Look Back In Amber

Wednesday 16th April

- Amber palace
- Anokhi Museum of Textile Design
- Jaigarh Fort

an earlier start than yesterday, as we planned a trip several kilometres North to visit Amber, the palace, fort and town that was previously the seat of power in these them parts before Jai Singh II moved the capital to the newly created Jaipur, the first such regional capital not to be based around a fortified defence. skipping breakfast and with no sign of Yusef for a barter for the journey, it was someone else's turn to be Driver of the Day (DOTD).

the first to step up to the plate started quoting silly prices and thus had his thunder stolen by Ravi, a pint-size, moustache-sporting rascal with more than a little twinkle in the eye and never in too much of a hurry to slow down and cast a glance over the passing ladies. it took us a while, but we eventually realised that he bore more than a passing resemblance to a short, Indian Des Lynam.

Amber lies 11 km North of Jaipur and Ravi took us across the top of the North walls of the city, full of small streets crowded with animals, vehicles and trash. the road runs beneath steep hills crowned by the Nahargarh fortress, whose long ramparts trip along their spine before ending in an embattlement emblazoned with a giant swastika high above us.

passing the Water Palace that we had seen the previous day, we noticed that there was another waterside complex of impressive buildings to one side of the lake. Amber and its sights lie further up the hill still and, during our day's rickshawing we noted a dead straight preserved grass boulevard with accompanying buildings that must once have linked it completely to the Water Palace, for whenever the maharajas felt like taking an air by the lake.

it was not long before Amber Palace itself appeared, flanked above and behind by the Jaigarh fort, the two presenting a solid face of ramparts, steep walls and winding paths in yellow and thick red sandstone respectively.

Jaigarh Fort and Amber Palace

in a natural space between craggy hills all around, a more defensible location would be hard to find. just walking up to its entrance along newer, twentieth century paths is an effort. you can also behave like a total and utter tourist and catch a gaudily decorated elephant up the route, but such a short distance for a fairly stiff fee seemed an easy opportunity to pass up, and we had already given some money towards the elephants' upkeep the day before (hopefully).

the palace is extensive and sprawling, although only a small portion of it is in excellent condition. that said, these sections are worth the trip alone. the Singh Pol (Lion Gate) and Ganesh Pol (er, Ganesh Gate) are both beautifully painted, the stone changing colour subtly as the sun rose higher.

Ganesh Pol

Ganesh Pol (detail)

Ganesh Pol (face in the window)

Mughal influences in the architecture can be seen in the arches and halls of public and private audience, the latter of which boasted walls and ceiling decorated with mosaics of mirror shards and coloured glass.

mirror fragment mosaic ceiling (detail)

intricate carved screen, Amber Palace, Jaipur

there was evidence here at least of attempts to restore the palace - a major tourist attraction - to something closer to its former glory, with teams of women transporting earth in baskets carried on their heads and men replanting and painting the palace's fountain-filled garden.

Indian man - hard at work

subtle

although we had been first in the queue for non-group bookings, it was not long before the quicker-visiting coach parties began to congregate in the major rooms. we managed to have our fill of them before they arrived and also to take our photographs at the exact spot immortalised on the cover of our Rough Guide to Rajasthan.

we then disappeared into the veritable warren of corridors, rooms and staircases that riddle the palace. the prettier basket-carrying women knew their potential and suggested photographs - for a fee, naturally.

one smiley security guard decided to show us the internal water tower. it was being restored and was absolutely full of bats, but the smell of guano was overpowering. he also directed us to the beehives hanging from the battlements, clearly just because he felt like it, beckoning us through a real labyrinth of secluded rooms and passageways.

on occasion, another latticed stone window would afford views of the steep, cobbled path up to the main gate, populated by progressively fewer elephants as the day heated up.

we half-attempted walking up to the Jaigarh fort, but it was a very steep climb of some duration and it was just too bright and hot, the total lack of anyone else on the path a good indicator of the sense of climbing up in the midday heat. we descended and renegotiated the cost of the day with Ravi, adding the Anokhi museum and site where they manufacture the block-printed products that we had seen in their shop in Jaipur as well as the Jaigarh fort to his itinerary.

we had a short hiatus trying to find fairly priced drinks. although the price is printed on all bottles, a common scam is to say that there is an Indian and a foreigner rate, as there is on entering monuments, or to claim additional charges for refrigeration, or a myriad of highly creative and unspecified 'taxes,' all of which are bogus. Ravi drove us through the quieter, narrower streets of the town to the Anokhi museum. meeting a cow in the road is an obstruction, but meeting an elephant in the road is a potential disaster.

