We've only been here a few hours, and I like Jaipur much more than Delhi. It was very much not what I expected for a capital of 3 million, as it looks like a small town. It's also located in Rajasthan, which seems appropriate. I've never been to a -stan before, but this place matches what my mind imagined one would be. Dusty, dark skinned folks with a lot of stucco buildings.

Getting to our hostel was pretty easy, and the traffic here is ever so slightly less than in Delhi. Despite it being 3 o'clock, we set out to see the sights starting with the City Palace. Like the Red Fort, it was a sprawling complex of museums and buildings. While the outside had plenty of photo ops, all the museums were one room sort of affairs with guards to scold people who took photos. They said it was a 500rs fine if you did, and they were pretty eager to point that out. Anyway, only a few places inside would be worthy of photos. The plazas and intricate architecture was the real sight.

On the way out, we stumbled upon the outside of the Hawa Mahal. One of the main sights of the town, it's hard to describe. It's like a big wall with non functional windows on it? It looks really impressive, and after getting our pics we went on to the local market.

The local market is quite...markety. Really cramped with lots of energy, I quite liked it. However they mostly sold Indian clothing, which while colorful, after you've seen one shop you've seen 90% of them. We picked up a few things, and decided to head back to the hostel. On the way back we saw a cafe with a great view across the street. A super friendly Indian dude invited us up, and chatted with us for a bit. Turns out he lived in Rio, and is just home for the holidays. The cafe belongs to his family, and they put him to work. He's had quite an interesting life overall, and works as a surfing instructor. Nice guy, and a nice change of pace to interact with someone who didn't try to cheat us.

The next morning we set out to see the Amber Fort, one of the other big attractions of Jaipur. It was about 15km outside of town, and we opted for an Uber in the morning. I'm learning Uber in India is pretty great, as it's usually cheaper than a tuk tuk. At least for me when you add the "foreigner tax" on top of it. The Amber Fort itself is really impressive, and my favorite place so far. It looks like The Great Wall actually, as it's borders snake over the mountains. The way up to the top was very Aladdin, with us following an elephant caravan (not too closely). As for the fort itself, it's hard to describe. Basically a sprawling complex of plazas and rooms overlooking other things, it's a giant maze of an adult playground. I think some pics would help to describe it better than I could.



Oh right, we also got a blessing with a dot. Those are called... bindis? Is that right? Probably not. Not having Internet to call Uber out here, we took a bus back. A really local sort of affair, I would not be surprised if someone brought chickens on board. But at 10rs each, it was hard to beat. It also passed Jal Mahal, a really cool looking place in the middle of a lake. And... that's it. You can't go into it, which kind of sucks and seems like a giant missed opportunity.

After a quick rest at the hostel, we went to see the last sight of note in Jaipur, the inside of the Hawa Mahal. Again, it's sort of a plaza, adult playground sort of affair with lots of tunnels and rooms. You could also climb up other top and peer out the windows to see all the people like us taking photos.

After a stop to the ATM, and a light dinner, that was it for Jaipur. As is our habit, we woke up the next morning to catch a bus to Agra. Better known as the home of the Taj Mahal, I hear the city is a giant shit hole aside from the Taj and Agra Fort. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. After Old Delhi set the bar really low for kindness, Jaipur set it really high. Let's hope Agra continues that.

One final note, you may have noticed that I haven't talked about the food we've been eating. I can tell you it is all fucking delicious, and I think I'm going to make the food it's own blog entry. Ella and I love Indian food, and that's the one thing India is living up to its expectations on.

India, here we come.

Ella had always been interested in visiting India, and we talked about organizing a trip there a few months ago. I was all in because it wasn't too far, expensive, and most importantly, I haven't been there before. Also, we both love Indian food, so why not?

We flew out Christmas Eve morning to Delhi. Everything was easy peasy airport wise, although I am skeptical of their "Best Airport in the World 2016" claim. I've always heard Singapore's Changi holds that position, and it is actually a nice airport. Delhi's is fine, but their 70s decor and chaotic immigration process, I can't hold it in high distinction. This was a preview of what was to come.

Our hostel was in Old Delhi, or more appropriately Ancient Delhi. I remember making a comment about how Manila was so dirty, it made me want to burn my shoes to dispose of them. Delhi is dirty in a different way. The streets were oddly free of trash in comparison. However, they were full of a lot of shit. Birds, animals, people - walking is a careful ballet exercise. All the while, the air is thick and smoggy, reminding me a lot of Beijing. So, appearance wise, it is not a nice looking place.

