The word ‘Royal’ fits perfect to Rajasthan.
Jaipur (capital of Rajasthan) is one of the most famous tourist destinations
of India. It is also a gateway to other tourist’s destination in the entire of
Rajasthan which includes Udaipur, Mount Abu, Bikaner, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. It has a lot to offer
to its visitors from its handicrafts to royal furnishings, an altogether
different clothing style, enlarged list of palaces and forts where its history
used to reside once.
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| View of Jaipur - Jal Mahal Top View |
Named after its ruler Maharaja Jai Singh II, this city
leaves you with the tremendous amount of history and its culture. History
behind all forts and palaces are still alive when heard from the mouth of tourist’s
guides available at every fort & palace.
Hotels to stay in Jaipur
Jaipur provides a long list of accommodation from budget stay to luxurious stay. It depends on our pocket and choice what we wish to go for.
Some of the best stays in Jaipur are:
A
Day of Excursion at Jaipur
New Jaipur is truly a very clear city with
wide and clean roads and metro is also running now in Jaipur, but I must say
traffic system is not managed properly here. One way traffic rule at peak hours
is going to confuse a lot to new comers in Jaipur. We also took some time to
understand this concept. For more information: One way Traffic System
It
is time to welcome ourselves in the old city of Jaipur, which is truly a pink
city. We found all the buildings including all monuments colored in Pink and
that is why the city is known as ‘Pink City’.
The market is so attractive. It is filled
with all the ornamented and handicraft stuffs from jewelry to clothes, shoes,
accessories, etc. As if they are well aware of the fact that ‘Shopping is a birth right of girls’ ;)
I was truly getting impressed by it. We spent almost 3 to 4 hours shopping.
Bargaining is fully possible at small shops in the old city of Jaipur. The same
items which were there inside the forts are also available in the market at
much cheaper rates. I recommend not shopping for any items from the shops
located inside the forts or palaces.
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| Entry Gate - City Palace Jaipur |
Our
Stay at Umaid Bhawan (Heritage Palace)
Live like a Queen!! Google Maps on the
rock!!
We have easily reached our destination ‘Umaid Bhawan’ in Jaipur. It is located
in between residential area “Bani Park” away
from hurly-burly of the city. The Bhawan is designed completely in antique
manner. Its architect is exactly like a palatial bhawan. With antique
furnishings as well as walls, varied options of rooms are available here. We
had actually booked three of the deluxe room there, but due to availability
they upgraded one of our rooms to ‘Suite’ room. Wow.
RoyalDeluxe Room fully air conditioned with comfortable
beds, antique chair, antique lamps and floral paintings. Separate sofa room
equipped with sofas, table and a dressing table.
Royal
Suite Room equipped with a private balcony. It
provides us a feeling of royal ambiance. Double bedding with curtains all
round. This was a perfect Budget stay for us, to
experience a luxurious stay.
Well spent few hours enjoying the beauty of
the’ Umaid Bhawan’. There is a small ‘Ganesha’ temple at the entrance of the UMAID enhancing the beauty of the view. There also exists a small park nearby
pool area with a beautiful sculpture of ‘Lord Buddha’ and a fountain, proving
them to be the real ornaments of park. With such a peace loving environment our
parents loved there stay here.
Staff takes a lot care of cleanliness.
The ‘Umaid Bhawan’ is little congested due to lots of architectural designs in
one small area.
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| Lobby Paintings Display- Umaid Bhawan - Jaipur |
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| Umaid Bhawan - Heritage Hotel - Jaipur |
Three storied building also had an option
of lift that too of old architecture. Third floor has a roof top open
restaurant and a roof covered AC restaurant, both. We had our Breakfast at
‘Umaid Bhawan’ for both the days which is average as per my ratings, with fewer
options. We found their ‘Poori Chhole’ quite tasty.
There is no gaming zone in this hotel.
Visitors do prefer to spend some time in leisure activities like table tennis
at their accommodation only. Besides gaming zone they provide us with swimming
pool and also organize evening cultural program every day from 7 pm to 9 pm.
