Jaipur

We arrived in Jaipur a little wilted after an almost 50 degree train ride... There may have been a Flashpacking moment as we checked into a guesthouse with A/C and a pool, as Ros was about to blow a fuse.


But a swim and a good night's sleep later, we were back on the budget trail. Hard to find a decent place, although we saw very few tourists. Wandered around the "pink" city - which is more of a deep burnished orange, left us fairly uninspired, especially as the Hawa Mahal, Jaipur's most famous landmark, was covered in scaffolding. The one site of interest was Jantar Mantar, an observatory begun by a Maharaja, Jai Singh, in 1728. The site is full of looming, bizarre structures for determining time, planetary positions, and lots of other no doubt useful information about the stars twinkling in the clear desert sky. (A guide might have been a worthwhile investment).


After 2 days we were on an overnight train to the end of the line...