Two Days In Jaipur, Rajasthan

We spent our first two days in Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan. The one word that comes to mind when I think of Jaipur is Contrast. From the heat of the day to the cool breeze on our rooftop cafe, from the vast rolling landscapes seen from the Jaipur's mountain tops to the congested streets of its walled city, and most dramatically from the majestic forts and palaces to the in your face poverty and destitution. I never want to go back, but everyone should experience it at least once in their life.

These are just some pictures from around the city.

This is the water palace just outside of the Jaipur. You can not go inside or get near, but there is a scenic viewing point along the side of the road where we stopped to take a few pictures.

Waiting for us was a gang of beggar kids. Of course, each of them wanted a tip for posing with me. Instead of digging out coins for each of them, I found the smallest kid, gave him a dollar and said if you can keep it, it's all yours. He grabbed it and quickly ran off. When the five bigger kids realized what had just happened, they stopped nagging me and went after him. I thought that was pretty diplomatic of me.

This is the City Palace which is in downtown Jaipur.

On display at the City Palace was this giant silver pot. According to the Guinness, it's the largest in the world. They were made to hold the water of some sacred river, so when the Maharajah travelled, he could continue to bathe in it and maintain his purity.

This was also at the City Palace. These "gatekeepers" are representative of the practice of tipping in India. Someone offers to assist you - in this case, have their picture taken, you to take their picture, they ask for a tip, you give them a tip, then, they complain that it's not enough, and then hound you until you disappear over the horizon (usually, in a full sprint).

Also in Jaipur , this is the Hawa Mahal. It's actually only a facade filled with windows for the Maharajahs and the court to look down upon the streets of Jaipur. After a few minutes there, you can understand why they would want to stay safely behind windows.

We weren't sure what this was other than a mausoleum.

On our last night in Jaipur, there was a wedding near our hotel. This is the beginning of the wedding parade where the groom was taken on horseback to meet his new wife.

Pandamonium

A couple weeks ago a baby panda was born in the Chiang Mai zoo. I'm not sure what it is about baby pandas, but just like every other country that has a new baby Panda, Thailand went goo-goo-ga-ga over it.

With all the attention the little panda was getting, Thailand nearly forgot about it's native (the Panda's are on loan from China) and beloved pachyderms. Not so fast - Winning back the hearts and minds of Thailand's panda-lovers, a group of elephants showed that two can play at that game.

Umaid Mahal Hotel And Palace

After a long, dusty taxi ride to Jaipur and a number of wrong turns in the city, we finally arrived at our hotel, the Umaid Mahal. We weren't expecting much at $35 a night, but the Umaid Mahal turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip.

First, it was originally a palace, so the the decorations and designs are quite ornate. Here's the front entrance.


Rooms and interior.

The best of all was the rooftop restaurant where we had breakfast, happy hour, and usually, dinner.

I didn't know it until after we had already made our reservations, but the temperatures in Jaipur get to around 115 F in June. Although the low humidity kept it bearable, a long day in the sun took everything out of you. After a long day, the Umaid Mahal's rooftop restaurant was a great escape. In the early evening the temperature tended to drop to a reasonable degree, and when the wind blew across the decking it became almost cool.

New Delhi To Jaipur - Taxi Ride

After a comfortable flight on Thai Air, we arrived in New Delhi and found our not-so-comfortable taxi that would take us to Jaipur - another 5 hours down the road.



Here's the inside of our cab. Beads and Hindu idols for good luck and a dashboard covered with Elmo fur so we could cruise in style.


Our first stop was the gas station where we filled up on Natural Gas.


An inauspicious beginning. The first thing we saw was a wreck. This RC was in the process of being pulled back on its wheels after blocking the road for about 20 minutes. In the five hour journey we saw another 4 over-turned trucks. On the last leg of our journey from Agra to New Delhi we came across another accident - this time it was a motorcycle and a bus. The bus won.

Here I am taking a break along the dusty road to Jaipur.

Overall, not the most pleasant journey, but we certainly had it better than these guys.

Meeting Nuch's Mom

On their last day in Bangkok, AL and UD were kind enough to stop by and say hello to Nuch's mom.

It's a Thai/ Asian tradition to bring a gift when visiting your elders, so we stopped by the market for some flowers and some snacks.

We passed on the pig leg.

With Nuch's Mom.

After a quick week it was time to say good-bye --- to Aunt Linda, but Uncle Doug and I were off to India.

Muay Thai Boxing

After the bike ride in the morning, Monday evening was another first. Over 10 years in Thailand and I had never been to a Muay Thai fight.

On tonight's card was Pratom 4 (translated as the 4th grader), named such because he looks about 12 years old.

Here I am outside the Raja Boxing Arena.



Here's the 4th grader in one of the earlier bouts landing a high leg kick.



The 4th grader again tied up in the ropes. He eventually went on to win.



Before the bouts began we were not really sure if this would be a genuine fight - or play acting which is often put on for tourists. After the first round of the first bout, we knew it was real. This guy was knocked out after a series of bone-jarring kicks and punches to his head.



Here we are enjoying our ringside seats.

In the later rounds, the fans really got into - mostly because they had all placed bets, but they could not compete with the trainers and family members in the corner. Pride was definitely on the line for all fights. Victory meant a few extra bucks, but Defeat meant shame for all your friends and family.

We had to go outside the arena to buy beers, and then, bring them back inside. This was our beer maid.

Here's a video of the main event. Unfortunately, it really doesn't capture the intensity with which these guys fought. Pride was truly on the line for each of these fighters.

After about 8 bouts, we headed home fully satisfied with our peak into a different corner of Thai culture.

Klong Toei Bike Tour

Way behind on my blog posts - but better late than never.

Aunt Linda and Uncle Doug said one of the things they wanted to do was do a Bangkok Bike Tour. I've never done it and thought it a big mad considering the traffic and pollution. However, in the spirit of adventure I thought I'd take a chance and join them.

I was very glad I did - and would recommend this tour to anyone who visits Thailand. I can't think of a better way to see the contrasts of life in Bangkok from high rises, to slums, to idyllic parks. All in one morning.

Here we are at the start.

We started out in downtown Bangkok - just off of Sukhumvit. This is near the central business district and filled with skyscrapers, office buildings, and large homes for the wealthy. On bicycles we were able to cut through the traffic, as we made our way through the river.

One of the markets on the way.


We also had to go under the Bangkok Expressway. Beware of dogs.


But to get to the river we had to go through the Klong Toei. I didn't know we were going this way or I would have thought twice about joining. Klong Toei is home to Bangkok's notorious slums where drugs and violence are rampant.

In the day time, however, it was quite peaceful and although very quaint, everyone seemed pleasant and happy to see some strange foreigners wondering through.

Here are some pictures of the Klong Toei Slum.

This was a makeshift bridge that crossed one of Bangkok's polluted canals.

Notice the bathtubs on the right that were used for plants.

Once through the Klong Toei Slums, we came to the Chao Phraya River.

An old man with a long tail boat, loaded our bikes and helped us cross.

Across the river from Klong Toei is a part of Bangkok called Bang Gra Jaew. I'm sure there's a name for it, but it's the corner of land formed by a large bend in the river. This land has never been developed and is mostly a marshy swamp. A few homes are set there along with a park and an elevated bike path.

A very narrow bike path. Our guide says someone falls off every month or two.