Places
to Visit in Jaipur
City
Mahal a complex of palaces which includes Chandra Mahal, Mubarak Mahal, Mukut Mahal, Maharani’s Palace, Shri Govind Dev temple,
and the museum, comes with an Entrance ticket of Rs. 150 for Indians and Rs.
500 for foreigners. This city palace is located in the middle of Old
City of Jaipur. Parking was available just outside the
Mahal with very heavy parking charges. Huge
public was there to visit this Mahal even during off season.
After done with our visit to City Mahal, we
were interested in having ‘Matka Kulfi’ to please ourselves in such a hot
weather. There were two vendors for the same. We tried kulfi from both the vendors
costing Rs. 30 each. But kulfi of one of them was quite delicious. He
is selling his Kulfi’s there from last 40 years. Many big actors and actresses
also had his Kulfi while their shooting. He has also got those pictures
captured which can also be seen there.
Chokhi
Dhani was a travel of more than half hour from city.
It is a kind of cultural night program based on its native culture organized
basically for those who are naïve of its culture. The place is equipped with
lots of entertainment activity. They
welcomed us with a turban and ‘tilaka’ on forehead. This gesture is the actual
reason for us entering Chokhi Dhani with a smile on our faces.
There we found pack of traditional
entertainment shows which includes wrestling or acrobats, Magicians, puppeteer
show, fire acts, traditional dance etc. Entertainment activities includes Camel
Ride, Bullock Cart Ride, Hand Reading, Horoscope Reading, Maze game, Vaishno
Devi Temple, and many more fun games for kids at reasonable cost.
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| Matka Kulfi Stall - Chokhi Dhani - Jaipur |
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| Music Performance - Chokhi Dhani - Jaipur |
We did a trial of ‘Hand Reading’ there. He
charges us Rs. 20 per person. After not much convinced with his readings, our
father showed his interest in ‘Wresting’. He also took part in their program
and enjoyed a lot. We also did dance with the talented traditional dancers and
tried to learn their dance steps. It was truly a fun filled night at chokhi
dhani. (About Food options and pricing at chokhi dhani, is mentioned in the
Food Sections of Jaipur below.)
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| Enjoying food at Chokhi Dhani - Jaipur |
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| Buffet Plate at Chokhi Dhani - Jaipur |
At the end there also exists a shopping
mart which is not of much use as per my view. You can find better stuff at much
cheaper price in the local market of Jaipur. Even I didn’t find the quality much
convincing.
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| Muscle Test at AKHADA - Chokhi Dhani - Jaipur |
Parking at chokhi dhani was also not a big
deal. Proper parking place is there for visitors. Washroom facility is also
available there inside, which was very clean and tidy.
Jal
Mahal, also known as Water Palace, floats on the
water of an artificial lake called ‘Man Sagar Lake’, about 400 years old. No
ticket is required to visit and see this place. The palace is not
accessible for general public.
It can only be viewed from outside the lake.
Various food/drink vendors were also available there. I felt blessed to see
‘’Nariyal Pani’ there in such a hot weather. It is located on main road of
Jaipur, so parking is not a difficult task there. We were easily able to spend
an hour there and had fun with photography. Fun part is that we found a magician
kid at every fort or palace.
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| Jal Mahal View Across Water - Jaipur |
Jaigarh
Fort is famous for the world’s largest canon which
is sill operational and its water tank. It is a 1000 years old fort (As told by
Guide). To take a note, there is no need to park your car outside; we were
allowed to take our car up to the fort with parking charges of Rs. 50 at Dungar
Gate.
We also hired a guide from there who charges us Rs.100 amount.
It is a very clean and beautiful fort but I would advise not to shop at this
place. It is quite expensive than local market. There exists a very huge water tank
at the center of fort for which rumor was that there existed a treasure beneath
the water tank. That time Prime Minister ‘Indira Gandhi’ also ordered a search
for that treasure which is again stated to be an unsuccessful search. As per
locals the search was successful. (Wikipedia Link)
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| Biggest Canon of World - Jaigarh Fort - Jaipur |
It took us approximately 2 hours exploring
Jaigarh Fort. I recommend taking tour of the forts early morning or during
evening, as it is quite hot in Jaipur. Visiting hours generally for all forts/
palaces/ museums is from 9 am to 5 pm and entry ticket costing Rs. 50 per person.
