Jaipur

Just when I thought “this trip couldn’t POSSIBLY get any better”, it does!

Our hotel, the Oberoi Rajvillas is even more magnificent than the Leela Palace in Delhi. How is that even possible? Well, check out my room.

That’s nothing. The bathroom is even more spectacular.

I was the only woman who chose to return to the hotel rather than shop for jewelry during our free afternoon.

Why? So I’d have time to take a bath and use the pool.

Although it LOOKS like a maharajah’s palace, the Oberoi Rajvillas is actually a luxury hotel that was built to resemble a palace.

The Rambagh Palace, where we had dinner, was the REAL deal. Built in 1835, it became the principal residence of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II and his wife, Maharani Gayatri Devi. After India became independent in 1947, the Maharaja converted Rambagh Palace into India’s first luxury “palace hotel”.

Check out how we were greeted and escorted in for dinner.

As one might expect, dinner was incredible. The wine flowed freely, so freely that when Jennifer asked for a volunteer to dance with the professionals, I rose to the occasion, thinking other members of the group would join in. They didn’t. Instead my friend Bill, took this video.

This style of dancing is called Kathak and it is extremely difficult to follow, because the foot stomping pattern changes unexpectedly. I gave up trying and instead decided to go “free style”. At least my travel companions were amused.

Jaipur was noisy, crowded, chaotic and beautiful.

Crossing the street was even more hair raising than crossing in Hanoi, because in Vietnam the streets are not as wide.

I’ll confess to being challenged to find just a few photos of the many incredible things we experienced. This is my attempt to give a feel for the wonder of Jaipur without posting so many photos that your eyes roll back into your head.

Before our dinner at the Rambagh Palace, we took a jeep to the Amber Fort.

On our way, we visited this water source.

The Amber Fort is a popular site for wedding photos. This was actually a “practice shoot” pre-wedding, to make sure the real thing turns out perfectly.

The “fort” contains a gorgeous garden with fountains.

Check out the mirrored designs on the fort’s walls.

You could get a panoramic view of Jaipur from the fort.

We toured the Jantar Mantar Observatory and the City Palace Museum on our second day in Jaipur. The photo atop this post is of the throne room in the palace.

Our lunch at the Raj Palace was extraordinary. My only regret was that I didn’t know the names of these wonderful dishes so that I could order them again.

We ended the evening by visiting the 18th-century Shiva temple, where this group photo was taken.

Next stop, Udaipur.