The Pink City of Rajasthan - Jaipur

Lovely Jaipur!! That is what I can remember about Jaipur after more than a year visiting this city. Iy has everything as far as I concern, I mean, there are many interesting places, the heritage site, good restaurant and nice shopping places for cheap stuffs. The Amber fort is amazing though the horrible heat might be too much to adapt with, and the amazing Hawa Mahal is just as stunning though the bamboo scaffolder covering the whole palace was a little upsetting. I spent the most in this city and bought myself fancy sandel, skirts, colourful umbrella (not to be used in the rain though) and lots of souvenirs.  

We started our city trip pretty early in the morning, around 8.30 am. And our first destination was the Amber Fort. To get to the fort, all visitors need to ride an elephant uphill and it was pretty fun. The elephant ride costed Rps 200 per person, and the entrance fee itself is Rps 250 per person. And you have to tip the elephant 'rider' as well. If you don't, they will ask, and if you give too little, they will ask for more. You can either ignore him, or give more. Elephant rides are only available until certain period of time and each elephant has limited number of trips allowed. There was an incident where one of the elephant ran amok after making quite a number of trips ups and down, to and from the fort. 

Like any other forts, Amber fort is very unique and really. I can't recall the overall size of the fort. Not all area is accessible, though if one has a lot of time to kill, exploring the underground tunnel may be a good idea. The tunnel leads to the other fort at the upper hill, Jaigarh Fort. I have the feeling that tunnel is spooky, dark and narrow. I think I am beginning to feel claustrophobic. 

Amber Fort

Magnificient Amber Fort 

It was hot, but will be very pleasant during winter

Elephants on duty

Lining up to pick up curious visitors

Nice make up for the elephant

A garden on the lake

My favorite building in Amber Fort. Lovely paintings and decoration@Ganesh Pol entrance

Another area of the fort on the upper hill

Ceiling with pieces of small mirrors and really beautiful decorations

Another masterpiece

Sheesh Mahal

Observation tower, I presume

Please be reminded not to spend money here yet. Items sold by the street sellers are considerably cheap but will be much cheaper to shop in the town.

Jal Mahal

From Amber Fort to Jaipur city, we stopped by the road just to have a glimpse on a palace built in the middle of a lake, called Jal Mahal. Not sure what was the history, or facts about this palace but Google would definitely be helpful on this.

Jantar Mantar

After a few minutes drive from Jal Mahal, our driver dropped us at Jaipur city and we were on our own since the major attractions are close to each other, and the shopping arcades as well. We did the shopping first before visiting the attractions. I was so tempted with the fancy umbrella (made of embroidered cloth), although some people think it was pretty impractical to buy an umbrella which can't keep you from being wet. But during this mid day, this fancy, colourful umbrella helped a lot in protecting me from the extreme sun ray and I was glad to buy several umbrellas (love the patterns, colours and embroidery).

So we visited Jantar Mantar to get some information on the astronomy. Most of the structures are huge and I thought people in the past was brilliant. The visit to Jantar Mantar, which is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, would be fun if if we can totally understand the function of each structure. There are descriptions written but more on the history of each structure rather then the operational explanation.

We spent quite some times here as there were benches under the trees and we were able to shelter from the extreme sunlight and mid day heat. We haven't had lunch yet so we munched on the tit bits just and drank lots of mineral water to refresh ourselves. 

Near Jantar Mantar, there is another attraction, the City Palace, just less than 100 m away. But we were not interested to see merely because of the more expensive entrance fee than Jantar Mantar. And on top of that, we have visited the amazing Amber Fort so we thought it would be less impressive. So we headed to Hawa Mahal. By the way, the entrance fee for Jantar Mantar is Rps 200.

Palace of the Wind (Hawa Mahal)

Hawa Mahal is the most important landmark for Jaipur city. No one will forget this lovely palace whenever visiting Jaipur. But during this visit, I was so disappointed to see those bamboo scaffolders covering the palace. I didn't expect this but seeing the palace had already made me drop my jaw. Entrance fee is Rps 300 but like any other attractions in India (most of them), additional charge is applied to video camera.

