Jaipur 4/6

We arrived in Jaipur yesterday afternoon after a long drive. As there was a highway most of the way, Pal drove pretty much without stopping so we got here reasonably quickly. We headed out to a gem merchant (Jaipur is famous for precious and semi precious stones) to view some local stones. There are some very nice stones and settings, with prices to match of course. We went to a restaurant after that, a friend of Pal’s who he knew from driving cars in Delhi. Pal didn’t end up having much to eat with us the other night as it was too early for him but we had more of a meal with him last night which was good and the food was excellent. It wasn’t especially cheap but Pal secured us 25% off the bill so it worked out to be reasonable in the end. This morning we went had a look at the Amber Fort (pronounced Amer) and the nearby Jaigarh Fort. We had intended to go inside but it was pretty hot this morning even by local standards so we’ve given it a miss (after taking some photos from the outside) to have a bit of a rest day instead. There was also the opportunity to ride an elephant up to the Fort gates but we elected not to do that either as there the guidebook mentioned questionable practices relating to the care of the elephants. We drove into the old town (or the ‘pink city’) to have a look around, it was very crowded so we didn’t have too much of a chance to stop and look around. We needed caffeine though so we had morning tea at an Indian coffee chain named Mr Bean’s which was excellent, after which Pal took us to see a carpet being weaved by hand at a local carpet shop. There were three main types of carpet - Rajasthan wool, Kashmir wool and silk. For a standard six by four foot silk carpet, it takes about nine months to weave as there are 600 knots per sqaure inch. We had a run through of the prices (as you get everywhere you visit here) and they were incredibly reasonable compared to home considering the workmanship - but there’s something about not having a house to come back to that makes you question that kind of purchase. We are back at the hotel this afternoon to beat the heat and we’ll meet Pal on the rooftop at eight to have a beer which sounds pretty good.