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.
Keyword - palace and park -
Thursday 4 October 2007
the pink city of Jaipur
By dorian on Thursday 4 October 2007, 14:58 - RTW-India
Friday 24 August 2007
The summer palace at the northeast of Beijing
By dorian on Friday 24 August 2007, 12:56 - RTW-China
This time for sure, our last journey into the Chinese trains will be in first class. The night train gets to the capital from Shanghai in a little less than 12 hours and the service is equal to the price of the ticket: high. As we arrived in Beijing, we go back to the hutongs district, south from the Tiananmen square, in order to put down our backpacks. Then, we plunge into the metro station heading towards the silk market (Yongan'li station).
Several floors mix traditional souvenirs, clothes, shoes, sunglasses, jewelery and other accessories - The last stronghold of fake products in Beijing. Rayban sunglasses, Montblanc pen, Breitling watch, Diesel trousers, Ralf Lauren polo and genuine Chinese Goretex jacket; for less than 50€ and a fierce bargaining you can leave with the complete outfit. French customs will perhaps like less.
The next day, direction to the Great Wall from Jinshanling to Simatai, for the second time but in the sun this time. (Look at the pictures in the following post clicking here).
The next day, we hop on the bus n°726 at the south of the Tiananmen square. Its terminus is located at the summer palace, a little more than one hour from here. The emperor came to look for somewhere cool beside the lake during the summer hot days. We step on a pedestrian way that surrounds the lake. Several humpbacked bridges brighten the stroll up while trees lines on both sides of the path assure a relative coolness to us in the shade of the summer oppressive heat. Our walk leads us to the Emperor's palace and to a temple on the hilltop offering us a panoramic view over the lake. Pedal boats and small electric-powered boats sail onto the peaceful waterways.
At the end of the afternoon, and on the way back, a wandering travel agent gives us the opportunity to discover a vegetation-invaded part of the Great Wall, at 2 hours from Beijing. Here is an interesting excursion before leaving China. Rendez-vous is taken for tomorrow morning. We finally go back to our hutong we already have our habits and our favorite restaurant in.
Friday 15 June 2007
The Tsarkoye Selo and Pavlovsk palaces
By dorian on Friday 15 June 2007, 17:39 - RTW-Russia
Early in the morning, I try to talk with the young Russian grandmother who hosts me. She explains me how to go to Pushkin and Pavlovsk, 25km south of Saint-Petersburg : walking up to the Sennaya square, then subway up to Moskovskaya station and finally minibus up to Pushkin.
She had just forgotten to tell me the minibus number! There are at least 20 different buses around the square near the metro station exit. More over, noboby speaks English here and I've almost gone back to the start point. After one hour of drag, I find the 287 bus goes to Pushkin and the 286 and 299 ones go to Pavlovsk (4km south of Pushkin). I repeat a few times the word "Tsarkoye Selo", the driver nods and drops me off in front off the park entrance, half an hour later. Calm and serenity are the master wordsaround the lake and the morning events are quickly forgotten. The stroll is accompanied by some nice buildings such as bridges, chinese pavilion, fountain and the pyramid where Catherine II buried her dogs. The jewel of this park is the Catherine's palace ; here are some pictures of it.
After a few hours spent in this park, I go to Pavlovsk, 4km to the south. A pedestrian way runs alongside the main street from Tsarkoye Selo up to Pavlovsk. I get in the park through the gate in front of the train station. This wide park is a real wonder. Harmoniously designed, we would think being in a small forest where the paths invite you to go for a walk. We can also rent a bike or a boat to discover the park in another way. At the top of a hill, the yellow-clad Great Palace erects. .
The day ends and I go back to Saint-Petersbourg by train.
The next day, the weather is rainy and windy. I walk for a few hours inside Saint-Petersburg visiting different monuments, Peter and Paul's fortress, Saint-Isaac's and Kazan's cathedrals and the summer garden. A real pleasure.
At 0h40, I take one of the several Moscow nighttrains. Aaaaah, a foretaste of the transsiberian train!
visits