Jaipur is my favorite city so far. One of the aspects of India is the inherent knowledge how to drive in complete chaos. Going around the round-about is very interesting. There are cars, bicycles, tut tuts, push carts, dogs, cows, people and who knows what else moving around the center statue in all directions. If you are coming in you could have some alongside of you, you could also have some driving straight into you, while others are about to T-bone you on the side. I do not think that anyone actually goes around in the right direction.

The walls around the city are pink in color (although I think they are terra cotta). There are many archways signifying the entrance to the city. Another interesting feature are the shops. It is the first place we have been with covered sidewalks. When the shops were built, they were built up off the street with a covered walk in front of the shops. The merchants live above. That way one can walk without fear of getting run over by a vehicle.

The Amber Palace is not to be believed. The Maharaja of the area built this palace for he and his 12 wives. He also had 300 concubines. The craftsmanship is spectacular. His meeting room is called the “Hall of Mirrors” and there are reflecting mirrors, sparkling mica and at one time there were jewels all inlaid in marble. The view sweeps over the whole valley. A wall sits on top of the hills much like the Wall of China. At the top of the mountain is a fort. I loved the columns with the elephant heads holding up the floor above.

Since everyone told us that Jaipur was the place to shop, we spent the afternoon doing so. The fabrics are beyond your imagination. For someone like me, this is like going into a candy store. One piece of cloth after another was more beautiful than the next. It just amazes me these fabrics are not used more in styling clothes. The women of India wear the most engaging combinations of fabric. I am so envious that I do not get to have such style to wear every day.

We ended the day with a cooking class that was delicious. We cooked lamb and chickpeas in two separate coconuts and use the whey for the chicken marsala. We made naan and a delicious eggplant dish. We also cooked bread in the ashes and the coconuts. Our meal was delicious and it was fun to cook.

We went to a block printing village, Bagru, where all most all of the block printing in India is done. The Hindu people dye and print the fabric while the Muslims carve the block design. Designers will send designs to the village, a block will be made according to the design and will be printed, and sent back to the designer for their approval. Then the cloth will be produced all in this village. This village sells to the wholesaler. The material will be sent elsewhere to have things made from it.

And now to the reason we came: THE CAMEL FESTIVAL, We Can’t Wait.