After Hawa Mahal, we walked around the bazaar and bought several items before heading back to our room. That was the end of our day in Jaipur.

The Monkey Temple

We left Jaipur around 8.30 am to get to Fatehpur Sikri, and the to Agra. On our way to Fatehpur Sikri, we stopped at a temple, the Monkey Temple, which is 45 minutes from Jaipur city. The temple was interesting and as the name implies, there are a lot of monkeys there, especially at the pool. I think this place is more like a shrine.

The temple was built in between to hills. It was very calm and not many people there. There is no entrance fee but donation is anticipated, though we were charged for Rps 50 for our camera., each Ouchhh....

The monkeys here were not the tame monkeys and they seemed to be very aggressive and fierce. Most probably it was the mating period, or maybe the females protecting their babies. But whatever it was, we didn't want to get involve in this monkey business, so we left the temple in less than 15 minutes.

Four hours later, we reached Fatehpur Sikri, another UNESCO World Heritage site in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

The Romantic City - Udaipur

The route to Udaipur from Ranakpur was an ordinary one. It is the only route with a proper highway in Rajasthan. It was really hot outside and on our left and right were all stony hills. It was like passing through a barren land with nothing on it, only us. Mirages were almost everywhere along the road and I kind of remember the scenes in the movies where truckers need to pass through the desert road. Assured that nothing would interest me, I decided to just to sleep, whilst my buddy with her travel book.

Around noon, we arrived Udaipur but we didn't go directly to the hotel. We stopped by at a garden, known as Saheiyon Ki Bari. The garden was 'wet' with fountains and pools everywhere. At least it helped to cool down the environment. There is a small museum displaying basic knowledge of science. There is no entrance fee to enter this garden.

Saheiyon Ki Bari

Later, we checked in at Raj Palace Hotel and rested. We had lunch in the hotel restaurant and later we walked to the Udaipur City Palace. Entrance fee is Rps 300 with camera fee Rps 150 each. Udaipur is known to be a romantic city for it has the romantic view during sunsets and romantic settings of the posh hotels. Well, the romantic environment will be well defined only if a couple is willing to spend an exorbitant amount of money for the least romantic items. The cost of the cheapest juice in a restaurant facing the sunset would cost around Rps 300 a glass.

From certain part of the palace, the views of the lakes, Fatih Sagar lake and Picchola lake were, however, awesome. We were strongly recommended to take a boat ride across the lake but the price didn't sound nice at all. And taking a boat ride during mid day is obviously not a good idea. So we just spent some time in the palace where the air was much cooler and relieving.

There is a museum displaying various weapons used by the king/maharaja during the battles in the past. Judging by the size of the weapons, I bet people in the past must be physically huge and strong. Otherwise they would not be able to carry the weapons.

Udaipur City Palace

The main gate/entrance to the palace.

Different palace/fort in India has their own special decorations. In Udaipur City Palace, I think it is not that lavishly decorated, compared to Amber Fort in Jaipur but it does have special paintings/carvings which is much more interesting. Most of the decorations in Indian palaces/forts have a little bit of Persian influence. Obviously reading the history books will explain how does this influence occur. Unfortunately I am lack of such resources.

One of the most expensive hotels in Udaipur. One needs to take a boat ride to get there.

My favorite spot in this palace

Door after door

There are several shops in the palace compound selling really cool stuffs, and expensive too. I was tempted to buy the shining and shimmering bangles but after a second thought, I didn't buy anything. It was not possible to bargain here and things would be much cheaper outside the palace.

After the visit to city palace, we returned to the hotel. We have a lot more time to kill in Udaipur, so we decided to go to the internet cafe. As for me, I did have some work to check so I took the chance to ensure everything is in good order back in the office. There is free wifi in the hotel but I need to used a computer to check some data from the external hard drive.

So basically our day in Udaipur was an ordinary one but at least we know how the city is like. Things would be much more interesting during winter time, not during summer.

From Udaipur, we visited the last city in Rajasthan, Jaipur, where things were more interesting here, and cheaper.

