India Trip – Day Twelve – Agra & Jaipur

I get up at about 05:50 after the loud prey music from outside pours into the room, no matter how much I try, I can’t go back to sleep. Every noise at the hotel seems to be amplified, people working in the corridors, telephones ringing, doors opening even toilets flushing.I finally get out of bed a 07:00 brush my teeth and go down stairs ready to leave at 07:30. we take the same bus we had the previous night to a bus stop that we board our deluxe bus that will take us all the way to Jaipur. It is supposed to take four hours but due to traffic it is more like six. I don’t really notice it though as I have my Ipod in my ears and am asleep for the majority of the journey, except for when we stop for a snack about half way there. I have a mars bar and it tastes good.

As we arrive at Jaipur bus station some locals see us on the bus and start running next to us trying to offer us auto rickshaws rides, I think from this point it is going to be a frustrating city.

I am not wrong as from the moment we get off the bus people swarm around us offering us rides, crap souvenirs and the most annoying I think are the people asking for money as this is the first time this trip they physically pull on your arm and leg, I am not very happy with this at all.

It takes quite a while for Anuj to arrange auto rickshaws for us but I am so glad when he does so I can get away from a kid pulling on my arm.

We arrive at the Tara Niwas which will be our hotel for the next two nights.

First impressions from the outside is that it looks like someone’s house, but on checking in to the room I think that it is the best this trip (not including Indian Habitat Centre, which is in a totally different league).

It is a big room, two beds, coffe table with chairs, desk, TV and wardrobe as well as a bath, all the others had showers only. It also had a slightly Mediterranean feel with a veranda outside the room.

We wash up quickly and go back down for lunch; I have chips and a cheese toastie, which turns out to be a cheese and tomato toastie, so I just take the tomato off.

After lunch we go into the centre of the old city with Anuj who after a brief orientation leaves us to our own devices.

I really don’t like this place half as much as all the other places, firstly the traffice is terrible the trip in took ages, secondly the pollution is really bad and third and main reason the people coming up to you and bothering you.

We see briefly the Wind Palace, City Palace and Observatory before we try to find a good restaurant. Anuj told us there were some good ones on MI Road, so I navigate us there down some very small alleys using the hotels basic map.

We finally get to the road but can’t find and restaurants so eventually after much searching we take a cycle rickshaw further down the road and in about five minutes arrive in an area with restaurants.

We finally decide on one called Niros and I go for a chicken chow mein, the other four decide to share a selection of curries.

When the meal is finished we take an auto rickshaw with all five of us squeezed in back to the hotel.

I phone Sarah from the front porch of the hotel and then go to bed.