Jaipur

We got up very early. Only the first 300 people at the site would be allowed to ride the elephants. And what an experience it was! I shared a female baby elephant named Saki (or something like that) with Sara. Merchants on the way up the hill called out to us to buy shirts. I called back that I needed a pashmina*** shawl. I left my jacket in the bus and it was a bit nippy. One merchant ran inside his shop and ran up the hill to catch up with us. So there I was haggling on top of an elephant. He finally agreed to 600 rupees. But when he tossed up the shawl, it was neither pashmina nor silk. He wanted to sell me more, but I told him it was too expensive. At least, I had something to cover my arms. I wore it all day.


A brightly painted elephant. more pics

At the top of the hill, as we waited for the rest of the group to arrive on their elephants, a young teenage boy walked around playing a native instrument. It was a stringed instrument that was played like a violin with a bow made of horsehair. He played while I recorded him. Then he showed me how to play it. Then he tried to sell me the instrument.

We went up some stone steps and looked around at the palace and our guide talked about palace life, the king’s harem, and the eunuchs who guarded the women while the king was away.

On our way down, the young man found me again and kept trying to sell me the instrument. I told him I'd give him 40 rupees if he played all the way to the bus. He did a terrible job playing this time, but I gave him the money anyway.


Up the stairs to the palace. more pics

We went to a museum that displayed the huge carpets that lined the palace walls and some miniature paintings. There were also paper cuttings with intricate designs that look like the laser-cut greeting cards that were popular years ago. These ones were made with sharpened fingernails.

Afterwards we went to another cottage industry place where they sold those miniature paintings on silk. One of the merchants gave us a demonstration but he only did a sketch. I thought the paintings were too expensive, so I looked around. I found some interesting earrings and the old man quoted me 350 rupees for the card I pointed to. The card had three pairs in them and I thought it was a good deal. But, as I was about to pay, the merchant said that it's 350 rupees per pair. Our tour guide passed by and said that we would find other places with more reasonable prices.

On my way out, I stopped by the stall of incense that Mahdad was looking at earlier. I didn't like the scents of the incense, but I noticed some small bottles of essences. The man was showing me exotic scents like patchouli and musk, but I insisted on floral scents. He showed me rose, but it was a very faint scent. I asked for jasmine, and he picked out a tiny bottle among his collection. It was one of the best jasmine scents my nose has ever whiffed! It was so much like the real thing that it reminded me of my childhood. He showed me other similar essences and, after haggling, I got four tiny bottles for 400 rupees. Two of those bottles were jasmine.


*** Pashmina is the wool made from goat’s fur that comes only from the goat’s throat. It’s the softest and warmest part of the goat’s fur.