The Splendid Turkey - Istanbul

17th March 2014

We took MAS flight to Istanbul this flight was the cheapest when I surveyed from the net. IT was much cheaper to book return flights but since our (our means my mother and I) trip starts from Istanbul and ends at Madrid, Spain (with 2 transits in Dusseldorf and Abu Dhabi).

This was my first time flying with MAS and to be honest, I am proud to have MAS as Malaysia's official airline. It seemed that all the bad comments on this airline were just over-elaborated. It's normal for human being to pinpoint on the flaws and seldom we appreciate the perfection. But if I have the opportunity to fly again (don't know when since I am jobless now), I would definitely want to fly with MAS again. AirAsia is great, only if I manage to get the best airfare. Hehe..

The flight time was 12 hours, the longest flight time for me, so far. But I didn't feel the lengthy time as I get to watch movies as I like and sleep quite well during the fly. 

We arrived Istanbul around 6.45 am. After the immigration clearance, we changed some lira at the money changer. Then I was looking for the Metro station but later mother told me to just get a cab to get to the hotel. Well, it was a regret to take the cab as the driver didn't know where our hotel is. We were charged 40 lira and we were like 500 meters away from the hotel. The cabby dropped us near the Sultanahmet tramway and thank god I have installed Tripadvisor Istanbul city guide. All I need to do was to activate the GPS on my phone, and start navigating. Just before the Blue Mosque, we stopped by at a cafe. Mum was hungry as it was pretty cold that morning. We had mixed grilled and it was lovely. However, the price wasn't that nice. Mind you that as long as you are in Sultanahmet, you have to spend additional amount of lira and impossible to get cheap stuffs here.

After heavy breakfast, the cafe crew guided us to get to Hotel Serenity. He didn't really know the hotel location but at least he brought us to the right direction. I used the GPS and finally we reached the hotel. Our hotel is super near to the Blue Mosque and I was glad to pick the right hotel. We dumped our luggage in the room and relaxed. I thought of having some sleep but the longer we stay in the room, the lesser time we have to spend in Istanbul.

So around 10.30, we went out and wander around the Blue Mosque ares. But lighting was not so good to take pictures of the Blue Mosque so I saved it for later. Syrian refugees scattered around the historical area and I wasn't sure if they were truly Syrian, or just local Turkish taking the advantage of the crisis in Syria to earn extra lira. My god forgive me!!

The air was nice and the surrounding view was pretty. Colourful flowers bloomed but not at the peak yet. Tulips were a lot but most of them were still in the bud state. I might have sat on the bench and enjoy the beautiful view but that was not possible this time.

Obelisk of Tutmosis, opposite the Blue Mosque

Sultan Ahmet Camii a.k.a Blue Mosque

 There are several souvenir shops near the mosque and we surveyed the prices. It was written they 'Fixed Price' so we would not buy anything from these shops. Walking further towards Hagia Sofia, there is a garden and fountain which is perfect for enjoying the environment. And there was a guy approaching us, promoting the Bosphorus cruise. Actually I did plan of taking the cruise and took this chance to purchase the tickets. It was 10 Euro per person. We were told to wait under a tree where that guy showed us a group of people who have purchased the tickets. We were quite worried about this scam thing but to see a lot of people would join the cruise, so our worries subsided.

We waited for 15 minutes, before the huge group of people start to walk downhill behind Hagia Sofia, heading towards the pier. I don't really know what pier was that as there is no signboard there. And it seemed that someone did have a good time plucking the sitar by the bank.

A guy and his sitar.

 The ferry docked and we boarded the ferry. The cruise took 2 hours and it was nice to see Istanbul, both the European and Asian side, via Bosphorus strait. Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace were amazing when viewed from the ferry. It was unfortunate for us that one of the museums were closed on Monday. So, seeing the buildings were good enough. However, the weather was not good enough for perfect shots. It was quite misty, especially on the European side whilst it was clear on the Asian side.

