Tonk, Jaipur and the double comfort hotel

We have arrived in Jaipur! We left our resort near Ranthambore in the morning. All the staff lined up to wave us off. I dozed on the bus, but noticed the fields of mustard giving way to scrub and desert, and increasing numbers of camels on the road. 

We reached the town of Tonk after an hour and a half, and drew up outside a palace. The caretaker let us in, just as we were fearing it was all locked up. The pialace is both exquisitely decorated and dilapidated. The good news is that it's being restored. Here are some notes I wrote at the time: 

Palace built 1824 
'Lime and shell' decorated pillars 
12 gate palace'
Built  for entertaining and for the performing arts. Pleasure palace. Painting not restored. Nawab's ancestors possibly came from Afghanistan. Seven generations of Nawab's.
Upstairs is gold room. Being restored. Vandalized .Can't see upstairs. Was a 'golden room' according to guidebook/Internet.
Family still live next door in another palace.
Building has been bought by Archaeological Survey of India. Will be restored, including gardens and fountains
Garden currently very dilapidated but has potential....

After our Tonk visit, we stopped again at a  roadside hotel fwith grass and flame-coloured painted chairs or chai and snacks. The sunshinr warmed our bones. There were no stray dogs, unusually. 

Got to Jaipur about 3pm. It's the capital of Rajasthan, and miles of urban sprawl. We are staying not far from the old town, but it will be heavily guarded tomorrow, because PM Modi Is visiting, possibly with a certain Vladimir Putin. How dare they? 

We will have to sightsee outside the town. The bus has been paid off and the driver and his boy gone back to Udaipur, so we'll be using local transport. However, the hotel we're staying at more then makes up for this slight setback. Words will not suffice to tell you how good it is to stay at a place with all mod cons, all in working order. Hot water, decent shower (not a bucket in sight), extra heater, extra blankets, quiet location, wardrobe, TV that works, flushing toilet, water in the taps, electricity, a balcony, Rajasthani bedspread: it's a boutique hotel. I'll put my private balcony shot in extras. 

After chai and chips ( !) a bunch of us went out to find the old city. We did not succeed. But we did see the steelwork area, and Tessa and I reckon that the train would take us there in two stops. I found an ATM. Jaipur is a very hustly city. Every auto rickshaw driver wanted to offer us 'helicopter' (?) and the traffic is unceasing. We returned to the hotel for drinks and eventually dinner. The four of us who wanted to eat chicken had to sit at a separate table. Food was good. This is an expensive hotel, with even water being charged for, but the rooms and breakfasts and the pool are free, as well as some other meals. I do wish I'd realised how much money I'd need for tips! I'd have changed about £50 into small-denomination notes, and kept them separate. 

After the meal, I went to bed. I am extremely tired. Taking painkillers for my back, but it is improving. I can stand up straight today. 

We are promised five new Rajasthani folk songs and a talk in textiles while we're staying here in the hotel at Jaipur, the final city on our tour.



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