After our hectic and rather overwhelming few days in Delhi, we began to travel west into the Indian state of Rajasthan, home to an arid landscape filled with camels, goats, and extremely hardy cattle. It is also home to the world’s most populated desert, the Thar. As we logged mile after mile through this landscape by train, we found that our negative memories of Delhi began to fade and we started to simply enjoy this beautiful part of India. While there are a couple of big cities in Rajasthan that are still a bit too noisy and dirty for our taste, most of them are actually quite charming. We visited four colorful cities, all of which had their own unique and wonderful flair.
Jaipur – The Pink City
The first of the colorful cities of Rajasthan we visited was Jaipur, known as the pink city due to the red sandstone that is used in construction throughout the city. Houses that are not built with this stone are painted pink anyway just to fit in! One interesting note, the houses were first painted pink to impress the prince of Wales who visited in 1876. As with most of the other large cities in Rajasthan, Jaipur is home to several outstanding forts from the time of the Maharajas. The most remarkable of Jaipur’s forts is the Amer fort (often called Amber Fort by tourists). This 16th century fort is a massive testament to the power of the Maharajas of Jaipur, who ruled the area for centuries until the British arrived. Also noteworthy in Jaipur was the Hawa Mahal, a very unique palace built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh for the royal women of his household so they could view the street below without being seen themselves. The top level is only about 4 feet wide! While these sights of Jaipur were very interesting, we actually didn’t like the city much at all. It was very noisy and dirty and reminded us too much of Delhi. It was still worth the visit though!
Udaipur – The White City
The second stop on our tour through Rajasthan was Udaipur. Proudly called the white city by its residents, the city boasts an absolutely amazing palace, one built directly in the middle of a lake. The palace was used by the princes of Mewar as their summer retreat. I found this fact interesting, as their main palace, the city palace of Udaipur, is only about 300 meters away on shore of the same lake. I guess they loved their city so much they never wanted to leave!
The residents of this town are also very proud of their history. Udaipur was the capital of the Mewar kingdom and several locals made it a point to tell us that Mewar was the only kingdom in India to never be ruled by either the Mughal Empire or the British. The Mughals attempted to conquer Mewar several times but always failed, and Mewar was never directly ruled by the British, it was just turned into a “princely state” in 1818. While the British certainly exercised actual control over the kingdom, the locals seem to be quite proud that they were able to keep their own rulers and never had a British governor.
While the palaces and history of Udaipur were fascinating, we actually found the small streets of the city to be even more enjoyable. It is a very friendly city filled with all sorts of little mom and pop shops where you can find all types of great things, Kathy found some earings and a bracelet and I found a haircut and head massage! There are also great views of the city from the surrounding hillsides, the perfect place to watch the sunset!
Jodhpur – The Blue City
Like Jaipur, Jodhpur is another of Rajasthan’s large and busy cities. However, we avoided this hustle and bustle by staying in the older part of town adjacent to the majestic Mehrangarh fort. The little streets in this part of town are too small for cars and were therefore perfect for leisurely strolls with no destination in mind. We spent two days doing exactly this, walking about the town going nowhere and eating at rooftop restaurants with views of one of the most imposing forts in Rajasthan. Even though we didn’t do much sightseeing in this city, we thoroughly enjoyed our few days in the delightful old town of Jodhpur.
Jaisalmer – The Golden City
Our last stop in Rajasthan was Jaisalmer. Sitting in the heart of the Thar, the world’s most populated desert, Jaisalmer was the smallest of the cities of Rajasthan that we visited. This fact alone made it enjoyable for us! The streets are quieter and the touts less agressive, making our walks around town a bit more stress free. Like the rest of the cities of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer also boasts an impressive fort. The Jaisalmer fort was built in the 12th century using the most widely available material, yellow sandstone. Most of the other buildings in the city are also built with this stone, giving the whole town a yellow hue and thus its “golden city” moniker. We enjoyed our visit to the fort as it is still a very active part of the city. It is not museum like the other forts we visited, but rather a living, breathing part of Jaisalmer with homes, shops, restaurants, and temples. We finished off our trip to Jaisalmer by taking a 3 day, 2 night camel safari into the Thar desert. But more on that in a different post!
