KYQ4: Jaipur

Wednesday, 9 December 2009

Jaipur

Park Regis Hotel, Jaipur

We departed from Delhi at first light, travelling on the overcrowded Indian railways at a speed that was leisurely. The timetable was meticulously kept to and the seating and ticketing arrangements were organised with an empire-like care and attention to detail. It took over an hour to escape the trackside slums that followed the railway out of Delhi. The towns we passed through were littered with debris from passing trains and town garbage. Even at first light, it was being raked over by dozens of children.

Just before we arrived at Jaipur we passed a train that had overturned the day before killing 6 passengers and injuring 25 more. Given the huge dependency on rail travel in India and that the trains are so crowded, it is inevitable that occasional accidents will occur but the sight of the crash made us feel very vulnerable, as did the feral monkeys that screamed at us as we alighted the train at Jaipur and crossed the footbridge, which was clearly their territory.

Jaipur was an altogether more relaxed city than Delhi. We were transported by a fleet of tuk-tuks to a three-star hotel that was more akin to a hostel. After tea and some fruit, we were free to explore the city. It was buzzing with bikes and motorbikes and it was not far from the market area where we roamed randomly, staggered at the range of goods on offer from textiles to building materials. It felt safe and the visit over the next two days allowed us to establish a rhythm of life and to visit some quite spectacular locations.

An early morning start saw us visit the Red Fort, a quite magnificent building on the edge of town.