Being Mangaloreans, my parents werent in the mood for a north India trip but I insisted we must see the Taj Mahal so they reluctantly agreed. That was almost a month before Diwali, a week later we heard about the dengue outbreak. We thought it might get over soon and hence didnt cancel our trip. But things got worse. Chikungunya came into light. We had to go on Diwali day (Saturday) and till Thursday we hadnt finalized. Since cancellation meant huge losses, we somehow mustered courage and decided to go for it. We took some Tortoise Mosquito coils and few tubes of Odomos as our only protection. For those who are not aware Golden Triangle means Delhi-Agra-Jaipur.

We landed at Delhi airport at 9 Am , the Indica car hired for the trip was waiting for us. We immediately left for Jaipur (5 hrs). Now one can go directly to Jaipur too but that costs a lot more in terms of air tickets. You can save almost Rs. 10,000 for a family of 4. The roads are pretty good so the journey doesnt seem that long.

View from Amber Palace

Jaipur is adorned with Palaces. The history that it has to offer is mind blowing. The old city has almost 300 temples. Infact there are more temples here than houses. The Amber Palace, also called the Amer Palace is perhaps the most beautiful I've seen.

Ganapati Statue above the entrance, Amber Palace

Its a good thing to hire a guide at all places because otherwise youll be just staring at the walls. The rates for guides vary in different places so always bargain. Normally at all places the government has placed boards displaying rates so no one can take you for a ride. Still you can bargain for a lesser rate and they usually cave in.

Inside Amber Palace

Built by Sawai Maan Singh II the entrance of Amber Palace has a carving of Ganapti. Maan Singhs sister Jodhabai married Akbar and hence he never attacked this palace. The designs are a beautiful amalgam of Hindu and Moghul architecture.

Dining Hall

Cricket lovers will be familiar with the name Sawai Maan Singh because of a recent cricket match played there. Maan Singh is to Jaipur what Shivaji is to Maharashtra . Sawai is a title which means a quarter more than a man.

Krishna Designs on wall

One story goes, as a young boy Jai Singh was bought to Aurangazebs court. He held both his hands and said while Ive great affection of the Amber family my faith has shaken due to recent events the boy wittly replied, just as a groom holds the brides hands, the emperor has held my hands, the faith is revived? Since then every Maharaja holds the title Sawai.

Even their flags are one full and one quarter above it. The tradition of displaying a flag over the forts is still maintained. While one large and one quarter sized means that the king is in town, a single flag means that the Queen is in charge.

The Magic Flower

The magic flower as its rightly named displays various animals, birds, plants etc when certain portions are hidden. Its the only such flower in the whole palace.

Largest Silver Pot

There is a locked room inside the palace. The story goes that when the queen asked the king for the stars from the sky, he fixed thousands of tiny mirrors on the ceiling. He took the queen inside and lit a candle, the reflections gave an impression of stars. She then said "Mujhe Chaand bhi chahiye" (I want the moon too) and the King said I "Chand to mere saamne khadi hai" (The moon is in front of me)....awww....how romantic.

Snake Charmer outside Amber Fort

Jaipur is well managed in terms of tourism. The snake charmer outside the Amber Palace adds to the authenticity of the place. The palace is filled with treasures from the past. The largest silver pot made with one piece stands proudly on display. If you are interested in history then Jaipur has plenty to offer.

Maharani Gayatri Devi's current residence

The place is owned by Maharani Gayatri Devis family. Their current residence (also a palace) behind the palace is simply breathtaking.

Jal Mahal

The Jal Mahal was a bit disappointing since it was it a pitiful state. The surrounding lake was as bad as the walls of the Mahal. Thankfully its in private hands now as its been converted into a 5 star hotel.

Bird's Eye View of Jantar Mantar

Jantar Mantar is an Astronomical Observatory. The shadows are used to calculate time and much more complex subjects like astrology is also addressed. Its surprising to see what Indians could do back then. The picture taken is from above a structure. Since you are not supposed to climb on the structures, I apologize for the same.

Largest Cannon in the world - Jaivana Cannon

Jaigarh fort holds the largest canon in the world, the Jaivana Cannon. Its so heavy that its construction was done entirely at the same place. And its never brought down. Since there were no wars fought in that area, it was never used, except once for test firing. Its range is believed to be an astounding 11 kms.

A War Drum

The water filtering system is something thatll amaze you, with thousands of gallons of water stored and filtered in copper vessels. Also thatll amaze you is the water cooler.

Water Cooler

The Kathputli Ghar or Puppet Show Theatre is kept alive by live performances. You can give money if you like.

Puppet Show at Puppet Theatre

Hawa Mahal

The Hawa Mahal or the Palace of Winds can be seen only from the outside. The traffic on the road makes this monument a watch as you go event. It has 953 windows which keeps the palace cool even in summer.

View from Jaigarh Fort

Birla Mandir

The Laxmi Narayan Temple also known as the Birla Mandir is built by the corporate Birlas who are the natives of Rajashtan. They beauty of this temple is that its built keeping in mind the tradition of Jaipur. Its built entirely of white marble and while the temple authorities were hesitant to put a price Im sure it runs in crores. The Aarti begins at 10:30am . We roamed the complex a bit, photography wasnt allowed inside and while it was easy to fool the guards, I decided to respect the sentiments. The Aarti started with the opening of the curtains and the beautiful statues of Radha-Krishna adorned with Gold jewelry presented a magnificent view.

A monkey enjoying a view from Jaigarh Fort

Coming out of the Jaigarh fort we found a man who owned a hotel and outside the fort and claimed to be Maan Singh's Cook. Which reminds me, food is the only problem here. We managed to find a small Kerala restaurant with food to our liking. South Indians could face some problem in this area. The tourist places have exorbitant rates with lousy food. This is of course true for all tourist places.