Actually, my couchsurfer isn't even here because he's working in Delhi. Still, he allowed me to use his apartment, which just happens to be next to his mom's place.
Her mission seems to be stuffing my belly with some of the most delicious food I've ever tasted. This morning, she fixed handmade parathas. Nope, in her mind, two or three helpings is never enough, although I'm certainly not complaining.
To work off the calories, I've taken in many of Jaipur's sights: the palace/fort of Raja Man Singh,
an artistic gem
constructed in the late 1500s.
Dignitaries used to arrive by elephant, a tradition still in practice for tourists,
although there are reports the elephants are mistreated, which is why I
walked;
the Hawa Mahal, a pink, sandstone structure built so ladies of the royal court family could watch events in the city
.... tucked away safely behind shutters;
and Jantar Mantar, an 18th century
eclectic observatory.
It's easy to understand why Jaipur is known as the pink city.
Jaipur is also famous for blocks of emporiums selling everything from precious stones to pottery to fabrics.
It's a hectic city of more than two million people, but even commerce still slows down and steps aside for the bovines.
I'll leave you with my Good Samaritan story of the day. In addition to the Raja Man Singh fort, I also checked out another fort a few miles away. After catching a lift to the top, I decided to walk back down the long, winding, scenic road overlooking the city.
A few minutes into my journey an autorickshaw stopped. The driver said he already had a passenger, an innocent looking Japanese tourist, so he said he'd take me to the bottom of the mountain for free.
Nothing is free is India. There's always a catch. "Are you sure it's free?" I asked incredulously. "Yes, get in, " he replied.
I agreed, waiting for the pitch: a trip to a souvenir shop that just happened to be owned by his uncle, a sob story for a few rupees, an offer to take me on a tour of Jaipur for a "good price".
I waited in suspense, not expecting what he was about to reveal.
The man said he'd heard of more than one tourist being mugged at knife point while walking along the isolated road and said he was worried I might fall victim to the same fate.
When we reached the bottom of the hill, he wished me a safe journey and before driving off, left me with these words - "My father once told me money is very important, but he said life is even more important."
No scam. No sob story, just a driver who wanted to assist a stranger on his journey through India.
Tomorrow, I'm taking a bus back to Delhi, where I hope to spend a little more time with my couchsurfer friend, Jeet, prior to returning to Singapore later than night.
India is a hard place: pollution, noise, poverty, overcrowding, crime, a lack of personal space, illness, but in spite of the chaos, it possesses a unique charm that slowly wins over those who make the effort to visit.
Note: I wrote all of these entrees on paper while traveling through India, but with a lack of internet services, I was not able to post them until I returned to Singapore. I'm happy to say that I'm safe and sound, and I even managed to avoid coming down with any gastrointestinal problems in India, which is no small feat.
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