International Mumbai: Jaipur

Rajahstan is the place that you always see in photos and movies about India. Rajahstan is colorful, beautiful, and fun. Located in western India, and sharing a long border with Pakistan, Rajahstan is an Indian state whose most popular cities (for tourists anyway) are Jaipur and Udaipur. The movie “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" was filmed in both of these cities. Although I didn’t have time to make it to Udaipur, I did have a chance to go to Jaipur.

It so happened that Wake Forest University, the college I attend, hosts a class, which travels around India for six weeks. The communications professor who taught my first year seminar and is from Kolkata was leading this trip. I have spent many dinners at his house and have really loved getting to know him and his wife. So I arranged it so that I would hang out with them, both when they came to Mumbai and then later when they traveled to Jaipur.

Entrance to Umaid Mahal hotel.

When they came to Mumbai, Arnav and I took them around to see all the sites. Then I flew to Jaipur, and got a room at the hotel they were staying in. The hotel provided transportation, and the driver waiting for me at the airport had a sign that read, “Mr. Hannah Dobie.” That’s a new one... For two nights the hotel cost $67.89, with free wi-fi and complimentary breakfast. Formerly a palace that had been refurbished into a hotel, it was absolutely beautiful, stunning, and comfortable. I mean, you are sleeping in an old palace.

Jaipur is famous for its many forts and palaces. Founded in 1727, it was the first planned city in India, built by a king who wanted to commemorate a bunch of military victories. Although it is a little too touristy for my liking, it is an extremely beautiful city. When I got there, I was so happy not to be stuck in traffic. Everything in Jaipur is incredibly colorful. The women’s clothing is a mish-mash of neon colors and unusual patterns, but they masterfully put these pieces together and the different parts match perfectly. The same goes for the colors of the buildings and the houses and everything else.

Elephants at the base of Amber fort.

I enjoyed seeing Rajasthani traditional dance (lots of ankle bracelets, and women balancing buckets of fire on their heads while dancing), eating Rajasthani food (lots of dry veggies), and being a complete tourist. I visited, along with my new Wake Forest friends, most of the top places, restaurants and shops found in Lonely Planet. We rode an elephant to the top of Amber fort, visited the Monkey temple, and enjoyed other sights. See the photos below; these sights are extremely old yet very well taken care of because Jaipur’s industry is tourism. Interestingly, Jaipur does not seem to be much of a western city, which is surprising because so many western people pass through. Instead Jaipur seems to be rooted in the past, which attracts foreigners.

I especially enjoyed having time to talk to the other students about India and what I have experienced and what they are seeing. Through this, I realized that one thing I missed out on while spending time in India was not being able to reflect on what I was seeing with other people. I have written about all my experiences on my blog, or thought it all to myself, but never have I been able to go into deep discussions about India (culture, traditions, sights, and the list goes on) with other people. It was so fun to go back to what I observed first when moving to India and really dissect my thoughts.

Markets in the Old City.

Jaipur is also famous for its markets and warehouses filled with detailed handicrafts, beautiful tapestries, famous Indian scarves and everything a tourist could ever want at cheap prices, completely handmade, all in one place. Our group went to the most famous market for tourists called Hawa Mahal. It is located in the “old city,” which is full of markets in the old fort. The shops sell the same souvenir items, one after the other. The men who work at these stores speak English and Hindi fluently, and then enough German, Chinese, Spanish, French to sweep the tourists off their feet and get them to buy something overpriced. The workers go so far as to help you cross the street to get to the market, in an effort to convince you they are just nice strangers who notice how hard it is for a group of eleven foreigners to

Beautiful handmade tapestries.

cross the busy Indian road. These hagglers quickly hated me, as I knew the drill. My new friends asked me to bargain for them and play the game. I take a lot of pride in bargaining; I don’t like people to take advantage of me. I hate losing these games. Yes, I know selling things is their job and it shouldn’t be thought of as a game, but these people make so much money from the thousands of tourists. My most successful bargain story is when I was able to buy an elephant wall hanging, which was beautifully hand crafted, down from a price of 4,500 rupees ($74.70) to 500 rupees ($8.30). It took me about 30 minutes, but the seller knew he was way out of line from the beginning. I could go on and on about these little examples, but I had a lot of fun buying the elephant. I also felt like a completely mean person, but I was able to live with that.

Next place I would love to visit is Udaipur and other smaller towns in Rajahstan. I really fell in love with the traditions in this state and I hope I can learn more about it one day.

Sending colors from India,

Hannah Dobie