Day 1- Jaipur

Well I made it through the airport okay, now we’re in Jaipur. Our old friend and driver, Roop RAM picked us up at the airport and took us to our hotel- the Taj SMS Guest Rooms, situated right next door to Rambagh Palace. We were hungry when we got here, so we stopped in at the hotel restaurant and got some breakfast.

Jaipur is such a beautiful city- an indescribeable color of orangish pink is painted on almost every wall, as if people were paid

to put it there. There is a different vibe here than in Bombay. First of all, there are more animals in the streets here. We’ve seen monkeys, pigs, camels, and elephants along with the usual dogs, chickens, cows and goats. My husband says people here are more willing to scam you than in the South, but I haven’t noticed that. In fact, today, we went to some great factory warehouses

where they source Jaipur-made goods, and their prices were excellent. Let me tell you about them.

Jaipur- The Pink City

The first place that we went was a gems dealer called Molto Bello Gems, near Valmiki Bhawan. That place was amazing. They showed us how they get their raw stone in huge chunks from places like Zambia, Brazil, and even from Jaipur itself, and they hone it down and facet it, and then sell it for a fraction of the selling price to companies like Cartier and Tiffany, because labor is so cheap in Jaipur. I had my eye on two rings in their showroom. One was an 18k gold and diamond ring which he was selling for $810 (I could’ve gotten him down to probably $600), and a ruby and white gold ring that he was selling for $825 that I bargained down to $525. In the end, I just wasn’t willing to pay $500. I think I would’ve paid 400, but not 500. We couldn’t make a deal. Too bad, that ring was amazing.

Me- Haggling with Yougi for that Ruby ring!

The second place we went was called Neelkanth, in the RIICO Ind. area. It was a Textile factory, making all manner of things, from block prints to quilts to kurtas to wall hangings to umbrellas.

I’ve got a video of their workers making quilts that I will put up soon so you can see how quickly and efficiently they work. I might show the showroom as well. I’m a sucker for textiles, so we went a little nuts in that place. I got a pillow cover, which I don’t think ever made it into the bag (we didn’t pay for it, either- things were chaotic), 3 kurtas, a bed cover with elephants on it, a wall hanging that my husband picked out, and a dupatta/scarf which is double sided and handstitched. One of the guys there tried to buy my video camera and my husband had to tell him that all our videos are on it! It’s priceless!

I forgot to tell you about our lunch place, which is a place we got from the lonely planet guide. Dasaprakash in Kamal Mansions was a great restaurant, and I’d go back again. Great dosas, semi-okay service. I’d like to try their ice cream next time.

After the factories, we went on a little ride around the city with Roop RAM...it seems like he can never take the most direct route to anywhere. We then ended up in a little---cheesy---place called Chokhi Dhani. Chokhi Dhani is really more of a place for little kids...it’s a fake Rajasthani village (Jaipur is a City in the State of Rajasthan) set up with magicians, snake charmers, dancers, elephant rides, camel rides, shops, restaurants, etc. For the most part, we were all a little bored. We did enjoy the dancers a bit...and Abby and I got free Mehndi (Henna Art) on our hands. Toward the end of the evening, we decided to skip

out early and have dinner at the free Thali restaurant. (Thali, pronounced “Tolly”, is a way of eating a little bit of everything.) I have an Uncle who would LOVE Thali. You know who you are!

After the Chokhi Dhani evening, we came back to the Hotel and Abby and I washed the henna debris from our hands and applied coconut oil. Then I showered and went. to. bed. Yes.

Then it was up at 5 to bring you a blog that has been gone for a few days. Sorry about that, but we’ve been traveling. We’ll also be traveling tomorrow...back to Bombay, so you may get your next update the day after tomorrow (my time). But it will still be packed with the same amount of mundane information that I always provide you with! TTFN.