Jaipur is the first destination where we went by train


Part 1: Travel Diary

Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Jaipur Travel Diary

Our first train in 1st class with air-conditioning from Udaipur is going well (at the same time if it goes badly with the 1st class, it is that there is a big problem) with the air-conditioning at bottom and sheet/cover/ear provided, we are in good company in this cabin of 4 beds. One of our neighbors stands out from the crowd: Indian, tall, handsome, young, punctual (he arrives 1 hour before the train leaves), open-minded (he leaves his stuff unattended, which shows a blind confidence in us), attention to detail (he told me to be careful when he saw that I bumped my head), surely of high caste and rich (he travels in 1st class and has 3 smartphones), it would have been the ideal bachelor if he didn’t snore EVERY NIGHT (just like our 2nd neighbor…). JB doesn’t sleep a wink at night. Me, I’m always a groundhog.

Note: If you’re wondering how we bought and booked our train tickets (3 months in advance anyway) from France, I wrote a huge article about it.

At 5:15 a.m., the controller knocks on our door to inform us of our imminent arrival in Jaipur. 1 hour later, we actually arrive in Jaipur in torrential rain.

Jaipur is a big train station. As soon as we arrive, we witness a chaotic scene where everyone jostles to get into the second class car (very cheap).

Then, we are a hundred of us to stick together in front of the station to avoid the rain. I don’t feel well in the middle of all these people, I take out my umbrella (nobody has one) and wait for the driver of the quiet hotel under the rain far from everybody (it’s also a way for him to spot us quickly). Note for the next trips: an umbrella is always useful (even if it is initially intended to protect from the sun…)!

Our hotel(Madhav Guesthouse, Booking link) is at 70 rupees from the city center (I measure the distance in rickshaw rates now lol) but the service is impeccable and the rooms are very clean. We spotted it a few days ago on booking.com, with a rate of -66%, which makes it the cheapest hotel we have ever booked in India. 6 euros per night, we obviously don’t have air conditioning at this rate, but the ceiling fan is more than enough. In India, the check-in time is a notion that does not exist, our room is already available at our arrival at 6:30 am for a nap.

Day 1: City Palace -> Wind Palace -> Amber fort

The hotel receptionist recommends that we take an Uber to go to the city center. Having heard about the insistent side of the Jaipur rickshaws, we follow his advice. And fortunately because the center of Jaipur is only a replica (or even worse) of Old Delhi. Add to that the mud from the rain this morning and you have all the elements to hate Jaipur forever. But driving around in a car saves us from a lot of this chaos. The old town is surrounded by walls, and everything is painted pinkish-red.



The area around City Palace is rather clean, with little traffic. The visit of City Palace itself isn’thing extraordinary, but we still love the Mughal architecture.









We pass by the Palace of Winds (Hawa Mahal) to have a look. We do not visit it inside because it is empty and not very interesting. The facade is really worth the trip, it is even more beautiful than on the photos, even if it is smaller than what we imagined.



We notice that several hundred or even thousands of mulsumans are walking in the same direction. The main road is temporarily closed and a voice is heard over the loudspeaker. We are Friday, one week before the end of Ramadan, it is time to pray, it seems that all the Muslims of the city have stopped their activity to come and pray at the big mosque. They bring with them a prayer mat and several water tanks are placed in the city to distribute water for ablutions. Everywhere the police redirect cars to other roads. And that lasts about an hour. We are very impressed, and we find it even more beautiful when a few meters away from there, we can see Jain, Hindu temples … I do not believe to have seen the drivers of cars or rickshaw grumbling. They just take another road. This mixture of religions and especially this mutual respect is a real lesson in tolerance.

We then have lunch in a bui bui. We can’t decipher the menu and ask the waiter which is the best dish. Without surprise he advises us the most expensive dish. We get by for 400 rupees (5 euros), it’s delicious even if we aren’t sure what we ate.

We take a Uber again to go to Fort Amber, hoping to enjoy the coolness of the rain again this morning. We missed it! The sun makes its reappearance and in spite of the 31 degrees, it seems that it is 41. The Uber wants to drop us down. Fortunately I did not fall into the trap. I ask that it deposits us at the carpark (much higher up) to avoid us 10 minutes of ascent on foot under 41 degrees. For the carpark, he has to pay 50 rupees (which he doesn’t ask us because the Uber tariff already includes this charge), that’s why he wanted to drop us down.

The fort more than compensates for the heat, as many corridors create refreshing draughts. There are many vaults, columns, balconies, domes. Truly magnificent! It looks more like a palace than a fort.





We got lost in the corridors and discovered the courtyards and balconies completely by chance. We are unable to retrace our steps, we see people downstairs and have no idea how to reach them. But we don’t put pressure on ourselves. If we don’t see everything, it doesn’t matter. The important thing is to appreciate what we see.

In front of the fort there is a small lake full of fish. The children throw bread to feed the fish while a woman tries to sell us corn to feed the pigeons. Goats, dogs, pigs, cows are walking quietly on the road.

Back in Jaipur, we have dinner with a Couchsurfer who lived 2 months in Nantes. The meeting is simple, full of laughter. She makes us discover her favorite café where she often comes with her girlfriends, overlooking Central Park (with a huge Indian flag). She teaches us that Indians are entitled to 5 weeks of holidays/year so they travel a lot too. We taste the pasta carbonara Indian way, I like the spicy side but JB does not like at all.

