We arrived at Samode Haveli in Jaipur to be greeted by the Audrey representative who explained our itinerary for the following two days which included two half days tours of the city and he also suggested a venue for dinner the following evening which he could book for us which also had Indian dancing and a traditional puppet show which we agreed to.
The Samode Haveli is a Heritager property that has been converted into a hotel and is tucked away around the back streets of Old Jaipur but has a lovely secluded feel with a lovely pool area with big day beds to relax in. Our room was huge with a large lounge area and a lovely bathroom with a claw foot, rolled top bath and large walk in shower. We spent the rest of the day and early evening relaxing by the pool with a drink before eating in the restaurant,although the heat and humidity is still taking its toll on our appetite.
The next morning we were greeted by Veena, who was the first qualified, lady guide in Jaipur and has been guiding for 15 years and there are still only 8 lady guides. She was dressed in a beautiful sahri and on our way to the Amber Fort she gave us some background and history to Jaipur.. There was an option to take an elephant ride up to the fort but Audley had recommended that we do not take up the option as the elephants are not particularly well cared for and Veena also informed us that their had been an incident a few years against where two elephants fought and tourists were injured so many travel companies no longer recommend this mode of transport. We opted for a jeep ride which was great fun and took us through the narrow streets leading up to the fort. The fort was beautiful and with Veena's excellent descriptions of life in a fort it was really easy to imagine how the court worked and how life behind the walls were.
Amber Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I in the 16th century, he was on of the first war Chiefs of the Emperor Akbar and was the Kacchwaha (Rajput) of Amber which was later known as Jaipur. The fort includes both Hindu and Rajput elements, it has large ramparts, a series of gates, cobbled paths and overlook the Maota Lake at the front.
On the lake a beautiful garden was built to allow the ladies are of the courts to enjoy the breeze of the lake in seclusion
Whilst in the fort we experienced our first snake charmer and also saw the huge cooking pots that were used to cook the food for the whole fort.
One of the most beautiful parts of the fort is the Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace), the walls and ceiling of this hall has beautiful carvings inlaid with glass. The history is that the queen was not allowed to sleep in the open air but loved the stars so the King ordered his architects to design a building for the Queen. The result was a hall where is you burn two candles then the reflection converts the two flames ont a thousand star-like reflections.
After visiting the fort we asked Veena is she could recommend textiles and jewellery shops, Audley have a policy that their guides are not allowed to take their clients to any shops unless the client specifically requests and the guides have to inform the local Audley agent of each clients request.
Veena took us to a cooperative which specialises in block printing and carpet weaving. We had fascinating demonstrations of both, it was amazing to see how quickly and accurately they build up the blocks and how the colours change once placed in water. With the carpet weave no he explained how each craftsman is skilled at one of the techniques from weaving, trimming, burning and edging.
Next was the bit Graham was dreading...the actual shopping but surprisingly he enjoyed the carpet section and tolerated the tablecloths and bedlinen but lost the plot at the pashminas :-)
I thought I had pushed my luck with the textiles and carpet but Graham confirmed to Veena that jewellery was next on the list and an hour later we left having purchased a beautiful new eternity ring which would be re-sized and with us either at dinner that evening or at the hotel. One very happy lady :-)
We returned to the hotel for a swim and then dressed to head out to Spice Court for dinner, still struggling with our appetites we were quite impressed that we experimented with four of the local dishes. We then sat outside to watch the dancing display not realising audience participation would be expected and as we were the only members of the audience for that showing..,participate we had to!!
The Samode Haveli is a Heritager property that has been converted into a hotel and is tucked away around the back streets of Old Jaipur but has a lovely secluded feel with a lovely pool area with big day beds to relax in. Our room was huge with a large lounge area and a lovely bathroom with a claw foot, rolled top bath and large walk in shower. We spent the rest of the day and early evening relaxing by the pool with a drink before eating in the restaurant,although the heat and humidity is still taking its toll on our appetite.
The next morning we were greeted by Veena, who was the first qualified, lady guide in Jaipur and has been guiding for 15 years and there are still only 8 lady guides. She was dressed in a beautiful sahri and on our way to the Amber Fort she gave us some background and history to Jaipur.. There was an option to take an elephant ride up to the fort but Audley had recommended that we do not take up the option as the elephants are not particularly well cared for and Veena also informed us that their had been an incident a few years against where two elephants fought and tourists were injured so many travel companies no longer recommend this mode of transport. We opted for a jeep ride which was great fun and took us through the narrow streets leading up to the fort. The fort was beautiful and with Veena's excellent descriptions of life in a fort it was really easy to imagine how the court worked and how life behind the walls were.
Amber Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I in the 16th century, he was on of the first war Chiefs of the Emperor Akbar and was the Kacchwaha (Rajput) of Amber which was later known as Jaipur. The fort includes both Hindu and Rajput elements, it has large ramparts, a series of gates, cobbled paths and overlook the Maota Lake at the front.
On the lake a beautiful garden was built to allow the ladies are of the courts to enjoy the breeze of the lake in seclusion
Whilst in the fort we experienced our first snake charmer and also saw the huge cooking pots that were used to cook the food for the whole fort.
One of the most beautiful parts of the fort is the Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace), the walls and ceiling of this hall has beautiful carvings inlaid with glass. The history is that the queen was not allowed to sleep in the open air but loved the stars so the King ordered his architects to design a building for the Queen. The result was a hall where is you burn two candles then the reflection converts the two flames ont a thousand star-like reflections.
After visiting the fort we asked Veena is she could recommend textiles and jewellery shops, Audley have a policy that their guides are not allowed to take their clients to any shops unless the client specifically requests and the guides have to inform the local Audley agent of each clients request.
Veena took us to a cooperative which specialises in block printing and carpet weaving. We had fascinating demonstrations of both, it was amazing to see how quickly and accurately they build up the blocks and how the colours change once placed in water. With the carpet weave no he explained how each craftsman is skilled at one of the techniques from weaving, trimming, burning and edging.
Next was the bit Graham was dreading...the actual shopping but surprisingly he enjoyed the carpet section and tolerated the tablecloths and bedlinen but lost the plot at the pashminas :-)
I thought I had pushed my luck with the textiles and carpet but Graham confirmed to Veena that jewellery was next on the list and an hour later we left having purchased a beautiful new eternity ring which would be re-sized and with us either at dinner that evening or at the hotel. One very happy lady :-)
We returned to the hotel for a swim and then dressed to head out to Spice Court for dinner, still struggling with our appetites we were quite impressed that we experimented with four of the local dishes. We then sat outside to watch the dancing display not realising audience participation would be expected and as we were the only members of the audience for that showing..,participate we had to!!
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