Jaipur = one big market

After a night in our SUPER-GREAT hotel (SERIOUSLY!, we got upgraded, as they didn't have the rooms they promised at our GREAT hotel, they moved us for that night 2 a better one from the same group - 200m away) we went sightseeing in Jaipur. AMAZING interiors, Rajasthani style - WOULD upload pics, as (surprisingly) i have both the time AND working batteries in my hard drive, but there is no USB slot on this comp... how handy!

ANYWAY
we have seen a HAVELI (this funny facade-building - made my maharaja for his harem - so the woman wouldn't get bored - and they could look into the street, but at the same time 2 ensure his ''exclusivity'' for them - they couldn't go out 2 the street

We also visited an astronomic observatory - with big instruments made of sandstone. all calculated/designed by the maharaja/genius - with e.g. solar clock with 2 sec precision . VERY impressive all these things they could see!

MOTTO OF TODAY:
no sun, no fun = as everything only works only when the sun is shining.

oh well... it does shine (EVEN TOO MUCH) all the time now

We went shopping

Traffic here is SO CRAZY. So many rickshaws/cars/horses/camels/cows/bikes /busses everywhere. and horning all the time (this is apparently the way 2 move here - as nobody looks in the mirrors - so if u want them 2 get off ur way u need 2 horn)

we went 4 dinner to this nice rotating restaurant - a rotating tower with a view all over the city (which is 2.5mln ppl btw!)

2nD DAY
We hired an airco-jeep with a driver from the hotel, NICE one, really big too. For all 5 of us, for 8h. Cost: 900rs = 15eur (for all 5 )
Was great., we went 2 the Amber fort (and had our elephant rides!! YAY - beautiful fort, lots of pics of course. We also went 2 the monkey temple - eventually we didn't get 2 c THAT many monkeys, as they were apparently smarter than us (!!!!) and NOT spending the noon in the burning sun (its still like 37 degrees in the shade...) - but we have seen enough of them anyway. Also saw some cobras dancing (2 the music)

Now at the hotel. Went back 2 swim in the pool and relax. We r still going 2night to that park - with food, drinks, Rajasthani dances, singing, traditional handicrafts etc etc etc

BY THE WAY: if anybody was wondering : our stomachs r NOT really enjoying the Indian food anymore. The only things that we feel like having is pizza and french fries (no, no masala for me anymore please :-S). It's not that we get sick because the food is prepared in a dirty way. No. Since we don't get sick fro continental food… It's all the spices our stomachs cannot bear. We r at the point when we sometimes look for something healthy to eat, and the healthiest thing that wouldn't make us sick are potato CHIPS... FUNNY... my own stomach has been behaving really nice for a few days now - but that's only because i had NOTHING Indian for like 48h. Other than that we r fine. Its not serious actually, its just that u have a constant stomach ache and every now and then some of us would have some additional ''entertainment'' caused by the bellies... hmhmhm

3RD DAY IN JAIPUR:
The girls were leaving (4pm train 2 Delhi) - 2 go back home

And we (Chris, Menno & I) stayed out, went shopping 4 souvenirs, walked around

it did get a bit dodgy in the end - not that anything happened, but i guess tit was TOO MUCH 4 all of u - people nagging to buy their stuff, rickshaw drivers nagging to go with them, CROWDS and rods of people, intrusion of our personal space all the time. We ran away from that 2 a nice restaurant again, with AC and quiet ambience. All we needed at the moment

At night we left by train 2 Jaisalmer (night train, it was late 1h in Jaipur, but arrived only 30min late in Jaisalmer)

was actually quite a nice journey

- Jaipur