It rains a lot at night, which is very pleasant.

Day 2: Rest, massage

This is our glandouille day without a visit. We spend our time organizing our next days of travel (including the Taj Mahal, the most awaited visit of our stay in India) and watching Bollywood movies on TV. Even if it is in Hindi, the synopsis is written in English and with that, we can understand the rest of the film.

Appointment taken for an ayurvedic massage. Prices start at 900 rupees, which is very affordable. We choose a massage at 1400 rupees which lasts longer (70 minutes) and uses medicated oil. The ayurvedic massage is based on the benefits of the oil used, since they aren’t stingy on the quantity. It is also necessary to wait 1 hour before taking a shower for the oil to take effect.

I made a false move yesterday that resulted in a little pain while walking, and with this massage, I am fixed.

In short, we recommend that you come to Kerala Ayurveda Kendra to forget all the stress that Jaipur causes you. The little extra: they pay us an Uber to the hotel so that we avoid all the stress caused by the always super insistent rickshaw. And it’s always like that: pick up and drop off from/to the hotel for free.

We have dinner near the hotel, where there are carts full of good things to eat. One cart attracts our attention because there are about ten people around it while the other carts are almost empty. For 50 rupees, we are entitled to 2 omelettes & 2 delicious scrambled omelettes served with soft bread. We marvel at the dexterity of the cook and never tire of watching him cook.

Back at the hotel, we talk with the hotel owner and learn that the milk tea that I like so much in this hotel is prepared according to a family recipe and that the tea leaves are prepared by his mother. We also learn that if the tuk tuk are so aggressive in directing people to their favorite hotels it is because they take 50% commission. Hotels that see people arriving via tuk tuk must therefore increase the price to compensate for this commission, since the others (Agoda, Booking etc.) only take 15% commission. As a result, this boss refuses to give commissions to the rickshaw in order to keep the notoriety of his hotel.

In the course of the discussions, he tells us about his silver jewelry making workshop. There follows a fascinating discussion on the methods of manufacture (for those who do not know me, I do a little goldsmithing). I show him my handmade silver ring. He shows me a similar ring, which uses a different technique. I realize that with little means, one can still make beautiful things. Polishing, as I learned in France, necessarily requires emery leaves. He tells me that with a homemade solution and a wire brush, polishing is more durable. Here, the workshop is very small, poorly equipped, the welding machine is homemade, but the result is perfect. It reassures me to see this because I tell myself that it is quite possible for me to set up a small workshop like this, later on.

Part 2: Practical Tips

How to get there

From Udaipur, we took the night train (7h) in class A1 AC (The best of the best). We arrived in Jaipur at 5:45 am, which saved us one night in hotel. Here the Indian hotels aren’t strict with the schedules of check-in/check-out, we immediately had our room at the arrival.

Tips

• I find the center of Jaipur rather stressful and noisy. I recommend to choose a hotel a little far from the city center (for example our Madhav Guest House hotel, cheap, not far from the train station and in a residential area with lots of bui bui next to it)
• Buy a combined ticket at Rs. 400 per person for 2 days if you want to visit both Amber Fort/Hawa Mahal/Jantar Mantar at the same time. City Palace isn’t included in this ticket.
• Visiting Jaipur during Ramadan is an unforgettable experience (see our first day in Jaipur). We recommend you
• The monsoon period is really not that bad, on the contrary, it allows you to take advantage of the low season fares and the refreshing rains at night, which does not harm your trip at all.
• Prefer Uber to rickshaw especially if you have time. Uber is cheaper on distances between 2 and 5km, you have air conditioning and you won’t have to negotiate the price every time (it’s wearing out, rickshaws here are very aggressive vs. Delhi).
• Ask to be dropped off at the Amber Fort parking lot. The elephant ride is super fast and expensive. Long wait and it is only available in the morning.

Budget

• 100 rupees = 1.3 euros
• Hotel Madhav Guesthouse: Rs.450/double room/night with fan, without air-conditioning – reduced rate during low season
• Massage: from 900 rupees/person
• Food: 260 rupees/meal/person
• Uber: 70 rupees/run to go to the city center vs 100 rupees in rickshaw
• Uber: 350 rupees to go to Amber Fort, the same price for the return. A day rickshaw would have cost less (250 rupees) but the trip being quite long, we appreciated the air conditioning.

TOTAL: 12 250 rupees for 2 days, 2 nights for 2 people, or 163€ (train, massage included)
If we remove the massage and the train, it only costs 5,755 rupees or 76€

On the graph it is marked “Plane” but it is the train Udaipur – Jaipur that is taken into account.



Useful links

• Massage at Kerala Ayurveda Kendra Ayurvedic Center <- I highly recommend. 900 rupees for 50 minutes body massage, 1300 rupees for head to toe massage. Add 100 rupees for medicated oil. Bring cash. http://www. keralaayurvedakendra.com/
• Hotel Madhav Guesthouse <- great location, cheap, quiet and secure area, impeccable service, clean, they cook well for cheap, their milk tea is my favorite link Booking