Jaipur gems ...

If you read my blog written from Jaipur, then you'll know it was not one of our favourite places.  However, there were many highlights from those 3 days ... and here are some:

We met this "snake charmer" at the Amber Fort. However, he wasn't very charming, and his snake was way too sleepy to perform - no matter how hard he blew his pipe! But, he was good fun, and a pleasant diversion from all the other touts awaiting us.

This was the first time we saw the black-face monkeys in large numbers too, plus huge herds of sheep being driven down the road by shepherds as we neared the city:

I'll always remember the fabulous afternoon spent sari shopping with Asha (our hostess at our B&B) Here she is trying on two different colours of the same design. Look at all the saris behind her ... I was amazed at the way these gorgeously embroidered fabrics were just bundled and thrown into a heap!

We toured and ate lunch at the ostentatious Samode Palace just outside Jaipur ... it was really "over the top" in glitz!  Once a Maharajah's home, now a ritzy hotel for the rich and very wealthy ...

It was really hard to say goodbye to the lovely family we stayed with in Jaipur, they had been outstanding hosts, and treated us more like family than paying guests.

The fellow on the left is Anish, who was our driver for the 12 days that we were in Rajasthan.

So, as you can see, Jaipur wasn't a total washout!

More to follow ...