I don’t think Jaipur is my favorite place in India. It is 13% gorgeous but 63% squalor, disease and filth. The rest is traffic, mud and chaos. It is erroneously called the Pink City, when is is in fact terracotta and garbage colored. Stink City would be more appropriate.
We saw the beautiful Palace of the Winds – which is really a big wall of windows that the Maharajah’s women could look out at the world through.

Then we went for an elephant ride. Much better than the dangerous crazy elephants we rode in Sri Lanka that kept trying to smack us off with sticks. These were elegant, slow, stately old lady elephants who seems quite happy to plod up a steep hill to the Amber Palace on top. Painted ladies. In these photos I am wearing my ‘happy elephant riding face’ – it’s new.

We henna’d our hands in the maharajah’s palace (even the boy, which is regarded as a little Glee in India and got some funny comments) and we had delicious food everywhere – but very safe. Only hotel and fancy-pantsy restaurants – no street food.

A beautiful garden in a lake