Jaipur - part IX - more cool stuff we saw and did in Jaipur

One landmark of Jaipur is the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of Winds. Hawa Mahal was built in 1799 and is a pyramid-shaped facade with five stories. It has 953 small windows decorated with tiny lattice work. These pink sandstone windows are constructed so that it looks like a giant honeycomb. The air circulation through windows comes from Mughal designing, to keep the Palace cool. Hawa Mahal is believed to have been built for the women of the Royal Families, since they were required to keep a veil over their faces. The small windows and screened balconies allowed the women to watch processions and different activities taking place on the main streets without showing themselves. The Palace is all facade - only 15 feet thick! It is hard to get good photos because it is on the street and you can't back up far enough to really see it.
It was closed that day so we didn't get to go it. Rats.
A highlight of our day for the kids was this ice cream place. (I swear, why do we go anywhere? all they remember are waterslides and ice cream parlours!) They were very impressed with the gigantic menu - so many choices! And since hard ice cream is a not terribly common, it was a real treat.

Jaipur has an area famous for its pigeons, too. You can buy feed and they will land on you. We didn't, partly because Randy thinks they are a plague and a menace. And partly because he is cheap :)


A favorite thing for me is always the big gates and walls around the old cities. I think those old fortifications are cool. Jaipur has many gates to see, some fancier than others.


Here are some photos of random stuff we saw around town - the shopping areas are always so brightly coloured!

I am not sure if I have talked about this before, but here in India, for little kids, clothing on the bottom half seems to be optional. I thought at first it was a potty-training thing, but it seems to be more than that. You see so many kids with no pants on! Hanging out at their hut, sitting on piles of rocks (ouch), walking around, showing the world at an intersection, whatever, they are doing it with no pants.

Another famous building in Jaipur is the Water or Lake Palace or Jai Mahal. It was built (again, what story you get depends on who you ask or where you read) as a summer retreat for the royal family. In the middle of the lake would be much cooler I am sure. No one uses it now, and I don't think there is any way to see it. Some reports say that they bird hunted in the fall and winter and that there is a path or bridge to it when the water is low. I am not knowing the answer to this. Coming down the hill from the Forts we could see the Palace and the road goes right by it with a great view.

This bright painting was in the lobby of our hotel. Sam really liked it. One night we ate at a restaurant next door to our hotel - it was weird - they have many cafeteria-style (sort of) places here - Haldiram's is a huge chain of them - and the process of getting your food is long and complicated. And is best done in better Hindi than I have! But upstairs in this place you could get pizza and fries (I think french fries must be the universal food - you seem to be able to get them in one form or another EVERYWHERE) and the best part - pop in GLASS BOTTLES!! This was the first time our kids had ever had that. :) good cheap fun!