Hey there Readers,
Waking up at 4 was not fun. The car ride to the station was even worse because we had a tiny car and we all had bags that filled up what seemed like every square inch of the car. So we drove the hour to the New Delhi Railroad station finding it difficult to breathe. From the outside this was a large building with a parking lot and just an empty space between the parking lot and the building filled with sleeping people. The parking lot was full to bursting as well so the driver just let us out as soon as he could and we tiptoed our way through the bodies and into the station. We managed not to step on anybody and we got through the metal detectors unscathed so now we set out for platform 2, which is where the train to Jaipur would be. This turned out to be difficult because we couldn’t find an official person who could help us and the layout reminded me a bit of a maze. Finally we reached our platform where we discovered to our dismay that the girls and Julie’s tickets were on the waiting list so we decided that the only thing we could do was just get on the train. Mom and I got our seats and they sat not too far apart. I decided to catch up on some sleep and then I just fiddled around on my computer for the rest of the ride. The train took about four hours and when we arrived at the Jaipur station we were found by a nice taxi driver and guide named Abdullah who led us through the bustle. Pretty soon after our arrival it was unanimously decided that this city was much nicer and less chaotic than Delhi. So Abdullah led us to his car while the Family went with one of his taxi driver friends to their hotel. We booked different hotels and while we were driven there we learned some new things about Jaipur. Let me fill you in on just some basic information. So in 1727, Sawai Jai Singh II started building a city – the first planned one in India - that would take about six years to complete. Jaipur itself means ‘City of Victory’ and in 1876 it was painted pink to welcome Prince Albert, which is why it is known as the ‘Pink City’. So now that you know some facts about where we are, I’ll continue. We were received at the hotel very warmly and went to the restaurant there to eat pasta which was nice since one does get tired of eating chapatti every meal for a week. After lunch we were brought to our room and I took a nice long nap. Essentially we didn’t do anything else for the rest of the day except watch TV, lie in bed, and take a warm shower. The highlight of my evening was ordering room service. You have no idea how awesome it was being able to have food being brought up to our nice, air-conditioned room overlooking the Jal Mahal (Water palace). We then watched New Police Story with Jackie Chan and went to bed. As much as I enjoy being awoken by orphans at six in the morning to go and play with them (enter sarcasm here), it was nice being able to sleep in without barking dogs, loud music, and beating drums. We leisurely made our way downstairs to eat breakfast and then got ready for our tour of Jaipur with Abdullah and the Family. Only Julie and Riley took the tour with us today since Morgan had a stomach bug (Delhi belly) and Ryan had to stay at the hotel with her. Our little band set off to get some henna first. This is where people draw designs on you with a kind of plant paste that after drying and washing off stays on you for about two weeks. The place we went to was right outside of the Maharaja’s tomb which was pretty cool. What was not cool, however, was the fact that today in the morning the King of Jaipur died which is pretty unfortunate. Henna is usually for women although guys can get it too (like a tattoo) but I decided not to, which left me being the one to take the pictures for everyone until it dried. We were soon on our way to the Amber Fort which is about 11 km from the city and is situated on top of a range of craggy hills. Abdullah drove us up and we explored the massive fort. Inside was pretty big and we saw things like the Ganesh gate, the Hall of Mirrors, and the Hall of Pleasure. Eventually we found ourselves at the same coffee place chain that sold the SDB and I got the other thing that I wanted, the Dark Passion (they have creative names, what can I say). We stayed there for a bit and then returned to Abdullah who took us to our next stop, a textile factory. Here we learned how block printing is done and afterwards he brought us up to the store and I’ve got to say, I have seen a lot of beautiful clothes but these were some of the most beautiful covers and pashminas I have ever seen (I’ll get some pictures). They were also very high quality using all natural colors and a very good price. Mom spent some money on these but I can’t complain because I got an amazing bed cover. Finally we decided to head back to the hotel. We planned to return to Faridabad the next day by train but at the hotel we found that all of the seats were booked so we have to stay an extra night. I’m ecstatic but mom feels bad because she said she would work on Tuesday. We went to the room and then came down to the pool to relax in the waning sun. We then ate dinner and right now I’m in our room just relaxing and wondering what will happen tomorrow. See you then!
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