Jaipur, Agra and Doha

Our day in Jaipur started early, around 6 a.m. We had one day to see the city and wanted to maximize all the time we had! Michael and Sarah coordinated the remainder of the trip through private guides and did an amazing job! Our guide BK met us at the base of the Amber Palace, which is also called the Amer Fort or Amber Fort. To get to the entrance, we took a Jeep and traveled up. The roads are narrow and our tourist van wouldn’t have made it.

The fort is located on top of a high hill and is known for its design of pale yellow and pink sandstone with white marble. There are four main sections with their own courtyards used for entertaining, praying and celebrating military victories. The women observed many of these celebrations rather than participating in them, and there are windows that allow them to look down on the festivities.

After the fort, we did a quick drive by of the Jal Mahal, or Water Palace, which is a palace surrounded by a lake. It is accessible by boat, and was never intended to be a palace, but rather a hunting getaway lodge. It’s currently closed to visitors, but may open again!

Following the Jal Mahal, we drove to the City Palace and this, readers, is where I no longer have notes or detailed recollection of the trips. This post has been half written in my drafts for a couple years now, waiting to be published. Below this paragraph, are pieces of the remaining few days and some fun facts I remember from the trip.

The main industry of Jaipur is gemstone, not textiles but it is also known for textiles and block print. At the time, of the 6 million people in Jaipur, 60% are in the gem industry. We went to a jewelry store while in Jaipur and I accidentally woke up my parents to get their opinion while shopping. it was only about 11 p.m. for them, so late but not middle of the night. We had fun picking out earrings and a ring while on FaceTime and these pieces remain some of my favorites, as well as an experience my parents love to talk about!

The part of this extension trip I was looking forward to the most though was our time at Elefantastic. It is an elephant sanctuary where you can play with, walk, paint and bathe elephants! I was named after my paternal great-grandmother, Bess, and her favorite animal was the elephant. Whenever I see them, I know her spirit is around, so being able to spend the afternoon with the elephants was all the more special.

The elephant I was paired with is named Shaku and we had a blast!

I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but for lunch one day I picked navratan korma and it was delicious. It’s one of my favorite Indian dishes, and my favorite from the trip overall. If you click the link above, it’ll take you to a recipe so you can make it at home! I have a few times and it’s great to keep in my rotation.

After our time in Jaipur, we went to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum in memory of Mumtaz Mahal, emperor Shah Jahan’s favorite wife. As you walk around the building and the land, you can feel the love he had for his wife. You’re unable to take pictures inside, so please enjoy these photos we took before going in.

Following our time in Jaipur and Agra, I split from the group to head home. They had one extra day to spend in Delhi whereas I left earlier and had a flight stopover in Doha, Qatar. This worked out well for me because they were delayed a few days as the tension with India and Pakistan escalated and they weren’t allowed to fly.

I spent about 15 hours in Doha and it was a quick taste of the city, just enough time to eat and find a sweets shop. Funny enough, I had a connection there and we were able to get dinner together! A friend I grew up with and her boyfriend were in Doha for spearfishing. We hadn’t seen each other since 2011 and I appreciated getting to catch up with familiar faces in a new city.

Following Doha, I had a 16 hour and 35 minute flight to Miami. It was one of the longest flights I have taken, and it took me about 2-3 weeks to recover from the jet lag from the trip.

As I (finally) wrap this up in 2022, I still think fondly of my time in India and can’t wait to go back and see more. It will be a while, as the coronavirus pandemic has taken over, but I do what I can to stay connected to the country and the trip. A few of us from the group participate in a Bollywood movie club. We’ll watch Bollywood movies and then talk about it. Some of our picks have been 2 States, Dangal, and Gully Boy.

I can’t thank you all enough for joining me on this journey. I hope it inspired you to take a trip of your own to India, namaste.