Palaces, peacocks and paneer in Rajasthan

Posted on 20 April 2012

After seeing Delhi and Agra’s best mausoleums, the second leg of my five-week trip to India was the much-loved, much-romanticised state of Rajasthan, home to maharajahs, camels, desert and a lot of rather lovely palaces. Rajasthan is a huge state, and you could take months just to travel here – we had to narrow our trip down to Jaipur, Udaipur and Ranthambhore, connected with long drives, train rides and a flight.

We imagined Jaipur, India’s famous ‘pink city’, with quaint rose-tinted streets, peacocks milling about, and maybe a palace or two on a hill. The real Jaipur is a big, bustling, dirty city that’s almost more hectic than Delhi. Rajasthan’s capital does have a lot to see though, from the magnificent Amber Fort to the fascinating 18th century astronomical observatory Jantar Mantar – and we managed to cram it all in over two days interspersed with some shopping (gems and textiles are what you should go for here).

 Udaipur was a gloriously serene city in contrast to Jaipur. With its lakes, palaces and beautiful architecture.

A five-week trip to India would not be complete without a tiger-spotting safari. Ranthambhore is the best place to see the big cats in Rajasthan. We spent two nights at the lovely Khem Villas, a boutique tented camp on the edge of the park, and went for afternoon and evening game drives into Ranthambhore, holding thumbs for tigers. While other guests at the hotel had incredible tiger sightings the day before we arrived – a tiger kill and some cubs – we saw nothing but peacocks, deer and monkeys. While we loved being in the bush and experiencing a completely different safari to ones we’re used to in southern Africa but we were a little disappointed that we didn’t get to spot any tigers. I think this was our own fault though – you’re supposed to tell the guide and driver of your safari jeep that you’re not interested in tigers at all and that you’d rather spot birds and interesting trees (which we didn’t do) – apparently then you’re guaranteed a tiger sighting.

Driving from Ranthambhore to Jaipur to catch a flight to Mumbai, we got to see some of the ‘real’ Rajasthan, far removed from tourist hordes. The four-hour-long drive took us through rural villages seemingly populated entirely with camels, wrinkly-faced turbanned men sitting on their haunches smoking, and women in incredibly bright jelly-bean-coloured saris. We drove through markets and food stalls, past ancient wooden doors and crumbling turquoise buildings, wishing we had longer to explore India’s most colourful state.

I could write thousands of words about Rajasthan, its incredibly rich history, delicious food and wonderful palaces, but in the interest of blogging brevity, have nutshelled my trip into a couple of highlights.

 

My Rajasthan highlights

Moustaches

Moustaches are big in Rajasthan. Everyone seems to have a fantastic one. Just when you think you’ve seen the biggest moustache in the state, you spot a turbaned man sporting one the size of a squirrel. If you’re ever in need of some moustache inspiration, this is where you should come to.

 

Palaces

Rajasthan is the land of palaces and there are some awesome ones. I loved the City Palace in Udaipur, with its gorgeous cupolas, miniature paintings, quiet courtyards, intricate facades, great views over the lake from arched windows and fascinating history.

The Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds), with its latticed windows looking over a street thronging with traffic and camels, is the most photographed spot in Jaipur. It’s not really a palace but just a façade behind which the ladies of the court would sit, concealed, and be able to look out onto the street. I loved the armoury at Jaipur’s City Palace, with its animal-head gun powder cases, evil-looking daggers and swords.

We decided we had to stay in at least one real palace in India, so my mum and I spoiled ourselves with a stay at the extravagantly opulent Rambagh Palace just outside the old city walls of Jaipur. Sometimes when you walk through old European castles and palaces, it’s hard to imagine what royal life must have been like. All you have to do in Jaipur is stay at the Rambagh and you’ll know what it’s like to be a maharajah or maharani. Rooms are of palatial proportions and are decorated accordingly (we had two huge beds, a massive marble-topped bathroom and a variety of throne-like couches to laze upon), service is incredible, food amazing and the palace is like a living museum.