Small food/ drink vendor options is also
available at this fort.
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| Jaipur View from Jaigarh Fort - Jaipur |
Nahargarh
Fort is again a renowned fort in jaipur, (Also Popular after Water Jump Scene from rang de Basanti) located on
the way to Jaigarh Fort.
It is also starting a wax museum soon. Famous for the
view of the pink city it provides from above, there exist 9 identical rooms
made for 9 queens by the king. It charges
you an entry ticket of Rs. 50 per person. Canteen here is also an open
roof canteen. I recommend hiring a guide from outside this fort gate because they
offer you the cheapest rates (We hired for Rs.50).
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| Nahargarg Fort - Jaipur |
Amber Fort is the
most popular and the most beautiful fort in Jaipur. Adjacent to which is a
‘Jodha Palace’ too. Your entry ticket costing up to Rs. 100 per
person includes visit to both the palaces. View from the fort is just
amazing. It is a must visit place in Jaipur. It is situated on hill top,
approximately 25 minutes drive outside the city.
There are more than one entry gates to this
fort. Parking was available just outside one of the entry gate (with
parking charges of Rs. 40 at Chandpol Gate), so no need to climb up the
hill altogether to visit the fort. It is a combination of both fort and Palace.
We found its garden and ‘Sheesh Mahal’ as fascinating. A Cafe Coffee Day is
also available inside the fort. Guide charges here are fixed and no negotiation
can be done(Charges Rs.200). Guide is preferable to visit any monument as per my view otherwise
it becomes sort of boring visiting these forts.
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| Amer Fort - Jaipur |
Hawa Mahal is situated in between
Jaipur city (In Pink City). It is also known as Palace of wind and known only
for its architectural design from outside. Its entry ticket is just Rs 10
and located nearby to City Palace. Its parking and entry is from the back side
of the Mahal. It is a five story building and the view from the top is amazing
and not preferable for oldies. You won’t lose anything if you skip its visit
and just admire it from outside.
Jantar
Mantar is located near to Hawa Mahal and City
Palace. It is an astronomical observatory in Jaipur that is used to calculate time,
track star location, and many more. It comes with an entry fees of Rs. 200 per person
and extra charges for cameras is found to be charged in every monument in
Rajasthan. Not to miss this kind of place (But the entry charges for small
place is quite high), it was really fun visiting Jantar Mantar. One Jantar
Mantar is also situated in Delhi with similar vision.
Birla
Mandir owned by Birla Group of Industries, is a
Narayan (Lord Vishnu) temple. The entire construction of this temple is done by
marble. Parking space will not cause any problem at this temple too. It is well
maintained and clean structure. Evening is the best time to visit it when you
will be free from visiting all other monuments which will be closed by 5 or 6
pm. Shoe
stands are also available there which are also chargeable but with a very
minimal amount of Rs 2. As per Hindu culture, we need to remove our
shoes before visiting any temple. Photography is again not allowed here. Quite peaceful and calm, was a worth visit to
this temple.
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| Birla Mandir - Jaipur |
Jaipur
Zoo is a fun place and a must to visit for kids.
Kids enjoy visiting such places. It is a very small zoo with limited amount of
birds and animals. Entry ticket of Rs 30 per person will be charged and its
closing day is Tuesday. It is divided into two zones for birds and animal
separate.
Food
Options at Jaipur
LMB
Hotel is one of the renowned places for eating and
one of the oldest. Ask your oldies who had been to Jaipur before, they must be
aware of this hotel. It is happening with me as well. All of the oldies in my
family are asking more often about my visit to LMB hotel. As per my experience,
the food was not ‘ultra tasty’ but you can say it was ‘only tasty’.
