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Thursday, January 16th – Sariska to Jaipur, 16,440 km
Today we are leaving the tiger reserve and moving onto Jaipur, the Pink City, the capital and largest city of Rajasthan. It is one of the most fabled cities of India. It is a newer city. It wasn’t in existence much before the arrival of the British. It was founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727. It was a Hindu stronghold against the Mughals of Delhi and Agra. It is a must-see when visiting Rajasthan.
Our ride today is 100 km long. Within half an hour we are out of the park and at the northern end of Hwy 55, a quiet road that zigzags southward for the next hour and a half. We pass by a palm forest, the first I have seen since Spain, and some nearby wet areas where we see a couple of Sarus cranes.
At the village of Ajabgarh, the highway jogs west though a pass between to mountain ridges, and then turns south and west towards Jaipur. For the next hour and a half, the terrain is flat, more open and semi-arid. There are no interesting sights. At a small village called Andhi, we stop at a roadside restaurant for lunch.
It takes another two hours to arrive in Jaipur, passing through a short series of hill on the way and following the base of the ridge on which Fort Amer is built, the hill fort that was used as the capital of the Rajput Hindus before Jaipur was built.
We see it on the crest as we are riding towards the ridge, but from the base of the ridge it is mostly invisible. I haven’t researched it yet so I make a mental note to find out what it is once we are settled in Jaipur. It’s another 11 km to the city centre. It’s a big noisy city with hectic traffic but not as big or hectic as New Delhi. Besides all the rickshaws, I notice more carts and cows in the streets. The sun is sinking as we arrive so we focus on finding a place for the night. There is a youth hostel in Jaipur, a more traditional one than the tourist camp in New Delhi. It is a bit dirty and dingy, and there is only dorm room accommodation but we take it. There are hot showers, other European travelers and a safe garage for our bikes. The English backpackers, James and Patrick are here as well as a couple others we saw at the tourist camp in New Delhi. Everyone is using the same guide book so it is not surprising.
By the time we have washed and changed, there isn’t enough light to take any good pictures. We walk around the core of the city. The streets are wide and laid out in a planned fashion. It is quite alive and interesting looking but we are too hungry to walk for long. We search out a good restaurant that’s not too expensive and treat ourselves to a mice meal. This may be the last major city we see until Udaipur, so we enjoy our dinner out. Afterwards, we head back to the hostel. We have agreed to spend the entire day here tomorrow to see its many attractions, but tonight we just take it easy and chat with other travelers.
Two Koreans in our room have left the window open and now there are mosquitoes in our room. James has a fit and is shouting at them. They take off for a walk to be free of him. There is no curfew at the hostel so young people are coming and going at all hours, including long after we have gone to bed. They try to sneak back in quietly but the door to our dorm room squeaks horribly, like a coffin opening in a bad vampire movie. I am woken several times but I manage to fall asleep again every time.
PHOTO 1: palm forest near Sariska
PHOTO 2: Saurus cranes
PHOTO 3: Surajpole Gate, Jaipur
PHOTO 4: pausing with my bike to decide where to go
PHOTO 5: in Jaipur at sunset
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