Jaipur, India - 2

Hi, Our second day in Jaipur began with a trip out to the Amber Fort, about 7 miles from town.  The structure, shown below, actually was a palace for the local king.  It was constructed in the late 1500s although there have been a number of additions since the early construction.

Above and to the right of the Amber Fort shown above is the garrison fort built to house troops for the protection of the Amber Fort and also to provide a refuge for the royal family in case the Amber Fort was over run.

 

This is the ruin of a home outside of the Amber Fort.

Our trip up to the main gate of the Amber Fort was to be on an elephant.  While we waited Ruthe took this "mosaic" of umbrellas for sale.

We are about to get on our elephant for the journey up the hill.

Photos from the back of a moving elephant are challenging.  The elephants coming towards us have delivered tourists to the Fort and are returning to the bottom for another load.

This traditional Hindu temple in the town of Amer could be seen from the Fort.

A floating garden was constructed out in the lake.

Decoration of the walls and ceilings was ornate and elaborate.

Inside one of the Fort's courtyards was a formal English garden.

In this view the garrison fort can be seen above the Amber Fort.

Here are some of the wall decorations.

Indian families came to see the Fort along with tourists from other countries.  We found the Indian people to be very friendly and always willing to pose for photos.

Our next stop was a jewelry store.  This gentleman is polishing gems.  The stick has a rope attached to it at each end and wrapped around the hub of the wheel.  To turn the wheel the stick is moved forward and backward.

The gem, the red piece in this case, is attached to the small stick in the man's hand with wax.

On our way to lunch we passed an area where camels waited to give rides to tourists.  The camel vet comes to the camel.

This palace is called Jal Mahal, or palace in the lake.  It can be reached only by boat.

After lunch we went to see a textile factory where they did block printing, and

wove woolen rugs.

After the rugs were woven any excess threads were burned off.  The wool does not burn.

While people in our group shopped Ruthe took some photos of the rugs, and

textiles.

While this woman worked on a rug her daughter sat and played.  It took some effort on the part of mom to get the little one looking up at just the right time.

On our way back to the hotel Ruthe photographed these empty milk cans awaiting shipment back to farms for refilling.  Milk is brought fresh into the city and sold each day.  However, there is no refrigeration, and I suspect no pasteurization.

We also stopped at this Hindu Temple but did not go in.

One of the unique ways of traveling in India is the sleeper bus, shown below.  I spotted this as I returned from the railroad station to our hotel.  If you have not already seen the train photos I took that day and wish to just click on the post Sri Lanka and India in May.

This concludes our stay in Jaipur.  Thanks for looking.