Forts!

Enough of the city. Deepak scored a driver for the day and we set out to see the amazing forts surrounding Jaipur.

First stop was Jaigarh Fort, about twenty minutes outside of town up on top of a huge hill. Besides hosting the world's largest cannon (test-fired only once before permanent retirement-???), the fort offers amazing views of the city, the even more spectacular Amber Fort (our next destination), and endless passages, courtyards and chambers. All are manned by highly trained personnel, whom I believe must do a lot of sitting, waiting for tourists and visitors to come.
  
 
An hour or so there then back down the road to the Amber Fort. Read Wikipedia if you're curious; we just walked around, got lost, took pictures and tried to take it all in.

 
We loved seeing all the groups of ladies I can only assume are local visitors from around Rajasthan. Seeing them in their brilliantly colored saris in such incredible settings, I liked to imagine that I was getting glimpses into the past, seeing these places as they were centuries ago....