Puppet Making Workshop and Sunset

Native to Rajasthan and one of the most popular forms of Indian puppetry, Kathputli is more than a thousand years old. The Kathputli Nagar (Puppet Colony) is a cluster of tiny one or two room buildings tucked away in a corner of Jaipur and is named after the families of puppet makers who have lived…

Spices and the Bangle Maker

We headed back into old Jaipur to visit a bangle maker and to see a demonstration of his craft. Before that, we nipped into to a spice shop to stock up on perfect gifts and packets of spice mixes to encourage us to explore Indian cooking when we got home. Just off one of the…

Gota Patti Workshop

We started the day by heading to Aari Tari for a Gota Patti workshop. Gota Patti, whilst being strongly associated with Rajistan is thought to have originated in the Punjab before spreading in popularity to neighbouring states. The handcraft is actually centuries-old, and was traditionally the domain of the royal family and members of the…

Laxmi Misthan Bhandar and Bar Palladio

After our visit to the Observatory and City Palace, Isha took us to the Laxmi Misthan Bhandar (LMB for short) for a Thali lunch, traditional in Rajasthan and consisting of a number of dishes served on a big platter. LMB is one of Japur’s oldest restaurants and the vegetarian meal consisted of Papad Mangori Soup,…

The Observatory and Royal Palace

After the riot of colour that was the wholesale market, we walked to the Observatory and the Royal Palace. Wherever we turned today there seemed to be monkeys pinching things or cows wandering about – just how you’d imagine India to be! I loved the lady we walked past sitting in the street making cotton…

The Vegetable, Flower and Wholesale Markets

To start the morning, before we visited the Observatory and City Palace, we headed to the markets. Jane and Mandy were keen to share this experience that they had had from a previous visit so Isha squeezed it into our already busy schedule, and it was definitely worth it. First of all we visited the…

The Market and the Bazaar

Along side the edge of the lake that is home to Jal Mahal was the night market, that had been set up for the weekend. Camel rides were not just for foreign tourists, and carts with all sorts of wonders were loaded up and ready for customers. Vast plates of rice dishes were ready for…

Anokhi Museum and Jal Mahal

After the heat of the Amber Palace with its large open sunny courtyards, we headed back down the hill to the Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing. ‘The initiative of Rachel Bracken-Singh and her husband Pritam Singh. Pritam’s father, John Singh, purchased the dilapidated Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli mansion in the late 1970s and began a 3 year…

The Amber Palace

Th Amber Palace, sitting at the top of the gorge with the town of Amer at the bottom is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The last past of the journey from the bottom of the hill is taken on foot (after our ride up in jeeps), as it has been since the Palace was built….

Hawa Mahal and the road to the Amber Palace

Some people have asked if I have moved to India as it is taking me quite a while to work through the 2500 photos I took during our visit and to write a piece for the journal about everything we did. We accomplished a lot and the holiday lives on whilst I write the record…

Sunset and the Birla Mandir

We had hoped to make it to the Birla Mandir, to see sunset at the temple, but Jaipur traffic and our habit as a group of taking far longer then planned doing anything meant we encountered the sunset on the journey to the temple. On the plus side, it allowed me to take one of…

Gyan Jewellery Factory

Our busy fifth day continued with a visit to the Gyan Jewellery Factory, showrooms and private collection. The beautifully manicured garden and the security guards give you a clue that there is more to the modernist building that than the others in the area. Designed by Paul Mathieu, the spaces are breathtaking and a perfect…