India's "City of Victory" smells like dust, curry and wees, and it's utterly gorgeous. Jaipur, capital of Rajisthan, is full of remnants of a rich and romantic past. Over 100 years ago the reigning Maharaja had the whole city painted pink - the color of hospitality - to welcom the then Prince of Wales. As a result, the entire old city is a blur of the rosy hue. Its very, very cute, and I feel like I have stepped back in time.
The main attraction of this city is the Amber Fort. A desert palace, it's majestic and awe-inspiring, rising out of the dry desert like a scene out of Arabian nights. Theres snake charmers, camels and middle-eastern live music, all shimmering and sweating under the 45 degree heat. This could easily be Egypt, but it's definitley nothing like New Zealand, and I have never felt so far from home. I was so enchanted by this Indian Aladdin's palace that I spent a whole 20 minutes just sitting in the heat and gazing at it. I have uploaded some photos with this blog as it's impossible to do this place justice with words!
India's extremes are endlessley confronting. The beggars, the heat, the colors, the smells. You can almost feel the ebb and flow of the lives of a billion people and it's an absolute assault on the senses. I'm so suprised by how safe I feel here - there's leery men, but I don't feel at all threatened by them. I want to wink at one while he's looking at me just to see what they do! I think half the time they are more scared of this huge blonde white woman than I am of them.
My feelings about the Muslim faith are also changing. The driver who we hired to take us to the amber fort was Muslim, and he was entirely lovely, friendly and chatty. Today we went with him to his cousin's shop where we had tea and a big chat. He is upset that the muslim extremists have given his faith a bad name all over the world. Hanging out with him has made me almost embarassed about my previous fear of the muslim people - they too are human and only very few are extremeists. I love that my perception of different faiths is changing as a result of being in India.
Yesterday we visited a tailor where I had a light, Indian-style colorful dress made. It makes me feel like a blonde Princess Jasmine.
Tomorrow we are off to Ranthambhore National Park, to spot some wild tigers in the Jungle and sleep under the stars!
