Off to the Amer (Amber) fort

Driver Vikram and our new guide Tahir pick us up at 9. We are hugely relieved to find he is a personable young man with a great sense of humour and an excellent command of the English language. Duncan arrives down in the lobby before me. "Where is your wife?" Tahir asks. "She must have got lost" Duncan replies, knowing my sense of direction. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" responds Tahir. I arrive at that point so Duncan doesn;'t have to answer THAT question!
It transpires that he is a dentist who started being a guide while he was at university, and finds he enjoys it more than dentistry, so does guiding in the busy season. Tahir's first marriage was arranged, but within a few months it became clear it wasn't going to work, so they managed to get a divorce - which is highly frowned upon in India. he is now happily married to a civil engineer, and they have an eight month old baby boy. (Yes we saw pictures!)
It is another 50 over match against India, so that is a hot topic of conversation. (Luckily we win!)
Jaipur is a city of 3.5M and has had a bit of town planning, and seems much more agreeable to us. We drive past the Palace of Winds (Hawa Mahal) is is a facade built onto a palace which allowed the women to see what is going on out in the street as they were not allowed to go out. (First steps to women's liberation in India???)

We wend our way through New Jaipur, and then through a city gate into the Old Jaipur, with its many markets - including men trading gemstones on the side of the road (for cash, so as to avoid taxes).

We are heading for the Amber fort, but the B is silent, so really Amer Fort. Part of it is still occupied by the Rajasthan Royal Family. Again, it is another fabulously symmetrical building, carved marble with inlay work, created by some of the craftsmen who ere left jobless after the Taj Mahal was built.

Some people got an elephant ride up, but Tahir was an Animal rights advocate and was very scathing. We had also been asked by Adventure tours not to do this - mainly because the baby elephants are parted from their family, and beaten until they do anything that their mahoot says.

So symmetrical!

The Courts of Judgement similar to ones we have seen elsewhere, but these are particularly beautiful

Apparently the adult elephants are quite well treated now.

The area involved is huge, and very well landscped

This is the only time we felt ripped off in India - mainly because the photo was not a good one, and these women asked for payment. But their bright saree were the drawcard for me. AND the man behind is cashing in on the $2 we paid each of them!!

Absolutely fabulous inlay work which stretched throughout these tall buildings. All with semi-precious stones

I loved these fenestrations so the women could look out, but not be in public view.

Over coffee we discuss the effects of being colonised by the British. It has been calculated that when colonisation started in 1758 India provided 22% of the World GDP with its gold, jewels and gems, tea, sugar, spices cotton and grains, but so much of the wealth was taken out that by the time of Independence in 1947, it was 1.8%. Wealth was taken out by the British soldiers who raped and pillaged after each conquest (there were 36 Indian states/districts), allowing the British Soldiers to fund the Industrial Revolution in Britain, and later expansion into the USA. At least under the British the states amalgamated and India is the largest democracy in the world today. Rajasthan has done better than some regions by realising that negotiation was better than resistance.

After further walks  through the Amer fort we drive back along the lake where there is a summer palace for the women of the Royal Household. They are trying to turn it into a luxury resort.

Selling legunes and spices

The sellers and beggars give Tahir a wide berth as turns on them and taunts them - why aren't you in school? Lots of pics in the next activity so I will give it a separate BLOG.