In keeping up with our previous days in India, we started day 5 early. Yes, we had sites to see, but more importantly, we had shopping to do! :) The buzz around the streets was that Jaipur was the place to be for carpets and jewelery...and I'm pretty sure everyone in the group had their mind on something to buy. Everyone except for me maybe. If there was an award for the least amount of shopping done, I think I would have won it. I'm not impulsive enough to buy something on a whim! Though I must admit, there were moments of temptation. Oh the carpets and their beauty! Be still my heart! More on that in a bit.
We started the morning off right...with a totally delicious breakfast outside in the courtyard :) Then, since I had a few minutes to spare, I took a few pictures of the hotel and the grounds...
The pool out back
The lobby
The front of the hotel. I have to admit, I kind of felt like I was on a honeymoon...minus Matt and anything that resembled romance.
So anyway, breakfast ended and the day started...but before we went crazy on indulgent purchases, we decided to be proper tourists and check out a historical site first...
The Amber Fort. Yes, another fort. It seems we hadn't had our fill of forts in the other cities so we decided it was absolutely necessary to check out a 5th fort ;)
Supposedly, part of the fun in visiting the Amber Fort is riding up there on elephant back...but in my opinion, standing in a line this long never equals fun. Plus, I had my kicks on an elephant in Thailand back in September so I opted for a walk up to the fort. An exhausting walk up many steps might I add.
Of course, when I rode an elephant in Thailand, it didn't look quite as pretty as this one did! Apparently there's a big celebration in Jaipur once a year that includes decorating the elephants...and we missed it by one day...darn the luck! :(
So as we waited for the other half of the group to arrive via elephant back, we hung out here inside the fort...
...and ya know, posed for a few pictures. Nothing out of the ordinary. I'm telling you, no matter where I go in the world, people want pictures with me. I guess that's just the price I pay for being super cool.
OK fine, maybe everyone in India wanted pictures with Amanda too. And everyone in our group. And anyone in the entire country that appeared to be an American. Maybe that's true. But honestly, I still think they wanted my picture b/c I'm super cool ;)
Sitting in front of the Ganesh Pol, a gateway built in 1640. (Notice my awesome henna tattoo on my leg from the night before!)
A view from the top!
On our way back down to the bottom, I spotted this little fellow. Obviously, I'm some sort of goat whisperer b/c he totally posed and smiled for me.
Have I mentioned the hagglers and how relentless they were? Ignoring them didn't work. Saying no didn't work. Yelling at them didn't work. Walking away didn't work. They find you...and follow you...and beg you to buy from them. Doesn't Chris look thrilled?
Just your average snake charmers...
A little stop outside the water palace before we started shopping!
After a full morning we arrived at our very first shopping stop of the day...a carpet and textile factory. I'm going to be completely honest here, my first thought upon arrival was "now this is going to be boring." For one thing, I wasn't in the market for a carpet and secondly, I didn't think I was all that interested in how carpets are made. Ummm...it turns out, I was wrong. Carpet weaving is down right interesting. Before they allowed us to shop, they forced us to learn. I guess a little learning never hurt anyone.
The carpets go through quite the process from start to finish. They're hand woven, trimmed, torched and washed among other things...and not in that order. I wasn't listening closely enough to memorize the pattern because...
I was totally fascinated by this. Carpet weaving...by hand. It can take months to finish one carpet, but dang this guy was fast! And because I took such an interest in it...and because he was just a genuinely nice man...
...he let me try it! Sure, it may have taken me, oh, a minute to weave one knot...but the point is I've woven part of a carpet that will end up in someone's home. That carpet should probably sell for at least double now that my hands were involved.
Working on the final details.
And then it was time to actually shop for carpets. So we were brought upstairs and they laid out a million beautiful carpets for us. And then the temptation rose up inside of me. Suddenly I just HAD to have a carpet.
Now if you look really hard, you can see me in the very back of the picture sitting on the couch with a phone to my ear. Why the phone call? I decided to be a good wife and run this major purchase by Matt. To which he said "use your best judgement." I hate when he says that! I mean, what if my best judgement does not match his best judgement? Oh the pressure! In the end, I decided to walk away from the carpets. I think it was the best decision because an hour after leaving the place, I couldn't even remember what the carpet I wanted looked liked. I guess didn't love it quite as much as I thought I did.
So that was the day. We ended it with a final shopping trip to the heart of Jaipur. You want to know what it was like to cross the street in Jaipur? Have you ever stepped out into oncoming traffic and prayed that the cars would stop for you? If you have, then you know what it's like to cross the street in Jaipur! If you haven't done that, just check out this video that Chris managed to get! It should give you a good idea :)
