Jaipur

We drove 138 miles from Agra to Jaipur. The countryside was so interesting. Jaipur was built in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II. It is a planned city built with ancient Hindu rules as the colonial capital of a very colorful state. It was made attractive with the pink wash - a traditional color of welcome in 1853 in honor of the visit of Prince Albert of England.

Our journey of Jaipur begins

Donkey carrying bricks.  Pictures taken from a moving van.

Pictures of the Jantar Mantar, which is the largest stone and marble crafted 
observatory in the world.  The observatory has 17 large instruments,
 many of them are still in working order.

Sun dial that tells the time

Twelve different Zodiac structures  -  Saggitarius

Lane is standing by Aries

Many colors of Jade were on display at the factory

These stone cutters perform back breaking work all day long

Amazing what the polishing wheel can do

Counting the jade stones

The dye vats at a rug factory

This guy sits like this all day long

Many rugs take a year to weave

She is spinning the yard

Cutting and combing the fibers from the rug

Rugs for Sale...hundreds of rugs

Rae really wanted this rug but Rob talked her out of it

Weaving is very hard.  Just sitting down 
on the piece of board was hard!  I didn't
know I had to pay this guy for weaving lessons.

The Biria Mandir (Modern Hindu Temple)
 to attend an "aarti' prayer ritual ceremony.

The touring group...what fun we had together.

Everyone stood up for the ceremony - no chairs. 
 Quite interesting ceremony that is performed three times a day.

You gotta love those cows

Shoes for sale....

We took a ride in this cart

Goats just walking around the street

How about this sign:?

Street vendor selling his wares.

Rice and dried beans for sale

This vendor was making something with eggs.

Flower leis were sold on the streets.

A cell phone is very popular in the middle of century old customs.

Carrying water to their home

Just enjoying life

Baby chicks of all colors "for sale"

Rice and grain for sale.

Maybe you could squeeze one more person on...just try!

This woman has a very large, heavy load to carry

Riding a motorcycle in her sari..they have helmets on!

Tractors and trucks are decorated so fancy

Motorcycle along with the cows...stopping at the Minute Mart

Not much movement from these sheep on a hot afternoon

The cow dung and tree limbs are stored fuel

The family has a satelite

Sweet little children...so well dressed

Blocks of ice to be delivered

Very fancy doors to these humble homes

Very loving and kind to their children

They  have built themselves a very humble home out of straw

The local barber shop

Skinny looking camel

Building painted pink in honor of the 1853 visit of Prince Albert

Quite an interesting roof design under the stop lights.

Looks like this man is making purple curtains.

Water truck giving the trees and grass a little moisture

Refugee from Bangladesh  live in these "homes" for
several years until they can apply to stay in the city. 

Majaraja's City Palace, the former Royal residence part of it has
been converted into a museum.  A small portion is
 still used by the Royal Family of Jaipur.

We had to pay some money to have this picture
 taken with these important dudes.

The women of the court could watch the parades out of the top
 windows where no one could see their faces.

The future King and his young wife live in the top two floors. 
 When they are in their residence, the flag flies on top.

This little boy wanted to touch the snake and he
 wanted to stand by those three brave men!

Just a little bit of trash!  Our guide said the debris is
 cleaned up once a year...hard to believe!

Our last tour in Jaipur was a visit to the Amber Fort to ride
 an elephant for about 30 minutes.  We loved our adventures in 
India but now we are ready to return home to our family.  
What a magical time to spend 365 days 24/7 together.
TAKE US HOME TO STATESBORO,  GEORGIA  USA