Wednesday, January 28th, Jaipur

We awoke somewhat stiff this morning from a couple of fantastically stiff beds--twin beds which had been placed together to make one "queen bed." Breakfast was included, so we ventured to the dining area for a complimentary meal including roti's, sausages, coffee, tea, and an annoying hovering waiter. This guy asked other waiters to collect our coffee and omelets while he chattered on endlessly about psychobabble. Basically, he was dishonorably attempting to steal tips by engaging customers in conversation--he'll be tarred and feathered soon enough by his compatriots, I'm sure.

Anyways, today we traveled via hired taxi to Umber/Amber/Amer Fort and Palace, its name depending on who you chat with. The town of Umber predates Jaipur by at least several hundred years, and lies outside of the latter, about seven kilometers away. Umber Fort is a massive fort which overlooks the town. A wall, probably forty or so feet high, courses over and along the nearby hills and valleys, and completely encloses Umber town, Umber fort, a man-made lake nearby, and most of (even higher) Jaigarh Fort. Needless to say, from the highway approach to this area, the view is spectacular--but the sight from the top of Jaigarh Fort, some 400 meters above sea level, is slightly less than providential. The yellowish fort is Umber, and the reddish one is Jaigarh. Our taxi dropped us off at a winding road which took us through Umber town, and all the way to the inner gates of Umber Fort.

After this, we found a guide who showed us around the fort. It seems that the fort and palace was build over a span of around 130 years, starting with maharaja Mon Singh, and continuing through his descendents. An amusing tidbit is that Mon Singh had a courtyard built for his twelve wives, and twelve equivalent apartments on the lower floor come off of it. Mon Singh engineers built a "secret passageway" from the maharaja's apartments (one floor up) to each of his wives' apartments, the upshot being that none of his other wives would know which apartment he was "visiting" on any particular evening. The themes of polygamy and secret passages were frequently revisited for royalty in medieval Rajistan, amusingly enough. I guess even rajas fear the icy stare of an unhappy spouse(s). Did I forget to mention that the concubines also had there own areas of habitation? Kind of makes sense that eight percent of all Asian men have Genghis Khan an a direct ancestor (not to mention that many Europeans also share this trait).

Next was Jaigarh Fort, which we reached by exiting Umber and winding our way round and round a hill. The view was stupendous and the ride was terrifying. The majesty of the surrounding countryside is pretty much indescrible. The sheer power that this fort's zone of control must have projected when the garrison was a full strength must have been horrifying for an attacker. You can see...everything from the battlements: Umber town, Umber Fort, Jaipur, and who knows how many miles further. I love "visual overlapping levels of history," which I'm sure has some sort of scholarly title--in other words, I love, with one viewing angle, being able to see simultaneously architecture from different decades, centuries, and even millenia. Rome is a great city for this--really broadens your mind regarding how many actual EVENTS have occurred on this tiny planet. Anyways, from Umber fort I spied the remains of another crumbling fort inside Umber itself, instead of lording over it. The guide said that Umber Fort was begun in the late 16th century, and the crumbling fort in Umber was at least 2oo-300 years older than Umber Fort.

The taxi was rented for all day, for a cost of aroundRs. 1200 for the duration (around $24). Beware though if you desire shopping or meals--most taxi drivers have special locations that they prefer to drop off tourists. Usually the stores/restaurants grant the drivers a commission for every tourist they send, so unless you really want to go to THAT specific place of business, demand that the taxi take you elsewhere. Further, everyone works for a commission in Jaipur--the sneaky little coincierge who so innocently asked us everyday where we had been was really using that info to calculate the commission he would receive from the taxi driver! Everyone pays, and everyone gets paid (except tourists).

In the evening we dined in the sumptuous Rambagh palace, now owned by the Taj francise of hotels. Unbelievably opulent in every detail, the dinner still cost us under $80. My wife was amazed when the waiter offered her a stool...for her purse?! If ever in Jaipur, visit this palace. Just don't stay there--rooms start at $300 per night.