Meet Beni, the man who, against all odds, managed to make us like Jaipur.
LINK : Jaipur, the pink city, take two. Back to March 2015
When visiting Yantra Mandir, we were able to purchase a "big" ticket, allowing us to visit 4 monument over 2 days. Albert Hall Museum isn’t far from the center, so it’s very easy to get there.
The museum was named after Kind Edward VII (Albert Edward) after his visit, in 1876. The construction started the same year.
Maybe even more than the treasures it contains, the architecture of the building is striking.
And on the way back we meet an awkward guy...
This is thanks to couchsurfing that a while after, we met Beni. His kindness and curiosity made it easy to befriend him. When the vast majority of people have a hard time to accept the idea of leaving everything to travel, Beni has one dream: a 6 months trip to Europe! This fortunate encounter was enough to paint a more humane picture of our stay in
Jaipur.
After sharing our mixed experiences with him, he decided to take us to one of his favorite places, the quiet heights of the Amer city, the old Rajahstan capital until 1070, lying 10km from Jaipur.
Small temples were built on the sides of the many hills around the city. The panorama is stunning, we can spot the hydrolic reservoirs of Amer.
From there, we start a 45 mins climb up to the plateau on the other side of the hill. We can hear peacocks all around us, safely hidden in the bushes. A few hares flee before us.
It is said this natural terrace was the meeting point of Maharajahs with tiger hunting on their mind. Maybe that’s the reason tigers have become extinct there...
Still on Beni’s on his moped, we drive up to highest hill North of Jaipur.
There he teaches us how to fly a kite he had borrowed from children!
(Yes, the small dot in the upper right corner: that’s our kite!)
We remained there for a sweet moment, watching the children play, a full view of the city on the background.
We walked a bit along the battlements circling Jaipur through the Aravalli mountains enclosing the valley.
Beni drives us back to our hotel afterwards, where he gives us his phone number: he wants us to discover the Holi colour festival in his family!
We chose to end this memorable day by dining at the Peacock restaurant! It is said be a must see in Jaïpur...As a matter of fact, it WAS very unique, right out of a Wes Anderson movie.
At last, genuine cuisine. Tasty dishes, lovingly prepared, where you can feel all the pride of Indian culture with each bite.
The restaurant stand on top of the famous Pearl Palace Hotel. Some would argue we ate «Indian food according to European standards». We like to think we just enjoyed «a piece of well preserved Moghul heritage».
The reception being overcrowded, we’re given the unusal solution of sharing a table with a couple from Quebec. Eating Indian food with a Canadian couple, in India, is not something we expected!
The display of luxury isn’t really reflected on the price of the rooms: 2500Rs/night...So yes, as expected, book 6 months beforehand if you want to enjoy the perfectly balance of kitsch flamboyance and intimate ambiance at every corners.
We fell in love with the place, a real breath of fresh air during our stay!
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