Topkapi Palace seen from the cruise

We cruise passed through the Golden Horn bridge (or Leonardo bridge as it was designed by Leonardo Da Vinci), which is the landmark that we are entering the Golden Horn area. Golden Horn is actually an estuary and a deep natural harbour which was important as protection during the Byzantine empire from the invasion of Constantinople.

Galata Tower at the European side of Istanbul

Oh, by the way, if one intends to take this cruise, ensure that you get a seat at the upper deck, otherwise it would be difficult to take pictures if seating at the lower, glassed deck. But be prepared to feel cold especially when it approaches sunset. And don't forget to but some snacks to kill the time or if you feel sleepy, munching some snacks would help. Pity mother that she was asleep 45 minutes before the cruise ends.

To be honest, the cruise was a little boring and too long. There might be other cruise operators with more interesting service but need effort to look for it.

This posh building is a hotel

Rumeli Fortress

Rumeli Fortress and Fatih bridge

Bosphorus strait behind

 The cruise ended at the pier where we embarked the ferry. So we have to walk uphill towards Hagia Sofia and it was a little tiring. To distract from the discomfort, we had mixture of nut while walking. It was not a proper thing to do, I know, but it was essential to keep on walking as the day was ending.
We didn't really know where to go but then mother wanted to go the Grand Bazaar.

So we kept walking, and stopped for awhile near Basilica Cistern and based on the signs, we arrived Grand Bazaar. It was 3rd entrance, if I remember it correctly. It was really a tempting moment to enter this bazaar but as I have already set in mind that this bazaar was not worth for shopping, I manage to refrain myself from shopping excessively. The fridge magnets, the potteries, and other stuffs were AMAZINGLY expensive and I was not interested to haggle at all. But mother seemed to have fun shopping in Grand Bazaar. It was weird this time because she didn't haggle hard. She got herself cushion covers, table cloths, hand-woven bags (I don't think they are hand-woven), and a few others. I just got myself a pair of boots and fridge magnets. Turkish delights seemed to be great gifts for friends so I bought them too.

The display of various types of teas was very attracting. I was quite surprised to see those tea sold includes variety of dried flowers. Wondering how it tastes like, I bought the 'Love Tea', made of rose buds, lemons, chrysanthemum and several other flowers.

Various types of teas

The shops selling items using stained glasses attracted me the most. I just love colours, glitters and lights so this was a good chance for me to treat my eyes, and my camera lens as well. I did think of buying this but due to limited luggage space, I kept my intention until my next visit to Istanbul (only god knows when).

Not only the shops that contribute to the colours of Grand Bazaar, the design and decoration of the ceilings also make the place look unique and alive. I couldn't remember visiting this kind of bazaar but this was truly worth to explore, worth to see and worth to visit even if you don't wish to shop.

Painting on the ceiling

Most of the shopping bags are my mother's, not mine.

 I thought we have spent around 2 hours in Grand Bazaar, and my spine was signaling stress. I told mother to finish up the shopping thing and we exited the bazaar around 5 pm. We stopped by at a restaurant to have early dinner and since mother couldn't walk any longer, resting our pair of feet would sound great.

One thing I don't like about Istanbul is that, the men seem to be arrogant especially at the Grand Bazaar and the restaurants. I guess it is true what most people have said on the treatment that you would expect when there is 'no man by your side'. Seriously dude, if you come to Malaysia, no one will care about your presence if you insist with that kind of double-standard attitude.

The sun was setting and the temperature was dropping fast. Actually we got lost for a while trying to return to the hotel. I was worried that mother would aware about it so I kept on walking confidently, as if I knew the way. Thank god when finally we reached a junction where the Blue Mosque was right in front of our nose. Mother complained again about her aching feet so we have to stop again near the mosque, though I was about to run to the hotel due to the near freezing temperature. To reduce the tension, I suggested to mother to take some pictures around Blue Mosque. So we did a last minute photographing in Istanbul before returning to the hotel.

Blue Mosque at dusk

In the hotel, we repacked our luggage and ensure all items bought were properly arrange. We didn't have time to pack tomorrow as we have to leave early in the morning to catch the early morning flight to Kayseri. Good night Istanbul.