Completing the Golden Triangle, Part 1: Jaipur

Hello from Indian airspace somewhere between Delhi and Kolkata, where Matt and I will wrap up our 25-day tour of this county! We are currently aboard our fifth domestic flight since we arrived in India, having jumped from state to state as we truly live up our blog title, “On the Move.” In many ways we feel like our trip is flying by—how have we been traveling for over five weeks?! In other ways it feels like ages since we were exploring Colombo, Sri Lanka, ooh-ing and aah-ing at how new and different everything felt on this side of the world. India has continued to amaze, impress, surprise, perplex, and challenge us every day, and our recent one-day visits in both Jaipur and Agra were no different. Jaipur, Agra, and Delhi comprise the historic “Golden Triangle” of north India, given this nickname because of the triangle shape formed by their locations on a map as well as their proximity and attractive touristic opportunities.

Matt and I enjoyed a pleasant five-hour train ride to Jaipur, and were seated in a second class cabin that featured a full meal, snack, and tea service during the journey. We noticed even more intense air pollution and piles of trash lining the railroad tracks as we ventured further from Delhi, which was really disappointing to see. While we were aboard the train, two strangers sharing our seating area (a young man and older woman) engaged in a lively debate about Indian politics. The conversation flowed seamlessly between English and Hindi–often with both languages used in the same sentence! We were able to eavesdrop and follow the basics the impassioned conversation, and it was a reminder that vastly different political opinions are found everywhere—not just in the US during the Trump era.

We stayed at a true “backpacker’s” hostel in Jaipur called Lostouse, which included a relaxed café, multiple lounges, a ping pong table, posters with touristic information, and European men smoking cigarettes and talking crudely about women on the rooftop terrace. Matt and I checked in, dropped off our bags, and headed to the Pink City—the most historic and touristy part of Jaipur. The Pink City was painted pink—a color representing hospitality—in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales during the rule of Sawai Ram Singh I, and has since grew rapidly in size and population. As the area expands and construction projects are completed, the city mandates that all buildings within the Pink City must be painted pink to match the other exteriors. We followed the first half of a self-guided walking tour from our Lonely Planet guidebook but quickly learned that the main attraction of the Pink City’s streets is the shopping. Miles of colorful bazaars lined each road, with eager vendors selling souvenirs, textiles, kitchen products, musical instruments, and more. The shops were actually built into the Pink City’s perimeter walls, which gave them an ancient feel like something you’d see in the movie Aladdin. As we braved the bazaars, store vendors would try to grab our attention, thrusting products in front of us, tapping aggressively on a drum they were selling as we walked by, or holding up an item while simply saying, “You need this, yes?!” as if answering their own question would convince us that yes, in fact, we did need it! While touring bazaars was entertaining for about a half-hour, Matt and I concluded our walking tour early since we weren’t in the market to purchase anything. We only have our backpacks and therefore aren’t able to carry souvenirs or extra clothing, which can be a blessing and a curse when you find yourself in a shopping-focused town!

Browsing the bazaars in the Pink City.

Jaipur’s key tourist attraction is the City Palace, which was the seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur, the head of the Kachwaha Raijut clan, and was built in 1729. The architecture is beautiful, and many of the rooms within the palace now house high-quality museums featuring an array of cultural textiles and clothing; assorted guns, knives, and swords; paintings of various royal family members; and photography of historic visits from British leaders to the palace throughout the 20^th century. One large interior courtyard features four ornately-designed doorways or gateways, one for each of the four seasons and Hindu gods. Matt and I watched amusedly as artsy tourists attempted to pose creatively with the each of doorways, getting frustrated when people would walk through the door mid-photoshoot to enter the courtyard. We were intrigued by the Singh family history, particularly the current “crown” Maharaja of Jaipur who is a 20-year-old polo player and Instagram star. According to many gossipy news articles, he spends his family fortune gallivanting around the world and dancing with Reese Witherspoon’s daughter at debutant balls.  

Inside the City Palace in Jaipur.

In front of the Northwest Green Gate, also called the Leheriya (meaning "waves") gate, representing spring and dedicated to Lord Ganesha.

While in the Pink City, Matt and I also stopped at the uniquely designed Hawa Mahal, another gorgeous pink and white structure that was commissioned by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh in 1799. The Hawa Mahal is a five-story high pyramid shape with a structure that looks similar to the honeycomb of a beehive. It has 953 small windows with intricate latticework adorning the outside. We joined many tourists taking selfies in front of the building, but did not feel like waiting in the long line to see the interior.

Selfie with the Hawa Mahal in the Pink City.

Considering that a few friends had spoken highly of Jaipur, we were fairly disappointed with our visit. Aside from extensive shopping opportunities and a couple of historic sites to pop by, the city was incredibly congested with traffic and difficult to explore by foot due to the pools of dirty water, piles of dog poop, and heaps of trash covering the streets. With the popularity of the Pink City and the economic benefits of tourism, you would assume that the local government would invest more money to maintain the historic area. Agra, the final Golden Triangle destination that we visited, did not disappoint! More on that in the next post.