 

Food

Rajasthani food is amazing. This was the part of the trip where I started packing on the kilos. Ghee, cream and buttery bread are not exactly waist-friendly and even when you don’t order a pudding here, they bring you one anyway because the waiters get so excited about people trying Indian food. Seriously. So I gave in and ate my weight in curries, naans and creamy desserts. On the whole, Rajasthani food is pretty heavy – typical breakfast street food consists of deep fried treats such as onion kachori and pakodas (which are like big samoosas). Thalis are big for dinner – you get rice, bread and five or six different curries. Being a veggie, I loved the variety of the non-meaty curries and ended up eating something with paneer in it just about every day.

 

Venice of the East

Udaipur is either a short flight from Jaipur or a very long drive (we went for the budget flight option with Kingfisher Airlines) and a glorious city to arrive in at night, during wedding season. Wedding bands were blaring discordant songs from every street corner, fireworks were popping off all over the city, and the glittering lights on the lake made the whole thing seem rather romantic and pretty. The city quickly became our favourite place on the trip when we explored it by day with our guide, Mr Singh of the impossibly huge moustache. The City Palace, India’s second largest and the biggest in Rajasthan, was our top sight.

An afternoon boat ride on the city’s artificial Lake Pichola confirmed Udaipur’s nickname ‘Venice of the East’. We cruised past delicately crumbling havelis (noble houses), creamy cupola-topped palaces, women washing colourful saris in the water, the Monsoon Palace high up in the Aravelli Hills, and took in the glorious golden sunset over the Lake Palace, a Taj hotel set serenely in the middle of the lake.

 

Peacocks

It was strange to be in the bush in Ranthambhore National Park and see peacocks milling about, their electric-blue tails standing out against the drab forest floor, almost asking to be eaten by something. I’d always thought of peacocks as domestic animals, but they’re roaming wild all over Rajasthan. The national bird of India, the peacock was on every palace wall we visited –  and I grew to be rather fond of the squaking (alive) kind and the silent semi-precious-stone-inlaid versions.

 

Forts

Forts are like shopping malls in Rajasthan – there’s at least one in every town or city. My favourite was the Amber Fort in Jaipur – a sprawling maze of courtyards and palaces in the Aravelli Hills, surrounded by what looks like the Great Wall of China. Tourists rather exotically ride by elephant up to the fort, which is not recommended – elephants here are treated badly and have been known to go crazy and kill people. We explored the courtyards, the room of glass, took hundreds of photos of the wonderfully adorned doors (India must have the most beautiful doors in the world), scalloped archways and symmetrical gardens.

 

Jaipur from the air

One early chilly morning saw us take off in a hot air balloon over Jaipur. I was hoping we’d fly over the fort but we were at the whim of the winds, and so we flew over the countryside and village around Jaipur instead, which ended up being more interesting. Children ran out into the streets and fields, shouting at us to land, whole families came out of their homes to stand on their roofs and wave, and when we landed, a mob of smiling school kids on their way to class surrounded us but were to shy to say anything.

 

On my Rajasthan itinerary for my next trip to India

Jodhpur

Jaisalmer

A camel safari into the desert

 

Where to stay in Rajasthan

Rambagh Palace in Jaipur is definitely worth splashing out on if your credit card can handle it – I don’t know if you’ll get such an amazing palatial experience anywhere else in the world.

Oberoi Udaivilas has a fantastic setting on Lake Pichola, overlooking the old city. It’s luxury to the max, with an equivalent price tag. Udaipur has some lovely havelis around the lake that are

Khem Villas in Ranthambhore is right on the edge of the park and offers luxury accommodation in tents and cottages. I loved our cosy tent with its romantic outdoor bath, the delicious vegetarian food and all the thoughtful touches, such as packed sandwiches and blankets for early-morning game drives.


Read my first blog about my five-week India trip about Delhi and Agra.

 

Tim Durham from Colours of India organised my five-week trip to India and I really recommend him and the local agents he uses. You can contact Tim on tel 021-813-9778, email [email protected] or www.colours-of-india.co.za.






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