A not very satisfying breakfast – in terms of service, not food – was the final straw which decided us to move hotels, tho’ we did look first at other rooms in the Evergreen. But they were even more squalid. Our intended destination was the Jaipur Inn, but as we walked out with our bags, we were approached by a rickshaw driver offering to take us to a cheap hotel, so I thought it worth giving it a try. We might have known, of course – what was on offer, both at the place we were taken, + at a couple of others in the vicinity which we looked at while we were there, was no cheaper, no cleaner. It only served to put me into a thoroughly bad mood, the only consolation being that we had at least been brought some of the way towards the Jaipur Inn. To which we continued, on foot.
The place was a revelation, being as spotlessly clean as any hotel we have stayed at, + quite reasonably priced. The rooms themselves were a little small + poky, but quite cosy. The biggest surprise was the fact that it was apparently almost deserted, tho’ why this should be, + the Evergreen so full, I was at a loss to understand. Except that the E is a little cheaper. And then there is the restaurant – the Jaipur offers only a set thali at night, + a limited choice in the morning, + both are definitely too expensive.
We visited the Old City again in the afternoon, this time making a bee-line for the Palace area in the centre, around which the sites are situated. I had a masala dosa + a coffee first at a small café by the Palace gate. The dish is the most common South Indian vegetarian dish, being a large crispy pancake with a fried veg filling, served with a couple of sauces. Provided I only eat it as a snack, I enjoy it very much. When I eat too much of it in an attempt to make it into a meal, it’s too stodgy. But then, after food, culture.
First stop was the Royal Observatory, built at the beginning of the 18th century (I think.) It’s about the size of a football pitch, + looks more like a vast + elaborate children’s playground than a scientific environment, being an assortment of a large number of big structures, each with a distinct + separate purpose. As we didn’t fork out for a guide, I can’t tell you what all these purposes are, but it’s all to do with eclipses, declinations, + azimuths, that sort of thing. The field is dominated by a large sun-dial, + when I say large I’m talking about something 60 ft high. The whole place has a surreal aspect, yet was entirely logical. But then, the best surrealism is entirely logical.
The Palace too was good, far more the beautiful pale pink pleasure palace that we were looking for in Jaipur, a cool unhurried stroll thro’ cool uncluttered courtyards. The various small museums, devoted to particular subjects – textiles, arms, art – were less interesting, being well-stocked but impersonal.
The 3rd site was the Palace of the Winds, not a lot more than a six-storied façade, but quite an interesting one. We climbed to the top for the view, + there ran into an old face. Only a couple of weeks old, but we see few enough of them for it to be noteworthy. It was Ann, the Scots girl I had lusted over briefly when we visited the next door houseboat in Kashmir. She flies back to London next weekend. I don’t think I envy her, even tho’ my thoughts, + to a slightly lesser extent Val’s too, are almost exclusively taken up with thoughts of home. We have our minds directed to a probable date of arrival back in England – somewhere around Dec 10th-12th, tho’ we have no way of knowing for sure – + every day that passes I mark off, to myself or out loud, whichever, as one day closer to home. And I play silly mental games, like working out where we were when it was the same amount of time ago as it is to come, + saying, Just that time again, + we’ll be home. And yet, I want us to do it properly – I would not be happy arriving at Heathrow. Besides, it is beyond us now – we do not have the money for a flight.
We walked back to Evergreen to eat our evening meal there – I was a bit nervous about it because we had marched out in something of an angry huff this morning, but there was no problem, + really, the food was excellent. It was a weary plod back to the Jaipur Inn afterwards tho’, but we were greeted there by 2 more old faces – Paul + Mandy from Pushkar. It was good to talk to them, to talk + joke. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, we miss friends. Almost any friends at all (tho’ special friends, of course, specially.)
Good to run into old faces, albeit briefly. And encouraging that the Royal Observatory and Palace of the Winds are much more what we had been looking for.