Ravi steered us around those we met with some skill, even if - like Yusef - he seemed to find rickshaw driving a little too much like fun to worry about trifling concerns such as safety.

installed in an old haveli, the Anokhi museum was empty but for ourselves. it was good to see how extensive both the history of block printing and the museum itself were. a man in one corner of one room was busy carving out the wood blocks themselves, while another demonstrated the printing itself.

the range and variety of designs in the museum was far more involving and interesting than those in their Jaipur showroom.

traditional Rajasthani block printed smoking jacket. probably.

a small shop again failed to accommodate Edd's size, the shirts again too small or short. by this time, Ravi had wandered in and it's always something else to consider when your DOTD is playing literally close attention to the cost of everything you are looking at, especially when he has already suggested you go to his mate's textile shop. everyone in India knows someone who knows someone, and the commission rickshaw drivers get for guiding tourists to shops usually outstrips their journey fares - and are added to your purchase costs.

Amber, as viewed from the Anokhi Museum - a town of temples and palaces.

Jaigarh fort was our final destination, a punishing, sidewinding path up a gradient that the rickshaw almost failed to climb. now lunchtime, the heat was intense. the fort itself is a real beast, situated in a position that must have been impossible to surmount and with one end peering over the Amber palace below.

built in 1600, the emphasis is much more on impregnability than design, encapsulated but its immense Jaivana cannon, the largest in Asia.

the views from up here and down the valleys are quite stunning, with the Water Palace a hazy blip in its artificial lake, on one side of which we now saw for the first time was the red stone rampart damn that had originally created it.

most of the fort is empty, now, and seems to be entirely covered with scratched graffiti. we've seen many signs at key sites politely asking people not to do this and there is even a television ad campaign. likewise, even up here the fort suffered from the same garbage and litter blight as the rest of the country. but, with a third of the country in poverty, historic site upkeep and litter are never going to be key considerations for a great many people.

the only guard we encountered here tried to sternly shunt us the way of a 'tips please' puppet show, the antithesis of his counterpart in the Amber palace. the displays and collections of the fort disappointed, but the hugely dramatic vistas kept on coming. when we reached the high rampart walls overlooking the palace, a verdant green enclosed garden area magically appeared, as refreshing as a cool drink.

Amber Palace, from the Jaigarh fort

we managed to steer ourselves around almost the entire fort before finding Ravi again. we gently coasted all the way down the hill road through gravity alone as he was low on fuel, which made avoiding the oncoming traffic something of a challenge. with vertiginous drops on many a bend, it was hardly a surprise that he considered it one of 'India's most dangerous roads.'

on the way back, as expected and acquiesced, we stopped off at a textile emporium known to Ravi. the owner - rather improbably named 'Aladdin' - showed us their workshop, allowing us to add strong solvents and gold paint to the bat guano Legionnaire's lungful cocktail for the day. a protracted display of products and much snake oil patter then followed, deflated somewhat by Philippa indicating sotto voce that several descriptions Aladdin gave of materials and prints weren't at all accurate. Ravi slumped nearby, looking a combination of tired, bored and hopeful. it's a very tough way to make a living, particularly when your ride doesn't see anything they want to buy.

our journey back took in the Northern roads once more, whose guttered roads were awash with piles of garbage and herds of pigs rooting contentedly around in the filth. cows flicked dust over themselves while donkeys laden with brick-filled saddlebags stumbled in the road ahead, Ravi almost driving straight into several of them.

we got back to the hotel eight hours after we left to find Yusef parked outside and visibly disappointed not to have caught our fare. we took the afternoon and evening easy, reflecting on the impressive range and marvellous variety of a rich and enjoyable day.

edd & philippa