the Jal Mahal is a palace in the middle of an expansive lake. Although it was impressive enough when we saw it, we were surprised to learn that the Jal Mahal is actually a five-story palace and that when the lake it at its highest point, four of those stories become submerged. We also learned that the palace is currently being renovated and will open to the public as a hotel in about two years. I can’t imagine how expensive of a stay that will be!
After some quick pictures, it was only a short drive to our second stop, the Royal Gaitor.
This expansive memorial complex is made of various monument buildings, most build in memory of the different Maharajas of Raghastan, the Indian state of which Jaipur is the capital. The architecture of each was unique and impressive. It seemed that this is one of the lesser-travels tourist stops in Jaipur.
We spent a very tranquil half hour in which we walked around the area. As we noticed the quiet at that time, we also noticed the remarkable weather. Jaipur is primarily a desert and can get to be 122 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer months. Fortunately for us, the highs for the weekend were only in the mid-eighties. What luck!
Before we had lunch, we stopped to tour the City Palace of Jaipur. Aside from the palace itself, the complex also has several museums that trace the history of the Maharajas and of the royal family. My favorite was definitely the weaponry museum!
After leaving the palace, we stopped for a quick bite to eat before doing a bit of shopping. Our first stop was a spice merchant, who talked us through (and even let us taste) all the teas and spices he had to offer. I made a few purchases in the hopes that I’ll be able to recreate some of my new favorite dishes when I get home!
After packing up and getting back into the cars with our new purchases, we started to head towards one of the more mixed-review stops of the trip: the monkey temple. As the name suggests, we visited a temple complex mainly inhabited by wild monkeys. Normally, I'd say that monkeys are interesting to watch and absolutely adorable. I cannot however, say that I have found myself saying the same thing while in India (the baby ones are still pretty cute though).
Stephanie and Katie were brave enough to feed a few of the monkeys, but the rest of us were content to watch from as far away as possible. It was hard to really appreciate the temple, since we were always on the watch for approaching monkeys, Still, it was certainly an experience in India that I will never forget.
Finally, we headed to our resort for the evening, the Chokhi Dhani, which doubled as an attraction as well! Our cottages were brightly decorated and very comfortable, but the real experience at the Chokhi Dhani is to be found in the on-site Raghastani Village experience, which can be visited by non-guests as an attraction.
After relaxing with some drinks at the resort, we headed into the village area for our authentic Raghistani dinner (sitting on the floor) before spending a few hours wandering around the rest of the village.
The most beautiful architectural elements at the palace, in my opinion, were the four doorways in the central courtyard, each of which represented one of the four seasons.
After leaving the palace, we stopped for a quick bite to eat before doing a bit of shopping. Our first stop was a spice merchant, who talked us through (and even let us taste) all the teas and spices he had to offer. I made a few purchases in the hopes that I’ll be able to recreate some of my new favorite dishes when I get home!
Meanwhile, Om and Jon visited the store next door and got measured for custom-tailored suits! We would have to go back the next day for them to pick them up.
After packing up and getting back into the cars with our new purchases, we started to head towards one of the more mixed-review stops of the trip: the monkey temple. As the name suggests, we visited a temple complex mainly inhabited by wild monkeys. Normally, I'd say that monkeys are interesting to watch and absolutely adorable. I cannot however, say that I have found myself saying the same thing while in India (the baby ones are still pretty cute though).
We've heard many reports of especially the urban monkeys of India becoming aggressive, anytime there is food to be had. Kalie has had similar experiences in Indonesia, sharing with us that several monkeys once jumped on her back and tried to get into her backpack! These stories, along with our monkey experience on the way to the Taj Mahal made some of us a little less than enthusiastic about our visit to the Monkey Temple in Jaipur.
Stephanie and Katie were brave enough to feed a few of the monkeys, but the rest of us were content to watch from as far away as possible. It was hard to really appreciate the temple, since we were always on the watch for approaching monkeys, Still, it was certainly an experience in India that I will never forget.
Finally, we headed to our resort for the evening, the Chokhi Dhani, which doubled as an attraction as well! Our cottages were brightly decorated and very comfortable, but the real experience at the Chokhi Dhani is to be found in the on-site Raghastani Village experience, which can be visited by non-guests as an attraction.
It most closely resembled an American fairground, with rides, entertainers, carnival games, animals and artisans. There was music being played everywhere, and it was easy for us to imagine that we were actually in a Raghastani village instead of a resort.
Before long, we all went back to our cottages to get a full night of sleep before the last day of our cultural weekend.
