Today was another one of those jam-packed days in and around Jaipur. We started bright and early at the Amber Fort, the site of the capital of Rajistan until it was moved to Jaipur in the 1700s. To get to the fort we had to ride an elephant! It was really nice doing that but you could tell the elephants were poorly treated, which was really sad. Hal told us before we got on that it shouldn’t cost us more than 100 rupees to ride the elephant (approx $2). When it got to the point that Jackie and I were supposed to pay our guy, I gave him the 100 rupees and he said it wasn’t enough. When we told him we wouldn’t give him any more he said he wouldn’t take us off the elephant unless we gave him more. I literally started yelling at the guy because he stopped the elephant and made it seem like he really wasn’t going to take us off. Jackie gave him another 100 and the guy still said it wasn’t enough, but at least at this point he was moving in the direction where we’re supposed to get off. Finally we jumped off as fast as we could. I was so annoyed because nobody else had that experience. Luckily 100 rupees isn’t a lot of money, but the guy totally ripped us off; it’s not about the money, but the guy was a total jerk!
The fort was really beautiful similar to the Agra fort we saw earlier. It was kind of like a palace built with walls around it. We also got to see a snake charmer which was a first up until this point. It was really cool to see that.Next we had lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. I ordered fried rice, but of coarse I didn’t like it. I didn’t really have an appetite so I let other people eat it. My stomach still hasn’t been feeling 100% so I definitely don’t want to push myself to eat too much. I did have a lassi though and I think they’ve really been helping my digestion and giving me some protein to get throughout the day is helpful as well.
After that we went to a blue pottery factory where they made lots of ceramics. I got a couple of gifts there, which I’m very excited to give. They gave us a little demonstration of how the products are made, and they bragged that the Clintons have even been in their shop! I wish the stuff wasn’t so fragile otherwise I would’ve bought bigger things like vases. Then we went to a paper factory which was actually really interesting. They showed us the process of making paper and what kind of products they made with it, many of which get shipped to the US. They make some of the really pretty gift boxes and bags that we so often see, as well as stationary, photo albums, and more.
Last we went to a store called FabIndia, which is supposed to be a store with Indian clothing but meant to have a western feel. I didn’t get anything from this store but it was a really beautiful store. They had some really nice stuff that was similar to Anokhi in that I could see it all being sold for really expensive prices in the US.
At the end of the day Jess and I decided to go back to Anokhi for dinner because they had a really great organic café and we’ve been dying for some healthy delicious food. We took a rickshaw to get there, and on the way we were stopped by an Indian Wedding! It was like a whole parade going on with a band and elephants, camels, and tons of people. We had to walk through it to get to the café, which was hilarious because the two of us were wearing sweatpants while all these people were wearing extravagant outfits.
When we finally got there we had tomato, mozzarella, and basil salads, and homemade ravioli. I was seriously in heaven during this meal. It was the first meal I truly enjoyed on this trip. I also had fresh squeezed pineapple juice, which was honestly the best I’ve ever had. I’ve been trying to drink lots of juice because my blood sugar keeps dropping. Hopefully my appetite will return after the meal I got to finally enjoy ☺
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