The Amber Fort (on Elephants), City Palace, and the Jantar Mantar (Astronomical Observatory
The day started with a trip to the Amber Fort just outside Jaipur. This is yet another Mughal Emperor Castle high on a hill above a valley -- a perfect spot for defense. And to make it even better, it's overlooking a lake (which being wet at this time in the season is a pretty good sign it's going to remain that way.
Being high on a hill with a fairly steep path approaching the fort (not counting the jeep trail along the backside), the natural way up is by elephant (after all, we are in Rajahstan). Fortunately they've made it quite civilized -- at least for us if not for the elephant. The elephant approaches (with driver aboard) with you on a platform about the same height as the "seat" on the back of the elephant. You just get into the seat -- being careful not to step on the seat or the elephant -- and off you go. Occasionally one of the elephants passes another -- in which case it's probably okay to shout "get a horse" or should that be "get a camel." And, since you can't always count on your friends being the next elephant up or down the line, there are people who take your picture as you go up the hill, and shout to you their name so you can check them out. The price for the picture is not regulated (as nearly anything else is not) and to some extent you have the bargaining advantage as the photo has no value to the photographer if you don't buy them. Well, one of two people taking our picture was "Ali Baba" -- at at least he claimed that was his name. Frankly, I'm a little dubious but it does make him easy to remember. But we didn't see him when we arrived in the Fort. Finally, he tacked up down after lunch back down in Jaipur. He deserved an extra something for persistence, don't you think. Anyway, thanks to "Ali Baba" we have photographic proof (which I promise hasn't been PhotoShopped) of us on the back of an elephant.
In the afternoon we went to the City Palace where we had lunch (and Ali Baba found us) and visited the City Palace and the Jantar Mantar (Astronomical Observatory). The later was absolutely fascinating with all the wonderful, very large, astronomical and astrological devices. Here are three of the devices although I can't tell you what they do ... although I bought a book which does explain them when I have some time to look at it
You can get some feel for the size of these instruments by the people -- or people's feet in one case, around them.
Sharp readers will note that I called this both an astrological as well as an astronomical place. Our group leader explained that many Indians -- notably not including him -- put a lot of faith in astrology including choosing a wedding date depending on whether a particular day is auspicious or not. And in the case of arranged marriages, one of the things that is often done is to match the astrological charts of the prsopective bride and groom. There are apparently 36 items that can be matched and while matching 36 of 36 is virtually unheard of, the higher the correlation, the better a match the couple makes. One of the devices in the part measures the particular aspects of each of the 12 signs. Here I am beside the info panel for my favorite sign (although I'm quick to point out that I am a Capricorn, and Capricorns don't beleive in astrology.
The day started with a trip to the Amber Fort just outside Jaipur. This is yet another Mughal Emperor Castle high on a hill above a valley -- a perfect spot for defense. And to make it even better, it's overlooking a lake (which being wet at this time in the season is a pretty good sign it's going to remain that way.
Being high on a hill with a fairly steep path approaching the fort (not counting the jeep trail along the backside), the natural way up is by elephant (after all, we are in Rajahstan). Fortunately they've made it quite civilized -- at least for us if not for the elephant. The elephant approaches (with driver aboard) with you on a platform about the same height as the "seat" on the back of the elephant. You just get into the seat -- being careful not to step on the seat or the elephant -- and off you go. Occasionally one of the elephants passes another -- in which case it's probably okay to shout "get a horse" or should that be "get a camel." And, since you can't always count on your friends being the next elephant up or down the line, there are people who take your picture as you go up the hill, and shout to you their name so you can check them out. The price for the picture is not regulated (as nearly anything else is not) and to some extent you have the bargaining advantage as the photo has no value to the photographer if you don't buy them. Well, one of two people taking our picture was "Ali Baba" -- at at least he claimed that was his name. Frankly, I'm a little dubious but it does make him easy to remember. But we didn't see him when we arrived in the Fort. Finally, he tacked up down after lunch back down in Jaipur. He deserved an extra something for persistence, don't you think. Anyway, thanks to "Ali Baba" we have photographic proof (which I promise hasn't been PhotoShopped) of us on the back of an elephant.
In the afternoon we went to the City Palace where we had lunch (and Ali Baba found us) and visited the City Palace and the Jantar Mantar (Astronomical Observatory). The later was absolutely fascinating with all the wonderful, very large, astronomical and astrological devices. Here are three of the devices although I can't tell you what they do ... although I bought a book which does explain them when I have some time to look at it
You can get some feel for the size of these instruments by the people -- or people's feet in one case, around them.
Sharp readers will note that I called this both an astrological as well as an astronomical place. Our group leader explained that many Indians -- notably not including him -- put a lot of faith in astrology including choosing a wedding date depending on whether a particular day is auspicious or not. And in the case of arranged marriages, one of the things that is often done is to match the astrological charts of the prsopective bride and groom. There are apparently 36 items that can be matched and while matching 36 of 36 is virtually unheard of, the higher the correlation, the better a match the couple makes. One of the devices in the part measures the particular aspects of each of the 12 signs. Here I am beside the info panel for my favorite sign (although I'm quick to point out that I am a Capricorn, and Capricorns don't beleive in astrology.
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