The Pink City

After eight days of ITT the team was eager to meet back up and and explore Jaipur, the Pink City, together. Having spent our first four weeks in Southern India, Rajasthan seemed like a whole new world to embark upon. Everything from the architecture to the souvenirs was completely different. The participants said that when they thought of India this city was the exact image they had conjured up in their minds.

We stayed in a luxurious heritage hotel that was converted from a palace to a hotel at one point in time. The rooms were breath taking, equipped with king sized beds, that were shared amongst four people of course, a comfortable living space and a large bathroom with a functioning shower! This hotel also included a pool and three live geese that would just wonder around the front lawn to keep things interesting.

We spent our two days in Jaipur touring all that this Pink City had to offer. Shopping in the Bazaars of Northern India was quite different than that of Southern India and the team regretted spending most of their cash in the South. Bartering quickly became a sport as the vendors were much harder to bargain with but the girls in the end returned home with mojai shoes and Rajasthani puppets.

In one day, the team walked through a gorgeous Jain temple, toured Amber Fort – one of the most beautiful palaces to see in India, and examined old astrology tools in Jantar Mantar. We spent our night in Choki Dhani, a little Indian fair, where the team watched some Indian dances (some participated as well), got henna done on their hands, rode camels and elephants, got their palms read, and ate a massive all-you-can-eat Indian buffet meal. This meal was beyond delicious. All of us returned home with a full stomache and a big smile that night.

Amber Fort was certianly one of the highlights of this trip. It is this massive palace on top of a mountain, so when you get to the top you get an amazing view of the entire Pink City. To be honest words cannot do this palace justice. Pictures will be posted as soon as I can find an internet cafe that can upload photos and not have it take 5 hours.

The team was very sad to leave Jaipur and said that two days was  not enough time to spend in this beautiful city, although they were happy to escape the 48 degree heat that held us hostage the entire time- thank god for that swimming pool!