We still had a few hours before sunset, and set out to see the Red Fort. One of the big attractions in Delhi, we were fairly close to it, but still opted for a tuk tuk after a local told us it was dangerous to walk there. We bargained hard and got a very friendly guy to take us, who was definitely taking a roundabout way. I thought about saying something, but I hardly know if the street I was thinking of is one-way, has bad traffic, etc.. He stopped and said he was taking us to a government office to buy tickets, because they are cheaper there. We said no thanks, but he was very insistent we would save money. I  said we were not interested, and he continued to protest. Finally I told him if he wasn't going to take us, we were going to leave. He told us to go, which I think revealed how much of a scam he was trying to pull. Now further than when we started, we got another tuk tuk and arrived without incident.

Unfortunately both it and the local mosque were just closing. So, going back to our hotel via rickshaw, the day was kind of a wash. Something I love about the traffic in Delhi though, is that there is a sense of community when you're stuck in it. The drivers chat to each other, I assume in their mutual complaints for the "idiot" who is holding up everyone, or how terrible XYZ is. At least, they always seem "complainy" as they talk. But I'm also impressed with the sense of coordination they have. There will be some impassable jam that occurs, and out of nowhere passerbys jump to the rescue, coordinating the movement of different cars, cars, tuk tuks, carts, etc. to clear it.

After an early night we started equally early to try Jama Masjid. A large mosque in Old Delhi, we were dropped off by a gate, then shooed away to another one. Outside an extremely rude person said we needed to buy a ticket. Online it had said entry is free, so I refused. He began pushing us, which was not appreciated. Another guy came over who seemed much more calm, and I said we were willing to buy a ticket, let's just go to the ticket office. After much arguing and insisting rude guy let us do that. I asked the worker there if we needed to purchase a ticket. He said foreigners do. Now, perhaps this was a scam and office guy gets slipped 50 rupees later. But our hands were pretty tied at this point, so we just sucked it up and paid. We also went to the top of a tower, which I guess has the best view of Old Delhi around. But just to give you an idea, the air is so hazy that when I took pictures, my camera automatically applied the settings for "Document". It is not a pretty place.

The mosque itself is fine, but I think the only thing of note is how open it is in a place decidedly not open, as Delhi is crammed with tons of people and streets. The next stop was Red Fort then, which is more like a complex than one building. Inside were several museums, although I found them a bit lacking. A lot of pictures with stories, which is nice, but I can see pictures and read on the internet. I want to see things. The buildings inside though were really cool looking, and on a clear day would make for some nice photos. Overall it was a nice change from the rest of Delhi. People were very nice, the shopkeepers fair (I mean, how much lower than $1 for a scarf can you go?), and we saw a lot of families just having a day out.

After we went to Gurudwara Sisganj Sahib (try saying that three times fast) a Sikh temple. We had to ditch our shoes and wash our feet, which was probably needed. It was a nice enough temple, and the guy near the entrance gave me a loaner head scarf. We just kind of took in the sights of a religion we don't understand, and warmed up a bit from the cold. After that, it was back outside to Chandni Chowk market. The thing is though, it's hard to see when one market ends on one begins. Delhi is so covered with vendors, the entire place is a market. We saw some specialized sections (like the 'everything paper' section), but I couldn't really point to where the market is. It's just this general area, I guess.

We had just about had it for the day and went to the metro station to go home. Holy cow (pun intended). What a mess that place is. Not to mention so, so many people skipping line. Some would just stand up behind the gate near the counter and ask others to buy a ticket for them. They stood there a long time, and I can't imagine that's faster. How about you get in line and wait your damn turn? When we arrived at the train station, we wanted to ask about a train to Jaipur the next day. Again, rampant line cutting, except this time they'd just walk up the exit and push in front of you. I had just about had it at that point, and scolded this guy who tried to push his way in front of us.

"I just need one second please."

"So does everyone, please wait in line. "

"Only a.."

"Wait in line."

"Just a... "

" WAIT. In line."


Another man chimed in, and he went to the back. I can understand manners, or lack thereof. But that's just common sense. You think we're all waiting in a line for no reason?

Anyway, our efforts were for nothing anyway. After getting the run around to two different counters, failing to understand the ticket machine, and seeing the comical ballet that is boarding an Indian train, we decided to take a bus instead. And that's where we are now, on the way to Jaipur on a surprisingly comfortable bus. We even got a free bottle of water, so we're pretty much the 1% of India. During a snack and toilet stop I noticed how blue the sky was. I can only hope it stays that way, along with Jaipur folks having a stronger idea of morality and sense.