Thomson Airlines Boeing 757 Explorer One (G-OOBF)
Jaipur, India
Friday, February 19, 2010

    This morning started rather leisurely with breakfast starting about 7 am and not having to board the buses until 9:15 for the morning sightseeing. This provided a little time to wander around the grounds of the Palace Hotel in the pretty morning light.

    Driving and traffic in India are much like many places I’ve visited in this world – hectic and chaotic. There are, of course, traffic rules, but according to the locals, the number one rule is to ignore the rules if you want to get to your destination before you grow old and gray. Traffic is complicated by the sharing of the road by cars, trucks, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, horses, camels, oxen, and naturally there are cows and bulls roaming free everywhere. Like many places in the world, right of way is sorted out by the ample (nearly continuous) use of your horn and the making of new lanes to the left, right, and between the existing lanes of traffic. It doesn’t really seem to matter which side of the road you use, except when separated by a concrete divider, but the preferred side is the left.

    Our first stop this morning was Hawa Mahal, Palace of the Wind. The street was a beehive of activity with hundreds of children and adults hawking their little trinkets. “No” is not in their vocabulary, so the best procedure is to silently ignore their pitches. Lining the street are tiny open-front shops with all manner of goods and services. Everything in the city looks worn and often looks ready to collapse. The streets and roads are littered with trash and piles of broken building materials. In this squalor live thousands of people under blankets, in simple lean-to huts, and rickety tin sheds. Carts are everywhere selling food and other goods, and there are open cooking fires wherever to look. Visiting India is a real eye-opener.

    Mixed in with the vendors and street-hawkers are simple beggars and a lot of snake charmers. They are sitting on the sidewalks and in doorways with their cobra in a basket and piping their tunes. Of course, tips are expected if you wish to take photographs.

    Our stop was short and we were soon on our way again to the Jaipur City Palace to view the architecture, people, and some treasures. While we were able to photograph the outside of the buildings, no photography was allowed inside. Some of the guards made for interesting subjects to photograph, but you have to plan to tip them to do so.

    There are signs posted with the rules of palace. The first rule is “No Tipping”. Apparently, they have applied their driving attitudes to other aspects of their lives, as well. I have a strong feeling that the tips are a major component of their income.

    After visiting the Palace, we crossed the street to visit the ancient observatory. Indians were early astronomers, primarily in support of astrology. This observatory includes many large, fixed instruments that were constructed to accurately tell time and observe the sky so that the astrologers could make accurate predictions. The giant sundials are accurate to within a few seconds. Of course, there have been accumulative errors over the years, so the markings are a little off today, but the clocks keep accurate time – you just have to add a fixed offset time.

    We then returned to the hotel for a nice buffet lunch that was set up on the lawn out in the Oriental Garden. A nice meal, a little wine, and I was glad that we had a free afternoon to spend however we wanted. I used the time to get caught up on my journal and work up a few pictures. It is surprising how much time it takes to get my thoughts of the day recorded, especially when I have to choose and prepare some photos to go along with the text. I estimate about 60-90 minutes a day. Oh, well, it is really nice to have when I want to look back and remember the trips. It is so easy for the days to begin coalescing on these fast-moving expeditions.

    The rest (or change of pace) was also important since in the evening we drove about an hour’s time out of the city to an oasis palace where we were entertained with cocktails, dinner, and a spectacle of elephants, camels, horses, and a military band. Oh, did I forget to mention the fireworks? A feature of the entertainment was a game of polo on elephant-back in which many of the expedition guests participated. It was a difficult venue to photograph since it took place after dark and was lit with pale yellow sodium vapor lamps.

    Everyone had a good time at the party, but by about 8:30 pm, it was time to head back to the hotel. We had to have our big bags packed and outside our rooms for collection by 10 pm. Tomorrow will be an earlier start with breakfast at 6 am, our wheelie-bags backed and delivered to receptions for collection by 6:30, and then we are off to the airport at 7:30 am. We will have a long flight to Tanzania, but since we pick up another two and a half hours by travelling west, we should arrive in the early afternoon.