Still Jaipur (01.03.08)

Jantar Mantar. We’ve been looking for it for a couple of minutes. It shouldn’t be far away from Hawa Mahal, according to the map. We’re asking a guide of Canadian trip to show us the way. Ok. Everything is clear. Now we’re passing few vendors and reaching Tripolia Gate. In this part of city is much calmer as in the centre. Well, instead of Jantar Mantar we’ve reached first City Palace Complex. 100 rupees. We’re watching it only from the outside: yellow walls, mosaics, a small cannon next to the main door. A lot of white tourists. We’re resting in the shade, near the entrance and the guard is keeping an eye on us all the time.
Finally, Jantar Mantar. We’re on the way. The Indian Kingdom of astronomy. The biggest and the best preserved among the other 4 Jantars. Wow. Strange buildings, yellow, pink, brown. A lot of information boards. First, we’re going by some yellow round „buildings” – Ram Yantra, which is used to calculate the azimuth. Then we’re noticing zodiac signs in form of triangle constructions, a sundial, measuring the time exact to 2 seconds, complicated tools to calculate the time of solar eclipse and the movements of planets. Stone, marble, the play of colours, crowds of people.
We’re hiding from the sun in the shade, on the grass, near the sundial. Yeah, it is amazing. So it seems that Jaipur can show its nicer face…
I’m wondering if its true, I mean the thing with the sunset. The pink city looks then extremely attractive. Well, let’s check it! We’re going to the main gate of the old city, sitting on a wall near a building opposite of the gate and watching, and waiting. And nothing happens. The sun sets and the colours are still more less the same. Where are all these tones of pink praised in a guidebook?! Or maybe we’ve chosen the wrong place? And we were supposed to see elephants and monkeys… Well, I’ve seen some monkeys but not as much to agree that Jaipur is the city of monkeys. And I still haven’t seen any elephant here.
!!! And here it comes! The elephant! Treading proudly down the main street, carrying 2 Indians on its back. They’re happy that we’re taking photos of them.
Maybe we really haven’t reached the most attractive, over-monkeyed, and over-elephanted and over-pinked parts of the city. Maybe. But anyway we spared a lot of time to let the city show us its overrated image.
We have a train after 10 p.m.. Finally we’ll get some rest and sleep. But at night there’s a real snoring concert. Each of the surrounding Indians is snoring in a different way, making various sounds. A huge dirty sleeping room, rushing through sleepy Rajasthan.