Jaipur: Amazing sights, comical nights

We staggered back to the Jaipur train station as we left it - deep in the middle of the night, practically stepping over thousands of people sleeping everywhere - on the platform, the sidewalks, and grounds surrounding the station. Most of them are/were villagers waiting for their train, but whatever they were doing there, experiencing an Indian train station at night when you're exhausted, sick and dreaming of a real bed is not an experience I wish to repeat much more if we can avoid it.

A 5am tuk-tuk ride got us to the nearby hotel, recommended through local connections. Unbeknownst to us, or themselves for that matter, the fabled CM Regency hotel (link provided for amusement) is actually an amateur training center for how to provide bad service and sleepless nights to their "guests". I don't wish to record the memories for posterity, but get me telling stories over beers sometime and it'll be good for some laughs.

So what did we see and do? Jaipur is the site of one of five astronomical observatories built in  India during the 18th century. We began our day visiting the Jantar Mantar, which is basically an astronomer's amusement park. (General note: to avoid my mutilating the history, check Google or Wikipedia for historical background). It was pretty cool...


A stop for tea at a local chai-wallah on the street (there is no chai other than Indian chai, period), then we headed to the Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds).

Once again, an amazing display of stone carving and endless stone screen jalies. The building is primarily a wall of screens, shielding the courtyards below. It also provides a great vista of the city, mountains and our destination from that morning.

Gradually we walked and tuk-tuked back to the hotel, with Lori fighting a cold and mine on the way...