Had a superb time in Jaipur. A lot of people find it too frantic but I like fast hectic noisy places. It felt very cosmopolitan - quite a lot of students go there to do internships with NGOs and international buyers come to shop in the bazaar. The hotel we stayed in was excellent. Sunder Palace Guest House (091-141-2360178 / sunderpalace@hotmail.com ) has only just opened and it is in a league of it's own. The friendly manager collected us from the station. This service was free and he also refused a tip. When I got to my room I couldn't believe it. 600rupees had bought us polished floors, taps mirrors and hand crafted furniture. The air conditioning was almost silent and operated by remote control. The bedside lights were cosy. It was an extremely comfortable room. The garden resturant was also a big winner but more than anything I liked the friendly welcome! On the Tuesday night we had our first experience of Indian cinema. We went to see Salam Namaste a romantic comedy. I waited in the women's queue and it was nice to get chatting to Indian women because the streets and hotels are male dominated and I don't often get the opportunity. Everyone was beautifully dressed in bright colours. Plenty of curvy tummies on show - you don't need flat abs to be allowed to show your midriff here. Who knows maybe I'll join in soon. The storyline of the film was pretty liberal - there was sex outside marriage, a prostitute and lots of skimpy western clothing. It was good to know that lots of Indians think this way. I mostly see a pretty conservative side of this society on the backpacker trail. The film was easy to follow despite mostly being in Hindi. The next day I went shopping in the bazaar. I had a lot of fun selecting material. Rajisthani cloth is so vibrant and colourful. In the end I went in to one shop settled on the sofa and kept asking to see more. This is how you get to the best stock. I chose several pieces I liked and asked how much they would be altogether. With a combination of first discount, Diwali discount, eyelash fluttering and saying I didn't have the right money (all part of the game here) I managed to get the shopkeeper to knock a third off his opening price. Then I got back to the hotel and admired my haul. The next day I got it wrapped in cotton and posted it home. I was sorry to leave Jaipur, who knows maybe I'll go back some day.
5 votes 
![[03] Cobra](/travel-photo/el_condor/asia_2005/1139221260/picture_019.jpg/tpod.html "[03] Cobra")
