As you probably know, India has an ancient history and consequently is full of amazing culture and the associated sights. For a first time visitor to India like me, you tend to be a bit overwhelmed by the noise, dirt, mess and just the general "difference" in everyday "normality" of the country, that you might not really "see" the beauty that lies beyond that.
Bundi has a Star Fort and a City Palace from the Mughal empire, which we visited early in the morning. Both sights had to be released for tourism by descendants of the Maharaj (the Prince) because they could no longer afford their maintenance. Not that anything has been done to the buildings since - they are both ruins, and in Bundi palace, only very few of the colour mural paintings remain visible and many of the mirror mosaic pieces that were used in murals by the Mughals have fallen off or been removed from the walls. But I like it that everything is a bit rough and untouched, it really gives you a sense of how old things are. From the Star Fort (atop the hill) you have also a great view of the town's blue houses (I will try to post some photos later).
After our sightseeing, we had a quick lunch and then headed to the bus station to catch an "Express" bus back to Jaipur, that was supposed to leave at 1.30 pm, have air-con, and only take 4 hours. Of course, there was no such bus when we arrived at the station, so we ended up on another "local" bus, which took 5 1/2 hours. This time, the entertainment was limited, largely because for the last 2 hours of the journey, the bus was so unbelievably packed, hot and stuffy, that it was simply impossible to move (whether you were seated or standing), let alone talk. I will never ever complain about the tube in London being hot and uncomfortable...
So we arrived back in Jaipur completely knackered again from the bus journey, but hey, we had a roof-top terraced hotel again, and were lucky too because the hotel served beer! Interestingly, they use glycerol as a preservative in their beer, which is supposed to give you a huge headache, but I was surprisingly fine...
The next morning, Jacqui took me shopping! We took a rickshaw to a shop called Fabindia, a government-run fabrics store (that means prices are fixed but quality is high) which was simply fabulous. We spent 2 1/2 hours in there, and I bought lots of stuff. I had to buy the obligatory sari, even if i will never wear it, I might regret it later. Will try to post a picture of that too. Then we got lost in the kids clothes section for another hour...
After that we were hungry, and met up with Marc to get some lunch (curry, what else) before we headed out on a sightseeing tour of the old town of Jaipur, the "pink city". A former emperor decided to have the entire city painted pink, as a welcoming gesture to the visiting Prince of Wales, nice, huh? We finished the tour with a stroll along the colourful and bustling bazaars, where you can buy ANYTHING you want (or don't want).
And then it was time to say goodbye already, because the next morning Jacqui and Marc caught a train to Delhi, and I had an onward flight to Bombay. And we did this on the rooftop terrace by sharing the very last beer of the hotel (someone had obviously drunk them dry the night before...)
