We woke up early this morning determined to remedy the somewhat stressful day we had yesterday in Agra, and I think we were successful. After some research and phone calls we found a great guesthouse a few kilometers from Old City. The guesthouse is run by one woman named Preeti, and her parents. The family lives in the house and it feels more like a home stay than a guesthouse. She sat us down right when we got here, made us some tea, and talked us through our itinerary offering suggestions of how we could do it. After we discussed our full time in Rajasthan, she gave us a map of Jaipur and we spent some time going through different sights and areas that she thought we would enjoy. She gave us lots of tips about the city, including the most important which is now auto-rickshaws have to use meters in Jaipur. With her phone number saved in our cell and the well marked map in hand, we ventured out into the city feeling ready and excited. We spent the afternoon in Old City, enjoying how quiet it was because it was a holiday. We first visited a snack shop for Elliot to pick up some of his favorite snacks (the man in the shop let him sample a few kinds so he could pick his favorite blend of crunchy fried namkeen). We then headed over to a few historical sites, Hawa Mahal and then Jantar Mantar. Both were very fun to explore, although the crowds increased as the day went on. We had a great time wandering around the side streets of Old City and decided to grab an auto as the sun was setting.
One of the side road in Old City
Hawa Mahal or 'Palace of the Winds'
View of Jaipur from the top of Hawa Mahal
Jantar Mantar is a really incredible collection structures for astronomy observation built in 1827 in the middle of Old City.
All the smaller structures were observatories for each astrological sign
Drive back to the guest house
Overall a really great day spent exploring, we're now back at the guest house just relaxing for the evening, and planning our next couple days in Jaipur.
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