Jaipur, Part IV

Today was our last day in the beautiful Pink City of Jaipur.  It sure went by fast.  Tonight at 11:45pm, we are taking our first and only overnight train from here to Jaisalmer.  Since check out time is usually 11am, it dawned on me a few days ago that we would have to carry our backpacks around town for nearly twelve hours.  Ugh, that sounds miserable.  So I emailed Tarpan and Saskia to see if we could keep the apartment (obviously pay for it too) for the night (even though we would only need it till 11pm) so we would have somewhere to store our bags, shower and brush our teeth (we sure wanted to avoid the train bathroom as much as possible).  The current place we are in was already booked (not surprising) but they had another place about twenty five feet down the street that was available so we took it.  Going, going, gone!  Adding an extra $57 to our budget wasn’t ideal but we knew the convenience was going to be well worth it.

As we were moving our bags from one apartment to the next, we met the people who were actually in the other apartment and now moving to our apartment.  It’s a mini game of house swap.  They were a thirty something year old couple from Belgium with their four month year old son.  We started talking in the middle of the street, bags in hand, couldn’t stop talking and decided to go grab breakfast together.  All 4.5 of us hopped in an Uber and went to On The House, which was a lovely little cafe.  I know this will sound weird, but I’m pretty sure I had the best scrambled eggs ever here.  Before this, I thought The Tasting Kitchen in Venice had the best but they have now been replaced.  You are probably thinking, “what makes scrambled eggs so good”?  Well, they were incredibly fresh, fluffy and perfectly cooked (not too runny and not too over done – now I sound like Goldilocks).  It’s the little things in life that make me feel complete.

Celine and Bob, our new friends, lived in Jaipur for a year back in 2008, started a jewelry company (Jaipur is known for their jewelry) and now come to check in on their manufacturing factory four times a year for a month at a time.  This visit, however, was quite different because they had Jake, their newborn son.  I couldn’t imagine having to worry about an infant while in this country (so loud, so chaotic, so dirty) but I guess you do what you have to.  We sat at On The House for nearly two hours with them talking about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Jake was getting fussy so they headed back to the apartment while Vinny and I went to do some more exploring.  How cool is this portable bed they brought?

We took a thirty minute Uber to the Govind Dev Ji Temple only to realize it was closed until 5:30pm.  Poor planning on our end.  Oh well, I think we are somewhat temple’d out anyways.  While we were standing outside the temple, trying to figure out what to do next, we noticed yet another man sleeping in public.  With all the continuous noise, it boggles my mind how so many people can just tune it out and close their eyes – all day, everyday, anywhere.

And another woman using her head for strength and balance…

As a Plan B, we ended up getting in another Uber (happened to be the same driver even though it was fifteen minutes apart) and went to The Rambagh Palace, which is now a five star hotel owned by the Taj Group.  We had tea and coffee in the Polo Room and felt like the Beverly Hillbillies because we definitely didn’t belong.  The hotel was exquisite though.  So much history.  The royal family of Jaipur used to live here.  Jackie Kennedy once stayed here.  And they restored an original steam train and turned it into a restaurant – so Carney’s of them.  There were radiant, colorful gardens filled with flowers as well as gorgeous peacocks wandering freely.  Peacocks are actually the National Bird of India and a symbol of grace, joy, beauty and love (no I’m not describing myself).  I hope you enjoyed my random fact of the day.

After scoping out the grounds of The Rambagh Palace, we went back to our new AirBnB for a little then walked to dinner at a place called Four Seasons (not the hotel chain, I promise).  All five nights, we have walked to dinner.  Do you know how good that feels?  To have the weather warm enough, to have us feel safe enough and to have our place close enough.  Positive energy is on our side and I like it.

While at dinner, we were reflecting on our overall Jaipur experience.  We definitely loved this city way more than Delhi.  Maybe because the sun was shining, maybe because we were more acclimated to the Indian lifestyle, maybe because there was more charm or maybe because it tended to be more laid back.  Maybe a combination of all those reasons.  Either way, it won us over.  Good job, Jaipur.

As our reflection grew deeper and spiraled into a conversation about the past nineteen days in India, we brushed upon a few random observations.  The first is that we have not seen one car seat, one stroller or one baby Bjorne.  In America, most people own three of each since they need one at their house, their parents house, their vacation house, etc.  In America, our kids are in car seats until they get their high school diploma it feels.  However, in India, kids are on mopeds from the day they take their first breath or are sitting in the front seats of cars with no seat belt, just on a lap.  Somehow, it works and somehow they make it to the next year (or so it seems).  Are we overly sheltered or are they just more daring?

The next observation was men showing affection for each other either by holding hands, wrapping their arm around the others shoulder/waist or intertwined pinkies.  We’ve noticed this quite frequently in all five cities we’ve been to.  Our first thought was they were gay since this is what we are used to as Westerners (and which I 167% support).  However, after doing some research, we learned it’s just a sign of friendship and respect.  And ironically, Indians sometimes find it offensive to show affection for the opposite sex in public so you rarely, if ever, see a man and a women holding hands, kissing, etc.  This is the complete opposite of America and I believe Europe as well.  I couldn’t imagine two guys holding hands openly and willingly while walking down the beach if they were straight.  Different cultures, different habits, different beliefs.  If we were all the same, wouldn’t life be boring?

The night was escaping us so we walked back to the apartment, took showers, brushed our teeth and around 11pm, headed to the station for our twelve hour overnight train.  Here goes nothing.

Until next time Jaipur, stay pretty in pink!