New Year’s in Jaipur | 2017-2018

This city is known for its pompous flair also called the PINK city. Its name is due to the reddish-pink walls surrounding the city. It happened during 1853 when the Prince of Wales had visited Jaipur and the entire city was painted pink to welcome him. The walls gave it an otherworldly charm making it a distinctive feature of the city.

Upon reaching Ahmedabad I met up with my friend Oshan and we headed to Jaipur by bus. This was our first trip together in 6 years of planning and failing at execution! And therefore we were quite stoked as we planned for this one. And it was finally unfolding in front of us!

Next day on 30th Dec 2017 we reached Jaipur and we checked into our hostel- Moustache Hostel and it completely took us by surprise. This hostel had very beautiful interiors with a rustic cycle out front at the inquiry desk, a Jhula on the side, rustic sofas, a blackboard with the map of Jaipur drawn in an inquisitive way and the walls plastered with lively wallpapers with different party pamphlets strewn all over the walls. Damn lucky, we were!

After freshening up in a very beautiful room with floor length mirror- you get why we’re so happy- we went to have a late lunch. We then visited a guy who was the only one in the entire city who had a scooter on rent for us. As all the others were already being used (the new year is apparently a full-fledged season here). He then guided us as to how to go about Jaipur. And we got a vague idea that we were at that moment inside the pink walls and the forts and Jal Mahal were outside and Hawa Mahal and City Palace inside the enclosure.

Planning accordingly, we decided to shop at the best places inside the Pink walls namely Bapu bazaar and even see the Hawa Mahal all lit up as the sun had already set.

Hawa Mahal was a mahal built with an aim to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life and festivals celebrated in the street below without being seen. Because in their culture they had to abide by the strict rules of ‘purdah’, wherein the ladies were not allowed to appear in public without face coverings. Therefore the Mahal’s exterior was made in a way which ultimately had 953 small windows for the royal ladies. These were called Jharokhas.

Many movies have been shot here one of them being Hum Saath Saath Hai where they have taken shots of the interior of this Mahal. But nowadays the exterior is more popular amongst the tourists.

Inside the Pink city, we roamed in ricks which hardly cost us anything. As we headed to Bapu Bazaar a road flanked by pink shops came into view. Most of them were selling Rajasthani clothes, dupattas etc made special with added mirrors or other work, turbans, intricately designed umbrellas, Rajasthani wall hangings with elephant or doll figurines, juttis and so much more. We filled our shopping bags with everything that we could (it helps to have a local friend for bargaining) and headed back to our hostel.

We had plans to reserve a table at Bar Palladio- a place with great bohemian interiors and great food. But unfortunately, it was prebooked and had minimum 1-hour waiting so our plans shifted to the cafe on top of our hostel. And it was our best decision.

The twist to our entire story of Jaipur took place when we went to this cafe.

We were there, quietly having dinner late into the night-2 girls with Maggi and paneer tikka- ya that was our dinner! And then suddenly a hostel staff was talking with everyone and inviting people to sit together with them on a long table set out for everyone. This resulted in all of us sitting together (everyone present in the cafe at that time). We all started talking and laughing and basically getting to know each other.

There were these 2 girls both from Delhi but Gujarati who had come on this trip just like us. One thing led to another and then there was Punjabi music and everyone had started dancing- even the foreigners!! There is something fascinating about watching foreigners, dancing to Indian Music.

As the music played in the background, strangers became friends and our plans became their plans. I and Oshan had decided to go watch sunrise early morning at Nahargarh Fort. A plan which was for two people had enlarged and now it was a plan for 9. We were fortunate enough that 2 of the staff members were also joining us because apparently the fort doesn’t officially open this early in the morning and therefore we needed local guidance as to how to reach there.

We stayed awake for the entire night and decided to leave at around 4:30 am. The entire night went by dancing under the stars, listening to people play guitar, singing along with the tune, making Maggi in their kitchen and everything that a movie like Ye jawaani hai deewani depicts. That night had an aura which could uplift even a depressed soul. It was what imaginations are made of!

In the morning at around 4:30 am 9 of us left for Nahargarh fort- 4 of us on 2 bikes and 5 in a cab. It was pitch dark outside and it was winter season going on! The people inside the cab had a gala time but we four on bikes were freezing to death literally. I was desperately trying to concentrate on something else but was failing miserably. The half an hour ride from our hostel to the fort felt like torture to our body. When we finally reached we felt colder as if that was possible. Then Sagar and Tushar – the hostel staff we befriended led the way to the edge of the fort which had walls running all over the place.

We gained peace when Tushar aided to our freezing bodies by building up bonfire not 1 time, not 2 times but 3 times. A sweetheart he was!

It took almost half an hour to set up my DSLR for sunrise time-lapse. And even after that, we were not graced by the sun’s presence at sunrise because it was a very cloudy morning. Just our luck!

And we climbed up on the edge of the wall and sat there looking at the enormity of the city which is Jaipur.It was scary at first and felt as if it would take all our balance to keep us from falling and dying on the spot! But later on, all that we felt was pleasant wind on our face and the opportunity to watch Jaipur from high up above! All the narrow lanes and rows filled with houses.And most of them having open terraces-one right next to the other forming a network.

We came from one way and left accessing another one which was a downhill street with a stoned pathway. It was so quick that we reached our hostel in no time!

And as soon as we entered our room we plopped down on our beds and slept like babies.It was so satisfying to just sleep! We woke up at around lunch time and went to Tapri Central to have food. It is a high profile Tapri cafe which sells chai, dal pakwan,poha, vada pav etc. and everything was very tasty.

Later we drove our bikes all the way to Amer Fort which is quite far away from the main city. The Fort is humongous and it overlooks the Maota Lake.There was a throng of people entering the palace every second. All of them rushing to get a sight of this beautiful fort!

