Royal Orchid Central Jaipur

... whole! We then had to wee in the shower. This was again- not pleasant. When we left the toilets (I think because we were Western) we were made to pay. I have never paid for something more horrific in my life. <br><br>The train in fact was even worse. We were on a sleeper carriage which was 3 beds on top of each other. I was in the middle. This is hard to get on to for normal people. But with my co-ordination and balance (or lack of) it is next to impossible and ...

... a palace built in the middle of a lake on the outskirts of Jaipur. This was a hunting residence for the Maharaja of Jaipur. We started off with the Amber Fort which is outside of the city itself up in the hills in a little valley. WOW, we turned the corner and there it was! This place is huge and so beautiful in the morning sun. Above it on the top of the mountain stands the enormous Nahargarh Fort. Yes, you guessed it, this will be ...

... but were still a little unerved by buses!). The strange man followed. we stopped and he walked infront of us so we thought we were in the clear till 30 seconds later he was behind us again. being the whizzkids we are everything was in front, securely fastened pockets. but we were worried for our friends none the less, so i warned them and at first look of us being part of a large group that had spotted him he was gone. team J.J 1 robberers 0. love to all. xxxxxxxx

... of wealthier tourists I had to bargain extra hard to get decent prices and in the end I'm sure I still ended up paying more than I should have but I'm ok with that. We also got a cute little Ganesh statue for Avani's parents as a thank you present and the store wrapped it up in a box and then wrapping paper for free! What service :) After the bazaar we went to the Shri Lakshmi Narayan Temple which was quite beautiful. In the evening Avani felt able to go out and we went to this ...

... He meet the dog a few years ago and he revisited the same place a year or so later and told us of his disappointment of not seeing the dog. Then one day while sitting on a wall and after a few false sightings there was the dog standing downwind of him recognised his scent chased after him. Now he was back to see him again and assured us if he wasn't there he'd be out of there in no time.....a real one man and his dog story. Sometimes I wish I smoked myself while ...

... Express - express might not be the right name for it though. We were in an A/C 2 sleeper - and were lucky enough to have all 4 bunks to ourselves. A little private area as everyone else was asleep. Train was OK and had western loos.<br><br>The train was an hour late into Jaipur. Again we got the hotel to collect us. This saves anybody trying to take you to another hotel. Quite a common scam we hear but we did avoid that one! The hotel was ...

... was waiting for. We make it to Agra by 4 and leave for the Taj at 4:30. In that 30 min we spent at the hotel most of the group (at least the girls) got all dolled up. Everyone had an Indian outfit they had had made and they had done their hair and make up and put on all sorts of jewelry. It felt like we were going to an Indian prom. We get to the Taj around 5 and stay until the sun sets. It was so surreal ...

... middle of the lake... nice! We still had time to visit the Cenotaphs at Gaitor, and a couple of silk and jewelery factories before the heavy rain started and spoiled our plans for the day. It doesn't rain much in Rajastan, but when it does, it's for real. Within half an hour the whole city was flooded and our driver struggled to take us back to the hotel with water coming in the car through the doors. At least the kids seemed to enjoy the ...

... with domes which we were told was based upon Mecca. We left and took a tuk-tuk back towards the carpark - but we had to go through a tourist trap before we got through to our car. Gillian succumbed to a wooden necklace and a carved tea-light holder. I just rolled my eyes are her lack of haggling......just pretend you're not sure - it works for me! We dropped our guide off at the entrance and headed back on the road towards Jaipur. The crops began to run out and there ...

... c'era uno "shadu", un saggio che era lì per assicurare la continuità della preghiera alle divinità. O almeno, questa era la loro funzione ufficiale. Infatti, molti di loro ci seguivano con lo sguardo come farebbe un commerciante che vede passare potenziali clienti. Uno ci ha quasi forzato ad entrare, chiaramente con l'intenzione di chiederci soldi. Altri che erano sulla strada del ritorno, ci pregavano di far loro delle foto (sottinteso: e di dar loro dei soldi ...