Parkes and Rec. We survived India. : Jaipur

India has lots of holidays. Every other day is a holiday. This past weekend Glen got Friday off so we took advantage of it and did a weekend trip to Jaipur. Jaipur is part of the 'Golden Triangle' that a lot of tour groups do. It includes Agra and Delhi. The 4.5 hour drive was almost as fun as anticipating our destination. Glen and I felt like kids in the backseat of the car. Normally on a road trip I fall asleep within at least 20 minutes of the drive. But there was so much to see. So much to take in. Traffic wasn't bad once we got out of the city. But still there was the craziness of Indian drivers all over the place. Rules aren't enforced so we find ourselves facing oncoming traffic in our lane. There are also motorcycles, trucks (lorries in England), bicycle rickshaws, tuk tuks packed with 20 people clinging on for dear life, camels, goatherders herding their herds...ha ha...that sounded funny...or stupid...whatever. Closer to Jaipur the terrain resembled mountains. Not quite as big as what I'm used to in Colorado...more like a cross between a mountain and a hill. Still nice that is wasn't flat the whole way. We took a pit stop for a quick bite and a pee. I stumbled upon my first 'squatter' toilet that had no toilet paper. I think I'm supposed to squat over the hole, use the cooter sprayer, then flush. My imagination gets the worst of me so I turned around back to the car. I'm so glad I packed a roll of toilet paper! And I found one single 'western' toilet that I ended up using. Wow, now you know my bathroom habits.

Jaipur is crazy. Overstimulating, loud, hostile, bustling, boiling, dirty, smelly crazy. Yes, Katie Perry and Russell Brand just got married there. Maybe they saw something in Jaipur that I didn't. On the bright side...there is loads of shopping to do there. If you can stand the hassle and the bargaining, the shopkeepers dragging you into their shops 'just to look, you don't have to buy'. This is also the place to buy gems...but I didn't. =( We snapped a few good photos of the locals...always trying to savor the moments. We found in Jaipur that some of the locals LOVE to have their picture taken...which we did...several times. They will tap you on your arm and make the motion to take their photo....ask to look at it on the replay screen....smile...and walk off. A few parents will ask if you'll take their kids picture. I'm not really sure why this happens. But it is a great way to get photos!

Jaipur's landmark architecture pieces are the Wind Palace, City Palace, Jantar Mantar (there are a few of these observatories scattered throughout India, each one is a little different, all equally awesome so far), and Amber Fort. On our way to Amber Fort we learned we could ride elephants from the parking lot to the fort about a quarter of a mile away. It was an experience of a lifetime! I would have paid anything to see Glen smile like that. Elephants are his favorite animal and you can imagine his giddiness when he was invited to hop on. It's one of those moments when you think "Is this really my life? Am I really here doing this amazing thing?"

Here is our photojournalistic vomit:

i have to disagree slightly with the future mrs parkes. i love jaipur, i was there in 2007 for a couple of days an loved it then. yes its a mental place, and yes, more than 2 days will send you insane, but its so alive, crazy, busy bustling, but so so alive. great shopping, good touristy things to see, the amazing observatory is a sight to behold, the worlds biggest sun dial accurate to 2 seconds...and older than the united states. amazing place. love love jaipur...for a visit i hasten to add. makes delhi look like a quiet backwater haven. and yes...a hge highlight was the elephant ride, not just for the token ride, but the fact that there were dozens of them, all waiting in the 'elephant car park'...literally dozens of these huge beasts...it looked incredible.