Jaipur, India - Pink City to Varanasi, India - Mar 13

Jaipur, India - Pink City to Varanasi, India

We were packed and ready to checkout after having a great breakfast When checking out we asked if they knew who sent the delivery and they had no clue, so I let it go. 

Our guide came to get us as we asked her about it, but she didn’t know either. 

We headed to the Pink City that was built in 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II. The fortified city was enclosed by walls and could be entered through a group of seven manned gates. The walled city was unique, because it was a planned city built on traditional Indian Shastric principles. It was logically divided into nine blocks. The largest block contained the palace and emperor’s royal buildings, while the other blocks were for the public, with residential areas, bazaars and temples. 

We stopped for photos of the Hawa Mahal before getting into our cycle driven rickshaw to the Pink City. 

in the rickshaw

We toured the Jantar Mantar, Jaipur which is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, the founder of Jaipur, Rajasthan. The monument was completed in 1734. It features the world's largest stone sundial and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

small monkey on the branch

Our last stop was at the City Palace. We did the half tour as we really did need to get to the airport. We really wanted to be at the airport 2 hours before the flight, but she insisted 90 minutes would be enough. She did agree to 2 hours, but by the time she kept showing us one more thing it was 90 minutes.

the "jewel room" felt like being inside a jewelry box

me being cheesy

One last stop at the art gallery turned out to be a stop to buy their art. Supposedly handmade, but many pieces looked exactly alike. We all took a pass on buying anything and then went for refreshments up on the roof. Cathy and I ate our weight in the yummy cookies. Greg wasn't feeling great, so he didn't have any. Luckily, it passed quickly. We are taking Malaria meds so possibly that was the culprit. 

they don't look like much, but Cathy & I ate our weight in them

As we were getting back in the van our guide got a phone call from the hotel asking if we may have gotten a delivery by mistake. Since we had mentioned it to the hotel front desk and our guide it was easy for them to connect the dots. It entailed us digging through various places in our carryon's and we found everything except the Ghandhi post card. I kept digging and found it after they had driven away. Our guide took it and said she would get it to them. Phew! We had no use for anything in there and it all was HEAVY bulky stuff. Glad the rightful owners got their stuff that was delivered to us by accident leaving us to wonder where it came from. Should have left it in the office, but we have had tour companies give gifts and didn't want to offend if they did. (odd choices for gifts of heavy books and a big brass elephant thing that had to weigh 10 lbs) Anyway, mystery solved!

Finally, we made our way to the airport for our flight to Delhi. We hugged Nidhi goodbye and off we went.

We had lunch at the airport not many choices here, so we chose Pizza Hut. No beef sold so only chicken pepperoni, chicken sausage, and chicken tika. It was good, but one of the meats was HOT. They also had vegetarian options. 

We boarded our last flight for the evening to Varanasi. Got a few photos on the ride to our hotel from the airport.

We were met by our driver and a chaperone (might have been the boss). It was about 45 minutes to the old city where our hotel was located with a view of the Ganges River. https://www.amritara.co.in/hotel-in-varanasi.html#

It was down a narrow alley not large enough for a car to get down, so we had to get out and walk. It's dark and late and hotel staff came and carried our luggage for us. As we followed our guide this little street was crowded with rickshaws, motorcycles, dogs and people. Then we encounter 2 cows and wonder how we will get past them when they disappear into another side street. As I pass by, I see they are now with a family living there. Tom passes by and either makes a sound or says something and I turn and say, "I deliver the true experience!" All the while wondering what the hell kind of hotel did I book for us? 

We go further and crossed a couple of cattle guards and finally come to our hotel which was a welcome sight. It was not fancy but was clean and had personality. Upon checking in we all were presented with white silk scarfs. 

It had an open courtyard with huge trees in it where you could sit outside for meals or enjoy the nightly entertainment. Room was clean and functional as this one was all about location where from our small rectangular window, we could see the sunrise over the Ganges River and watch the people bathing in the water and all the boats up and down the river. 

hot water heater in the shower

magnets

It was a short night’s sleep since we had a dawn boat ride on the Ganges River.

Jaipur, India - Pink City to Varanasi, India https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZtKFyt7jsr94SwHZ8

Birds seen:

Black-winged Stilt - NEW
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Eurasian Hoopoe
Gray Francolin - NEW
Great Cormorant
Great White Pelican - NEW
Green Sandpiper - NEW
Indian Cormorant
Indian Silverbell             
Indian Spot-billed Duck - NEW
Laughing Dove
Little Egret
Little Grebe - -NEW
Purple Sunbird - NEW
Red-vented Bulbul
Rock Pigeon
Ruff NEW
Shikra - NEW
Yellow-throated Sparrow - NEW