Arrival in Jaipur

Jaipur is thankfully not far from Pushkar, just about a 3-hour drive, so we didn’t have to wake up early to catch the bus, as there are several that run regularly between the two cities. You can start to feel the weight of our luggage getting heavier with all the shopping we’ve done so far :) For just 5 rs, we took a local bus over the mountains to Ajmer, a larger city where the buses to Jaipur depart. At the bus station, there were only local buses, no newer ones, so we hopped on another very local bus for 56 rs per ticket. At least we got to sit with our bags between our legs the whole way :) The bus was packed to the brim, but luckily we had reserved seats, so we didn’t feel the crush of all those people too much. The roads to Jaipur were surprisingly good. Even though it’s only about 120 km to the city, it still took us 3 hours because there are often obstacles on the roads. Unfortunately, cars don’t always manage to swerve around animals, and we saw a cow that had been hit, being pulled off to the side. It’s really unfortunate to hit a sacred cow in India—it can even land you in jail. Once we arrived in Jaipur, we took a tuk-tuk to a nicer hotel with a pool, Umaid Bhawan, for 1200 rs per night, since we were craving a bit of luxury. It’s incredibly nice here with beautiful furniture, paintings on the ceiling, marble floors, and sun loungers by the pool where we can soak up the sun and relax. We even had lunch by the pool—noodles with chicken (Chinese) for 50 rs and chapati (Indian) for 4 rs. After chilling for a bit, we took a tuk-tuk around to various shopping malls to check out prices and quality for clothes and shoes before hitting the markets. Honny bought a pair of goat leather shoes for 1650 rs. We also passed by Asia’s largest cinema, which looks like a giant pink cake, where we plan to catch a movie later. Around 8 PM, we headed to a restaurant called Niro's, which is very popular among tourists—and locals too. We ordered prawn cocktails, and for our main course, we chose an Indian dish with chicken in cashew gravy and a continental-style chicken with tomatoes. As usual, we couldn’t resist garlic and onion naan—so delicious! :) Not to mention the Bacardi Breezers and beer. We felt like we had spent quite a bit, but as always, when you convert it back to Danish kroner, it doesn’t sound like much at all. The bill came to 1400 rs, which is actually less than 200 Danish kroner :) When we stepped out of the restaurant, there were a lot of people outside trying to sell something, but there were also some beggars—young girls with small children in their arms. We discreetly gave a little money to one of the girls, but we probably shouldn’t have done that. It was immediately noticed, and the other beggars became quite aggressive. It’s uncomfortable when they start grabbing at you, but you can’t give money to everyone. A bit shaken by the situation, we took a tuk-tuk to a bar called Steam Bar, which the receptionist at our hotel had recommended. It turned out to be part of the very fashionable Rambagh Palace. This place really highlights the huge social divide in India. The palace was incredibly beautiful with long corridors lined with columns, all made of marble, and small gardens with fountains. In one of the courtyards in front of the palace, there was a massive outdoor buffet. We asked one of the waiters about the price of the buffet, and it was 1000 rs, which is pretty pricey in India. Steam Bar was also lovely. There were train cars set up where you could go inside to sit, but there were also benches and chairs on the platform in front of the compartments. Even though the bar belonged to the very expensive palace, drinks weren’t too pricey. A Bacardi Breezer only cost 100 rs, and cocktails started at 200 rs and up.