We 'checked out' of Barefoot College in mid morning and were dropped off near the toll gate. While waiting for the illusive bus to Ajmer, where Swapan was to meet the brother-in-law of his good friend, I tried my luck at hitch-hiking. A kind truck driver signalled us to jump aboard and we enjoyed a nice ride to Ajmer. What a grand way to travel in India on a king of road!
We enjoyed a homely lunch and warm friendship at OmPrakash and Sweta's lovely home in Ajmer. In late afternoon, we took a cab to Jaipur.
Our kind truck driver.
Sweta, OmPrakash, Swapan, Jin and Alvin.
12 Jul 2011: Getting a Glimpse of Jaipur
Jin and I rented a taxi for a day to go around Jaipur to visit various places of interest.
We visited the Laxmi Narayan Temple known for the intricate marble carvings in white marble. The high ceiling in the interior was a serene place for meditation. It is popularly known as Birla Temple as it was sponsored by the Birla Group.
Hawa Mahal - built in 1799, by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, is the most recognizable monument of Jaipur..
< Rajasthani costume.
Hawa Mahal - the 5 storied stunning semi-octagonal monument having 152 windows with over hanging latticed balconies is a fine piece of Rajput architecture. Originally designed for the royal ladies to watch and enjoy the processions and other activities, on the street below. Now it houses a well laid out museum.
Jantar Mantar (Observatory) - this enormous sun-dial still provide accurate time.
This huge masonry instrument was used to study the movement of constellations and stars in the sky.
Rajasthani street musician.
The majestic Amer Fort.
A scene in Jodhaa Akbar movie was filmed here.
Jin and Alvin at the mirror mosaic wall.
Beautiful garden within the fort.
Surrounding this quadrangle were living quarters.
The king's private garden viewed from the fort.
The smiling present and the silent ancient.
< Jin with the ancient gigantic royal cooking pot as seen in the Jodhaa Akbar movie.
The Amer Fort is a huge place and walking within the ground and through its labyrinth of passages was like wondering in a maze. The ancient royal families and servants who once lived here had to be very fit to get from one place to another, climbing up and down the never-ending steps.
While we enjoyed ourselves in Jaipur, we imagined Robyn to be turning into an Indian chef under Swati's guidance back in Gurgaon...
13 Jul 2011: Jaipur to Delhi to Bangalore (our longest train journey in India)
Thanks to prior train arrangement by VVKI, we left Jaipur at 1.35pm and looked forward to picking Robyn up at Gurgaon train station at about 6pm. As the train would only stop for 5 minutes there, we were hoping that Robyn wouldn't be late... Alas, we received a SMS from Ankit that they'd turned back as the traffic was causing too great a delay. They would drive instead to Delhi Yesvantpur Station where we were scheduled to arrive at 7.15pm. Our next train from Delhi to Bangalore was to be 11pm at the same station. While Swati and Ankit fought the traffic to send Robyn to the train station, Jin and I had sufficient time to take a taxi out for dinner. Robyn arrived at the nick of time, thanks to Swati and Ankit for the long and jammed journey. Reunited, we left Delhi at 11pm for our longest train journey of 2400km to Bangalore, spending 2 nights onboard. It was a pleasant ride and we even watched a movie "3 Idiots" on our MacBook along the way. We finally arrived at Bangalore at 10am on 15 Jul, after 35 hours.
We are immensely grateful to Uncle Murthy and Auntie Geeta for hosting us at their lovely home in Banashankari. Uncle Murthy works at VVKI.
On a Sunday, we visited the famous Bull Temple. This huge bull was sculpted out of a single rock, and was said to grow an inch every year until the nail was implanted on its head.
Bull Temple
The Yongs and the Murthys
Back in Bangalore, we started work on a new seva project with VVKI - to create a new VVKI website to communicate the wide spectrum of courses and seva projects under VVKI and the Art of Living.
11 Jul 2011 - Tilonia to Ajmer to Jaipur
