It was quite a while I had not gone out of Gurgaon. I have been to most places around Gurgaon in last few years including Jaipur. But just decided visit there again 🙂
I found good hotel deal on a online travel website and booked “Hotel Mansingh” a five star property in city centre for 2 nights, 19th to 21st Aug.
We started from Gurgaon around 7:00 in the morning and after smooth
drive we reached Jaipur around 10:30 am. After hotel check-in we rested for a couple of hours then went towards Raj Mandir area. This is old well known theater of town and now it is surround by many restaurants like McDonalds, Dominio, Barbeque Nation and more.
After having some quick bites we decided to explore traditional markets of Jaipur. We visited Bapu bazar area which is well known for traditional Jaipuri artwork, decorative items and apparels. Remember to carry enough water and snacks for kids as there are not many restaurants in this area. You should demonstrate good bargaining skills to get articles at right price :), sometimes steal price ;-). We bought couple of things from here and returned back to hotel.
Next day morning we explored couple of monuments around, Hawa Mahal,
City palace and again some near by markets. Hawa mahal is a heritage site which has buildings with cluster of “Jali” windows from where you will feel the cool breeze even in hot and humid summers. Ticket costs 50 Rs for Indians.
City palace is another marvel of town and in part of this property Jaipur’s royal family is still living. There are museums, gardens, passages, Chandra Mahal and Mubarak Mahal palaces and other buildings in the complex. You will like traveling in time machine here. Ticket costs 100 Rs.
After roaming for couple of hours in Aug heat we had kulhad lassi and kulfi. Then we went back our hotel to cool off and rest before visiting “Chokhi Dhanni” in the evening.
Chokhi dhanni is another famous destination of visitors at Jaipur. It is a traditional style resort situated at Jaipur Tonk road, about 20 km from main city. You get welcome with traditional “Teeka” to the resort. In the resort there is a lot to do. You can spend hours enjoying horse, elephant, camel, cart rides, folk dances, magic shows, other performances and snacks. Around 7:00pm they start serving dinner in a very traditional way. You can enjoy vast variety of rajanthani cuisine here. We had spent about 4-5 hours here and every moment was joyful. Truly a lovely place to visit.
Next day morning, after having breakfast we checked-out of hotel at 10:00
am. On the way to Gurgaon you pass through Jalmahal, Jaigarh, Nahargarh and Amer forts. I have been to all these forts many times. But still the charisma of “jaivana” drove me to Jaigarh once again. During monsoon the view from Jaigarh is spectacular, specially view of Jalmahal lake from jaivana. Way back to Gurgaon we took halt near Amer fort to capture the view and feed birds and fishes there. We found a cooperative handicraft shop there and bought some gift items for family and friends. Near by we got attracted towards some sweets shops selling “Amer ka peda”. I had not heard of it before when I tasted the sample offered by shopkeeper I can’t resit to buy some for home.