Jaipur Day 3......Adventures

        The night of the 22nd was a long one. Between the parties outside and the Hindu couple arguing in the hallway I was over it. As I was getting ready I decided to blast 90's rap music like L.L. Cool J. I gave them a wake up call I have no doubt. This morning I did not want a guide. Instead I had my driver set up my first awesome adventure... elephant riding. I knew it would be a little cool and foggy in the morning, but when I went outside in my sandals I almost froze in place. It was 45 degrees! That's cold for Jaipur and it's super cold for sandals. I was already dressed and I knew it would warm up so I just tried to roll with it. Last year during my trip to Jaipur I also saw elephants, but it was an elephant refuge. This meant only their trainers could ride them and it was a sanctuary so they were no longer working animals. I had a good time, but this was going to be more fun.

Having a great driver in India is everything, I cannot say this enough. My driver knew the owner of this farm so he was able to set me up with an appointment for a cheaper price than the actual tour agency. My experience for the visit included feeding my elephant, riding, painting on my elephant with colorful clay, then helping give the elephant a bath. I decided to skip the painting part. Elephants get cold really easily and I did not want her to get wet. My elephants name was Lakshmi after the Hindu goddess. She was super chill. Riding her was awesome, but scary as hell. I had to climb a long staircase to get into her carrier. I thought I'd be sitting up top facing forward like they always show on tv. Nope. I was sitting on her sideways. It constantly felt like her carriage was going to slide backwards. The people walking with me barely spoke English so they just kept smiling and walking. In reality I probably wasn't even close to falling, but I'm also afraid of heights and elephants are taller than you might think. 

A nice surprise during my elephant ride was seeing a batch of puppies! India has random dogs everywhere. They aren't really kept as house pets in India and they definitely aren't treated like children. Yet many communities take action to feed them and some even make sweaters to help keep them warm on cold nights. My driver told me that many families make an extra helping of food just for dogs because it brings them good karma. 

After I finished with Lakshmi it was time to go shopping! Last year I visited the most fabulous textile shop called Jaipur Boutique Carpet & Valintino Textiles. They sell everything from carpets and blankets to sari's, shirts, and everything in between. Shopping for clothes there felt like visiting the Versace store to purchase couture clothing made just for me! So of course I was going to return again this year. It's also where I met my friend Jain last year. 

Since my friend relocated back to his home city of Jodhpur and works in a new shop, I went in and headed straight for the owner, his cousin Anshol. Last year I was spoiled because I visited his shop on a Sunday so I was the only tourist. This year there were many groups touring the shop. I knew that I'd have to haggle a little bit on the price and I knew Anshol would remember me and he did! There are so many types and colors of fabrics in his shop so everything goes according to price. Then depending on what you are buying, you pick out the style of clothing, a tailor comes to measure you, then BOOM! It's ready and at your hotel by the next day. 

At first the men, it's always men in the shops not women, tried to sell me some ugly, dowdy, British, old woman prints. Yea that's not me at all. So after some negotiating, saying good-bye to a gorgeous pink silk that I couldn't afford, I came out with two shirts which I absolutely love.

The rest of my time in Jaipur was spent playing with monkeys. My driver and I went to a place I visited last year called Galta Ji Temple better known as the monkey temple. The temple is not a functioning temple like the hundreds of others across India. The buildings are deserted and now various groups of monkeys inhabit the area. Locals visit the temple area on Tuesday to pay homage to to the monkey-faced god Hanuman. He is the deity renowned for his courage, power, and faithful selfless service. Certain gods in India have a designated day of the week and his is Tuesday. 

                                                                                 Last year I visited his temple in Delhi shown below.

The temple in Jaipur is centered around a natural spring that is channeled to fill up seven pools. Hindus from all over come to bathe in these springs to wash away their sins. The monkeys also swim and play in it as well. So I can't say the water is probably the cleanest to be dipping in, but then again I'm not Hindu. 

My main goal was to feed and play with the monkeys. Many local people come to this temple and work with the monkeys to train them. Then tourists can play with them safely and they can make a little money for themselves. I got extremely lucky upon meeting one of them on this day. The man I was met was legit. I don't just follow any man that says "hey come let a monkey sit on you" because you never know. My driver said this man was ok so I went for it.

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After the adventures we the monkeys I headed back to my hotel. On the way back I snapped a few quick pics of some wild peacocks. They are the national bird of India and I think they are gorgeous. Last year I saw some peahens for the first time. I didn't realize until then that they are the female peacocks. Mostly white and brown and not nearly as beautiful. The next day we were heading out for my next new city Pushkar then Jodhpur. Unlike last year where I visited both Hindu and Muslim cities, each city I visited this year was Hindu. Each city in India that ends in -pur, or -er is a Hindu city. Any city that ends in -bad, war, gar, etc. is still mainly a Hindu city, but the city maintains a Muslim name such as Hyderabad or Amritsar. 

Here are some more video and pics from Jaipur!

Here local women from Jaipur are coming into the Monkey Temple area to wash in the spring waters and to feed the monkeys. Since cows are everywhere of course they are here too. Fun fact: the cows in India have the giant humps on their backs to serve them the same way that humps serve camels....to conserve water during the hottest months.

Middle school children out with their teacher on a school day. Every school from primary to high school requires uniforms whether it's located in a large city or the countryside. They have maintained the British custom in this sense. Also, to attend private school it is $40. I'm guessing that is $40 per month not year, but I'm not sure. Either way that is not a lot of money for most of us, but over there it is.

Jaipur is famous for many things, but its blue pottery is definitely a stand out. Even Bill and Hillary visited the same shop I did once. The plate below is the traditional pattern for Jaipur. I bought one just like it. They are all hand painted and fired and stunning. Last year I didn't have time to bring any home so this year I wasn't going to miss out!

Finally this is just a street view of what daily life in Jaipur looks like. From the fruit stands and individual shops to the crazy traffic. It's hard to look at a place like this and see the beauty, but trust me once you are there you feel it.