words from the world

The chaos reigns over the streets of Jaipur in which the deafening horns thunder most often without any reason. That's the law for the biggest one, derelict coaches impose themselves over the cars. The tuks-tuks force the way over the bicycles which have difficulty keeping a straight path. And among this turbulent blend of more or less up-to-date means of tranport, various animals roam about. Horses, cows or dromedaries tow merchandise-overflowing carts. Goats and pigs fumble around the garbage when some monkeys perform acrobatics onto the roofs. On the edge of the town, it's even possible to see a few elephants.
Welcome to the pink city of Jaipur.





We arrange a city tour with a tuk-tuk driver who offers us to dicover the different monuments of the town. 7 gates, 7 kilometers long and 7 bazaars sketch the old walled city. We go through one of the gates and realize all the buildings, walls and façades are pink. A colour that gives to the city an undeniable style. We stop at the Hawa Mahal, called the palace of the winds. A façade honeycombed with niches and balconies but unfortunately a set a bamboo scaffoldings square it off.





A stop at the city palace before enjoying the ingenious buildings of the astronomical observatory of Jantar Mantar. We look up to contemplate the largest sun clock in the world giving time with a 2-second precision.







We stop a few minutes in front of the Jal Mahal - the water palace. A superb castle which floats in the middle of a shimmering lake.



The funerary monument of Gaitor at the north of the town concludes this day rich with architectures and discoveries.
The next day, we go to visit the Amber castle and its bulwark, 11km away from the town. Above this first castle, the Jaigarh fort rises which, according to the legend would hold the lost treasure of the Kuchwahas. A fabulous treasure that disappeared when India got its independence. A few years ago, all the walls of the castle were scoured with metal detectors. In vain.
These castles come within the list of the superb medieval bulwarks which dot the Rajasthan, the most visited province in India. Like all the great sovereigns that made the History, the humanity keeps the remains of their megalomania. The thickness of the ramparts dissuades the bravest of the assailants and made the inhabitants of the kingdom feel safe. Today, the Amber fort is a museum and through the main gate we get in. The stone enclosure harbours some wonderful courtyards hemmed in by several austere rooms without any decoration. Only the royal bedroom is marvelously inlaid with thousands of diminutive mirrors.
With princely mind, we tread to visit the second fort. A ten-minute walk up in a overheating sun. From this fortification, we look at the first fort we visited a few minutes before and the edge of the city of Jaipur.
The day ends and it's time to walk down towards the rickshaw which drives us to our guesthouse after making a detour at the monkey temple. Second night in the pink city.