Jaipur

April 18, Thursday,

This morning we had a tour of Jaipur, which has come to be called the Pink City because the walls and many buildings were painted a sort of terra cotta color prior to an 1876 visit from the then Prince of Wales. We made one stop to see two special places. The first was called the Glass Palace, and was built by one of the maharajas who ruled Rajasthan. It was large and very nice to see, with beautiful glass mosaic work decorating some of the buildings, and the rest painted in Jaipur pink with fanciful white trim. 

Glass Palace courtyard

Glass Palace

Beautiful decoration!

More!

Defense

More defensive weapons

So beautiful

An example of glass mosaic work

Everything is exquisitely decorated!

The elephant gate

I love this little marble elephant

There were several men dressed as guards there, shooing birds off the chandeliers and posing for pictures. They wore long white tunic tops, long white loose pants, and red turbans with a long tail down the back. And big handlebar mustaches. Very picturesque.

 In addition to his palace, the rajah was interested in science and astrology, so on adjacent land he built a large conservatory which included many large devices for telling time by the sun, determining the date, and establishing the appropriate astrological sign for any moment of birth. It was all very complex, very accurate, and very much a scientific and engineering feat.

The astrological section

Telling time

What is your sign?

Virgo!

Lots of school children were there with us. Jaipur is one of the three most popular tourist destinations in India. Everyone was there!

school kids

musicians

Jainists

I love the clothes!

And this wonderful wall out in the town of Jaipur

Back on the bus late in the morning and then we were off to the airport for our charter flights to Mumbai. Scheduled to leave at 12:30, we actually left over an hour late. There were several hundred of us stuck there with no information, little or no ability to understand the few announcements that were made, no water and no food.  We were all very patient and well behaved until the three planes finally arrived and started boarding through the two same gates.  No one knew which flight was boarding first, so we worried about missing our own flight and consequently all crowded the gate area. A few passengers were Regent guides who apparently had not been paid to do their usual superior work during this transfer. In the end, all was well, but really, there was no excuse for Regent not having someone there to translate, organize, and shepherd us through. Not to mention providing us with water.  We were finally fed "aloft" but pretty terrible food and a small sweet drink instead of water. That was the first time anything on this trip has been less than excellent, however. FINALLY we arrived at the ship very much later than expected. The ship sailed soon thereafter, and we were all properly wined and dined as quickly as possible, leaving us feeling much happier long before bedtime.

We had been upgraded from an H stateroom (cheapest) to an E.  I don't know what the difference is, but our cabin is large and lovely with a balcony, a beautiful bath,and a walk in closet. I think I'm going to be thoroughly spoiled.

Regent Seven Seas Voyager

Our home away from home for the next couple of weeks

Sailing away from Mumbai