Jaipur: elephants, gin, bunk beds and swimming pools.

Our Lonely Planet guide to India has been renamed The Bible. We take it in turns to lug it around and so far it's yet to really let us down (that is if you take it's  flamboyant reviews with a pinch of salt.) So, when it told us there were hotels in Jaipur that allowed non-guests to pay to use their swimming pool, we knew exactly what we wanted to do as soon as we'd alighted the 12hour overnight train from Varanasi.

Narain Niwas Palace Hotel

We visited Narain Niwas Palace Hotel twice during our stay and pretended for a couple of hours we were staying in a luxury hotel, not living out of a backpack and sharing a dorm room with 7 other girls. We felt like we were breaking the rules, stripping down to our bikinis after days of 'dressing modestly', but it felt a lot like heaven, sipping beers and enjoying the afternoon Indian sun. (250rps per person).

That night we watched the sunset from Nahargarh Fort, which offered an unprecedented panoramic view of the expanse of city below. Get there before 5.30pm to pay your 50rps entry, then scale one of the turrets on the east side for the best seats on the house.

View from the fort 

Dinner was an LP special, at the canteen style restaurant at Hotel Arya Niwas in Chitra Cafw. Lesson learnt here: don't judge the restaurant by it's display plates of food that look like they've been there for weeks. We shared a thali for 120rps and tried the fresh orange juice which is actually made of sweet limes that taste like orange (?). It turns out this place is full of expat locals and we ended up eating dinner with Jo, a jewellery buyer from Kent and Alice, a student working in Delhi who studied at Eastbourne College (small world). 

The Amber Fort was one of Jaipur's highlights, and we spent a good few hours exploring. It's stunning, perching high on a mountainside overlooking a large lake below and surrounded by hills. A turreted wall snakes the area, and looks impressive from each and every angle. The glass palace is also one of the highlights. (200rps) 

An Indian Alan Partridge then hijacked our tuc tuc home and offered to take us for a backstreet tour, free of charge. First stop: Elephant House. A herd of elephants ferry tourists up to amber fort for 3 hours every morning and afternoon. We didn't want to pay the 950rps asking price so sacrificed a meet and greet with the elephants... Or so we thought. The elephant house is where the elephants are kept whilst they're not at the fort. We had a mini photoshoot free of charge, which was pretty cool. 

Alice, me and Madonna

After that, we headed to city palace. My advice? Don't bother. It was 400rps p/p and there was very little going on inside. It's a lovely building, but it doesn't stand out from the rest. We actually got our palms read whilst inside because it was so easy to be distracted by what was actually on offer. (Turns out I am impatient, ambitious and lucky. The chap suggested I wear lots of yellow and, if I get the chance, take a happiness course. 3 kids and 2 relationships are also in my future... apparently.)

That's my 'I can smell bullshit' face

It's worth heading to Ganesh Restaurant atop shop number ten in Nehru Bazaar. Despite the foreigners menu which they whipped out as soon as they saw us walking over the impressive roof terrace, the open kitchen was really impressive and it offers a comfortable bridge from restaurant to street food.

That night a group of us from Zostel made plans to seek out beers in Jaipur. Drinks stop serving at 11pm here, so start early or make friends with a local who can give you details of the underground scene. We ended up, after a couple hours of researching, deliberating and walking, in the basement bar of Copper Chimney on MI Road. Seven £1 g&t's later... 

We nursed our mild hangovers at Lassiwala on MI Road. This place has been imitated 10 times over so make sure you go to the original (it's black with gold writing), where the 20 or 40rps sweet milk drinks are served in clay pots kerbside. Lassi's are great for settling stomachs, too, if Delhi belly has kicked in. 

After that, 15p coffee and 8p roast at the Indian Coffee House on MI road. I loved it here because it was full of locals and it had a real old gentlemens club feel to it. You can imagine all the men sipping coffee and playing darata. 

We set aside a couple of hours after that to just stroll the bustling, winding streets of the Pink (Old) City. Each street varies, with the ones geared at tourists proving a little overwhelming, but the locals roads offering real insight into way of life. Jaipur is famed for its 7 handicraft: textile, Silver jewellery, blue pottery, leather, screen painting, enamel work and carpets, and around 60% of it's population work in the industry. Wholesalers work for the likes of monsoon, Tiffany's and Alice Temperley. In other words it's shoppers heaven. 

A quick take out thali back at zostel before we headed for our late night train, and our time in Jaipur was done. It's been a crazy busy few days.

L&A. Xx