It was a tiring walk all the way to the top! But nonetheless, we were enjoying. On the way up there were many hawkers selling different trinkets and even there were musicians who were playing Rajasthani music on their instruments. It kind of boosted us to walk faster.

All the forts in Jaipur are meticulously decorated and built unlike the forts back in my hometown- Maharashtra. All these forts in Jaipur they are a visual treat filled with creativity and grandeur. Therefore these forts are widely visited as compared to the ones in Maharashtra. But in Maharashtra, the reason behind the simplicity of the forts is that Shivaji Maharaj had actual fights to be fought and therefore he concentrated more on the strategic building of the forts.

As we reached, we got to know that there were jeeps which on minimal charges takes people up and leaves them till the end as well. But it even has a very long waiting period!

At the top there were two-three palaces which had bizarre entry charges. For students it was well discounted but we had forgotten our id’s so finally in the end we couldn’t see Sheesh Mahal or Sukh Niwas but it is a must visit for being the most beautiful parts of this fort!

Later after coming back down, we went to the Panna Meena step well which is quite near to the Palace and is not often visited by people in Jaipur. I wanted to visit it due to the photographic appeal it had when I was researching about Jaipur.

It has a symmetrical architecture style for stairs and it is 8 stories! For a person like me with an OCD where I need everything to be perfectly aligned, it was heaven!

This step well would bloom out beautifully on a rainy day!

We left after spending a few calming moments at this step well looking at the foreigners and few locals. Making this place a must on everyone’s to-do list if you seek some peace from the thronging tourists all around Jaipur. Peace attained at a Step-well!

While coming back we again tried to get reservations at Bar Palladio but to no avail! Missed out our chance of visiting the Jal Mahal as it was already evening when we left from there. So we came to our hostel and got ready for the 31st night.

On the first day itself we were told that the hostel is giving out free passes for their hosteliers for a very costly New Year Bash happening at Hawa Bunglow- a heritage property situated in the outskirts of the city. And the drone coverage video was tempting enough, so we had signed our names for it!

Before we came to Jaipur our plans for 31st were to sit in our room and just chill! But I was reminded of a sentence that my parents say to me -“Never miss out on any opportunity” and so we grabbed this one! ( LOL )

They had arranged a bus and almost 50 hostelites were going together to this party! It was such an unexpected situation that we were basking in its glory. Strangers, new friends and old- all together in this bus going to celebrate a new year together. It was a recipe for happiness.

It took us almost an hour to reach the bungalow. But it was worth every second spent! It had the same charm a Jaipur palace has. We had the privilege of exploiting this place till 4 am! There was a rocky path leading up to the palace which we had to conquer in heels! As we went up there was a dance area set up and DJ was blaring out dance numbers.

We danced and partied like crazy! Us and our friend circle had chosen a higher bench where all of us had climbed onto and were dancing our hearts out! We were kinda the show stoppers! It was a night full of mixed emotions for me which burst out at the stroke of midnight!

And it was officially the year 2018! A great start to yet another New Year! After that, the time that followed went by in a blur of faces and places. And we were back to our hostel at 3 am!

Next day on 1st Jan 2018, waking up was quite difficult but still with the same gusto went to see Hawa Mahal for the last time in broad daylight!

Gave back our scooter and had lunch with everyone namely Sakshi, Ishita, Chugh brothers, and Pete. It was our last meal with them!( Just like Jesus’s  ‘The last supper’. Feeble attempt at creating a link!)

After that, we headed for Galtaji / Monkey Temple. Galtaji is Khole Ke Hanuman Ji and it has a series of pavilions which houses the domed temples. The temple is constructed in the lap of hills and therefore it takes almost 1 to 2 hours to climb down and back up if one wants to see the main structure of Galtaji.

It is rightly called the Monkey temple and the herd of monkeys on the sides of the road were a proof of that! They were quite harmless but to my eyes no animal is dangerous, so can’t really trust me on that! But there was one distinct feature about them that they were well behaved and would leap on anyone who teased them!

As we were going down Oshan couldn’t stop cribbing from walking so much! But well I wanted to see the temple so she didn’t have an option. In the end, she came but constantly with her slow pace!

So till we reached the temple it was already sunning down! But nevertheless, I got to see the temple and believe me when I say that it was prettier than my imaginations! The entire place was done in an ochre + light yellow colour which evoked a sense of bright energy even in the dying sun!

Never go alone here after sunset because we were also warned about it! We also had our friends with us when we visited this place and in turn it worked in all our favour!

But the toughest mission then was to make Osh climb faster than she descended. It was not possible but because of that I could bask in the full moon which had just risen in the sky and it lighted up the temple, the hills, and houses with its ethereal light! It was so scenic. And all of a sudden I didn’t mind her climbing slowly upwards, I plopped down there and just stared at the scene unfolding in front of me!

That was our last of Jaipur. While going back to our hostel to collect our bags we stopped at Bar Palladio and I fulfilled one more wish of mine- to see this restaurant in its totality. And I wasn’t wrong for wanting to dine here! It completely soaked me into its essence and transported me to Morocco with its bohemian interiors! It was dripping with the kind of finesse only a hotel in Rajasthan can cope up with!

Sadly we couldn’t have dinner there because it was packed with people yet again! But while returning we did have a cold coffee at a popular place suggested by the locals in compensation for a lost chance at Bar Palladio! And it was quite yummy with all its ice cream, choco-chips, and thick coffee.

And then we said our final goodbyes to this place and the people and traveled back to our respective cities ending this short yet memorable trip.

It is rightly said that however good or bad a destination is, it can always become your personal best by the people you travel with!

My Jaipur Vlog: