After leaving the Taj Mahal and the city of Agra behind us, we proceeded to drive to Jaipur (the Pink City). About two hours along in the journey, we stopped at the Midway Hotel and Restaurant to enjoy some lunch, as well as to do some shopping in the adjacent gift shop, owned and operated by a jolly gentleman, Jagdish prasad Dhanetwal. I had met this man some ten years ago, on my first trip to India, and each successive year, when traveling between Agra and Jaipur, we have made it a point to stop here. He recognized me, and I was pleased to introduce him to Heather and J.T. Following a wonderful lunch outside in the garden and sitting in the warm sun (of which if you have no realized up until now, we had seen precious little) we returned to the shop, where J.T. was able to purchase a small gift for each of his classmates, as well as his two teachers.
We then departed for the remainder of our journey to Jaipur. We arrived at another shop, Anil Carpet and Textile Factory, and then were taken to our hotel - a Heritage Hotel, called Bissau Palace. The unbelievable fresco paintings on the walls and ceiling of our rooms and the accompanying antique furniture, made for a most pleasant stay.
Bright and early on Tuesday morning, we woke, dressed and ate breakfast and then met a new guide, who would show us the sites of the city. His name was Sabir. He first took us to Hawa Mahal - the palace of the winds, which is one of the three or four principal attractions in Jaipur. Basically, it is a facade of beautiful lattice-type work, behind which the Maharani and her women friends could remain hidden, but still view the various celebrations and parades which would occur from time to time.
We then went to Amber Fort, which was constructed centuries ago, on the top of the mountain, and maintained as a fortress and palace. The most exciting part of this attraction was the fact we were to ride elephants to travel up the mountain! 
J. T. had been given a Rajasthani turban by Sudhir - one of the owners of Anil Factory, and he enjoyed wearing it, as we rode up the mountain on the elephant! Many people saw him and commented on the fact that Heather and I were privileged to be riding with a Maharajah! When we reached the main courtyard and ceremonial plaza, we came down from our elephant, and met with Sabir, who began to explain the many aspects of this fort. We stopped and took lots of photos at various places within Amber Fort, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun, once again. We were pleased to see the amazing craftsmanship exhibited throughout the fort, especially the work in sandstone, as well as the beautiful fresco paintings we saw at nearly every turn. One particularly beautiful entrance gate was called Ganesha Gate and the painting at that location was really spectacular. We had our photo taken standing in an alcove, just to one side of the principal gate.
J. T. had been given a Rajasthani turban by Sudhir - one of the owners of Anil Factory, and he enjoyed wearing it, as we rode up the mountain on the elephant! Many people saw him and commented on the fact that Heather and I were privileged to be riding with a Maharajah! When we reached the main courtyard and ceremonial plaza, we came down from our elephant, and met with Sabir, who began to explain the many aspects of this fort. We stopped and took lots of photos at various places within Amber Fort, and enjoyed the warmth of the sun, once again. We were pleased to see the amazing craftsmanship exhibited throughout the fort, especially the work in sandstone, as well as the beautiful fresco paintings we saw at nearly every turn. One particularly beautiful entrance gate was called Ganesha Gate and the painting at that location was really spectacular. We had our photo taken standing in an alcove, just to one side of the principal gate.
While we were standing in front of the "hall of mirrors", I thought I recognized a woman's voice. In turning to our guide, I asked him if he knew the name of the guide who was working with another couple. He said her name was Sunita. That rang a bell in my memory, and I called to her. She turned around and I called out her name, as she called out mine! The last time I saw Sunita was when she served as our guide in 2008! It was wonderful to see her again, after all these years. We also entered the Hindu temple at the fort, and received blessings and garlands from the priests inside. J.T. and Heather have both noticed how wonderfully welcoming and friendly all of the people have been toward us.
Following our visit to Amber Fort, we then departed for the City Palace, where the present Maharajah and his family still reside. There are several museums inside the City Palace, but the two favorite ones for Heather and J.T. were the textile museum and the weapons museum - bet you can guess which one held the most interest for J.T.! After lunch and a hotel called the Taj Palace, we visited another attraction - one of the world's largest astrological parks, filled with various sundials of various shapes and sizes, and which boast an accuracy of about two seconds! Very impressive.
Late in the afternoon, while doing some shopping, Heather fell into a ditch and twisted her ankle very severely, and we searched for about three quarters of an hour for ice, so she could pack her ankle and hopefully reduce the swelling. We returned to our hotel, and took some rest. That evening, since Heather felt a lot better (it may have been the ice) we ventured out to dinner at a local attraction for dinner and visiting dozens of displays from many artisans throughout all of Rajasthan. We returned to our rooms to totally crash for the evening.
Next morning, we were to leave for Ranthambhore and Tiger Moon Resort.
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