Jaipur has almost as many people as the whole of NZ - apparently nearly 3.5 million but it feels like a provincial town. The CBD seems to be MI Road - you say it like " MI5 " but it looks more like a busy street in an industrial park with noise and dust everywhere and tons of traffic. I had lunch there on Wednesday at the Copper Chimney Restaurant as recommended by LP. and it was very nice food ($12) but the exterior looked awful and the interior was worn out and grubby but I think thats the way things usually are. It was airconditioned which made it a great spot to sit in comfort and watch the traffic go by.
I spent about 550 rupees on the lunch so couldn't really grizzle when the Autorickshaw guy outside afterwards wanted 600 rupees to take me 11km to the Amber Fort and back. There were lots of induian tourists and school groups there, and I had my photo taken numerous times by young men who liked my hat - this has been happening since i arrived. The Fort was massive and quite an amazing mix of huge courtyards and tiny rooms and narrow interconnecting passages, often with a patterned grill covering a window.
The Water Palace
Another surprise: large groups of pigs foraging among the rubbish on the streets - I saw dozens and dozens of them on the way back from the fort. Had a good nights sleep and today getting the bus to Pushkar, a much smaller town on a lake, about 4 hours from here. The Bus will be interesting.
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