Ruby Tuesday Too - Jaipur Elephant En Route to the Amber Fort

Many tourists enjoy riding an elephant to the Amber Fort.  I did it the easy way - in a
taxi with my favorite driver, Lala.  I felt too sorry for the elephant to burden him with my
weight.

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Ruby Tuesday Too

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Camera Critters #261 - Pigeons Enjoying a Shower at Amber Fort, Amer, Rajasthan, India - April 6, 2013

Amer Fort, also known as Amber Fort, is an incredible site, about seven miles from Jaipur.
It was built by Raja Man Singh and its artistic style consists of both Hindu and Rajput
elements.  I spent several wonderful hours there during my stay in Jaipur, taking over
a hundred photographs.

In one of the courtyards, a pipe spouting water was the gathering place of a group
of pigeons who amused us with their bathing antics.  

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Camera Critters #261.

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Camera Critters #257 - Working Elephants of Jaipur - March 9, 2013

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India  hosts an annual elephant festival which is a favorite
of locals and tourists alike..  The magnificent beasts are decked out in all sorts of 
finery, with chunky elephant jewelry on their feet, fancy embroidered rugs on their 
backs, and their bodies scrubbed and painted in traditional Indian motifs.  Their
mahouts, or handlers, are dressed in brocade jackets and bright turbans.  

All sorts of activities take place from a grand parade to elephant polo to 
performances of folk dancing.   For much of the rest of the year, these elephants 
work, transporting tourists from downtown Jaipur to the Amber Fort. While they 
sport a little paint, they are not in all their Elephant Festival finery. I chose to 
make that  drive by taxi but I loved seeing the elephants along the road.

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Camera Critters.

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Life in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India - October 13, 2012

I have one more month left of my five month stay in Jaipur, the capital and largest
city of Rajasthan, India.  Jaipur is well known to tourists as part of the Golden
Triangle ( which includes Delhi and Agra - home of the Taj Mahal ).  It is often 
called "The Pink City"  and "the Paris of India."  Maharajah Jai Singh II left Amber
Fort in 1727 and laid out the city.  The old city was painted pink in 1876 to welcome
the Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VII,  It continues pink to the
day.  

Jaipur is a city of beautiful palaces, temples, Rajasthani and Moghul architecture.
It has five star hotels, budget properties,  guest houses, autorickshaws, elephants, camel carts, cows roaming loose in the streets, a great variety of restaurants, centers of 
higher education, bazaars, festivals. monkeys here and there, and beautiful fabrics
and jewelry stores.

I have loved my time here except for the blistering summer heat and the distance from
any ocean.  Having spent the last thirty-five years with the Pacific Ocean at my
feet, I've had trouble adjusting to the desert climate.  Even monsoon season failed 
to provide adequate rainfall.

Here are some pictures I've taken of my temporary home, Jaipur.

Out grocery shopping.  People carry amazing weights on their heads!

The beautiful Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds, built by by Maharaja Sawaj Pratap 

Singh in 1799.  This five story building allowed the ladies of the royal family to 

observe their city without being seen. 

Kathputli wood puppets of Rajasthan - an art tradition believed to be over a  

tousand years old. 

The bicycle rickshaw - one of many forms of transportation

Pepper and lemon talsiman are used to bring good luck - this hangs from a car bumper.

Beautiful architecture in the Old City of Jaipur

Colorful sari

Street vendors

"Fast Food"

Three little pigs ( well, adolescents ) - cows and pigs wander the streets freely.

Sweet children

Cooking chapatis outdoors

At a wedding celebration