There's more history here than the rest of India combined
The train to Jaipur from Delhi was as pleasant experience as you could have really. The seats beside me remained unoccupied for the duration and I was able to stretch out, read and enjoy the scenery as I click-clacked my way south and west of the capital. This is unusual in India as the trains were used up a decade ago but still continue service regardless. This one was in pretty good shape... not by European standards.... but keeping all in context. So busy are they, in fact, that there are special quota's for tourists so that you can get a seat. Now this is the off season (who goes to India in July !!!) so I was able to secure a decent passage.
I met up with a quite a few cool folks at the Mustache Hostel in Jaipur and went to explore the Amber Fort with Max and Lisa. Lisa, a yogi from Germany had just completed a 10 day Vipassana retreat where she had meditated 10 hours a day with no talking throughout the entire time. Hmmm not a chance for this Chatty Cathy. I'd go mad in about 30 minutes. All those people around you and you can't talk??? Like a diabetic in a candy store I'd be the first to crack. Max, an engineering student from Germany was a smart cookie with lots of historical and thoughtful comments about this and that.
Many chose to ride the elephants for the trip up to the fort and it was cool to watch them lumber along. It's not however without a lot of sympathy for the great beautiful beasts. They are truly magnificent and deserve our respect if not even reverence. I got carried away and hugged one....to the shouts and bellows of the handlers. Guess that's a no no. And how could the land that brought us Ganesh, the Deity who removes obstacles and chaperones success not be revered through the living and breathing embodiment? The lazy fucks in the photo above should get off and walk. Take the elephant back to the jungle so it can lumber respectfully and happily rather than grudgingly and shamefully. There!!!!! Said it!!!!
The fort itself is in great condition and a treat to visit. One can imagine the extended family of the various Maharajas lounging luxuriously around it's large open spaces. Built in 1592, it's primarily build from red sandstone and white marble.
Two super clever additions were a canon factory and water system. The cannon making factory is completely intact and I was pretty intrigued by the ingenuity primitive as it is by today's standards. Even more interesting was the plumbing. A single beast of burden turns a wheel that dips vases attached to a rope into the lake water far below and then dumps it into a holding tank at the top of the fort Voila...running water. Surprisingly it was still intact as well.
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| A classic Royal Enfield 350 bullet sits ready to ride. It's THE bike of India.... I will ride one soon!!!! |
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| Settling down for a delicious lunch with Max and Lisa. You'd better love veggies. No beef no chicken no pork!! |
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| ooooommmmmm |
Thanks for reading ........Layno!!! .....
I met up with a quite a few cool folks at the Mustache Hostel in Jaipur and went to explore the Amber Fort with Max and Lisa. Lisa, a yogi from Germany had just completed a 10 day Vipassana retreat where she had meditated 10 hours a day with no talking throughout the entire time. Hmmm not a chance for this Chatty Cathy. I'd go mad in about 30 minutes. All those people around you and you can't talk??? Like a diabetic in a candy store I'd be the first to crack. Max, an engineering student from Germany was a smart cookie with lots of historical and thoughtful comments about this and that. 
Many chose to ride the elephants for the trip up to the fort and it was cool to watch them lumber along. It's not however without a lot of sympathy for the great beautiful beasts. They are truly magnificent and deserve our respect if not even reverence. I got carried away and hugged one....to the shouts and bellows of the handlers. Guess that's a no no. And how could the land that brought us Ganesh, the Deity who removes obstacles and chaperones success not be revered through the living and breathing embodiment? The lazy fucks in the photo above should get off and walk. Take the elephant back to the jungle so it can lumber respectfully and happily rather than grudgingly and shamefully. There!!!!! Said it!!!!
The fort itself is in great condition and a treat to visit. One can imagine the extended family of the various Maharajas lounging luxuriously around it's large open spaces. Built in 1592, it's primarily build from red sandstone and white marble.
Cows are where you don't expect them. Roadsides alleys...hahaha... I even saw one walking through a grocery store the other day. Oh my God that was hilarious.... And of course they can't be admonished or treated poorly cause it could be your Aunt or Uncle or Grandfather. An unfortunate reality however, is that once a cow no longer produces milk, it is abandoned in the city where it lumbers like the walking dead looking for food as they waste away and slowly starve to death. Hmmm not a great way to treat dearly departed Aunt Agnes. 
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