The prices
are high as per services but ambience is decent. Foreigners as well as Indians prefer this
hotel in jaipur at priority. Outside LMB hotel, they also have a ‘Sweet and
Namkeen’ shop. We ordered Dal Makhni, Kadhai paneer, Butter Naan, Tandoori Roti
and Raita. Dal Makhni was the tastiest among all. Naan was also cooked
properly. Overall our experience was
good. Parking was not a big deal as it is located in market area, we parked our
car in front of one shop across the road.
Chokhi
Dhani provided us with varied options of dining, listing
one by one below. Entry ticket to
‘Chokhi Dhani’ is based on your choice of dining.
- Sangri is known for its Rajasthani Thali. It is a hall where guests are served on leaf platter in tradition of Manuhaar. Dining here will cost you an entry ticket of Rs. 600 per person and Rs. 350 per child.
- Chaupad is yet another dining hall of chokhi dhani specially known for its shape. It has four straight rows meeting at center, each row with a capacity of 20 people.
- Gorbandh is an open air dining known for its Rajasthani Thali where food is cooked in pure Desi ghee.
- Royal Fine Dining is a multi- cuisine restaurant giving you a royal experience, where you can find other food as well besides ‘Rajasthani Thali’. Dining here will cost you an entry ticket of Rs. 950 per person and Rs. 650 for child.
We opted for Sangri, as we wanted to
experience the Rajasthani food and their tradition. I just loved their food as
it is less spicy and I believe it is not only the food but the way they present
the food and the love with which they serve you food. Buffet of Rajasthani Thali
also available at other restaurents also.
Kalyan
Rooftop and Indoor Restaurant provides us with the
great view and atmosphere. Rajasthan is famous for its roof top restaurants and
this rooftop restaurant was our first experience of rooftop in the entire of
Rajashtan. The menu was very vast, so it was getting very difficult for us to
decide what to eat and what not to. Haha. We always long for proper food when
it comes to restaurant, so we again ordered our proper north Indian style food.
The food was average, but the soothing music in the background and a nice
ambience enhanced our experience.
Umaid
Bhawan Roof Top Restaurant it is the same
restaurant where our stay was. We had our breakfast here for both the days. As
already mentioned, I give average rating to its food. It provides fewer options
of breakfast. ‘Poori Chhole’ were quite tasty. At dinner time, they organize a
cultural program in front of dining area. But due to little less space, the
people sitting at the back side of the restaurant were not able to view the
program. I found the foreigners enjoying the program and dinner a lot. The
dinner is quite tasty with their Dal makhani not to miss (My personal Favorite).
Disturbing
Element – Traffic Police of Jaipur
Though we enjoyed a lot in Jaipur, we were
all excited to explore more of jaipur even in such hot weather. Somehow I felt
the police of jaipur is not in favor of tourism. It is really bad of them but
we found them stopping and harassing tourist vehicles only. Local vehicles with
the same faults were not even entertained by them. They were also asking for a
chalan of almost double the amount from tourists, compared to what is set by
the government.
I fully abide by the traffic rules whole
heartedly. It is there for our own safety and concerns. But the rules should be
same for all. By mistake I set high beam at night in city. They stopped our car
for the same reason, where they were not at all entertaining the local cars for
the same reason. Also when we asked them to stop other cars on high beam, they
started talking very badly. It didn’t happen one or two times. We were stopped
by them four times in two days.
Places
to shop in Jaipur
Frankly speaking, you will get to see lots
of places to shop at, but the best place as per my experience and
recommendation is only the market in the old city of Jaipur (near to Hawa
Mahal). There you will find places like Johari Bazaar, tripolia bazaar, Nehru
Bazaar, Bapu Bazaar and ChandPol Bazaar. Rest all the market including shops at
forts, palaces, museum, chokhi dhani or
any market in new jaipur would be a waste of money.
We got lots of items to shop there including
ornaments, accessories, handicrafts, room decorative, clothes, shoes and many
more at the best cheap price. Bargaining was also possible there. We had a fun
time there. LMB hotel was also situated in between the market area.
Very well acquainted of the weather of Jaipur and forgetting all the
sweat, we were all ready for our next destination to Udaipur now. (Click here to Read)
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