.: Jaipur INDIA

So here I am back to my one month India diary that I haven't finished posting last year. It is a one month trip after all, and you cannot imagine how many photos I have in store. I really have to narrow down the amount of the photos in my post. I hope you guys enjoy the story within the post.
Enjoy the pictures after the jump!

Arrive in Jaipur and the first place we visited was Pink City, the Palace complex and the Jantar Mantar is within this Pink City. Why naming the city "pink city" you asked? Because the buildings are in pink color. :)

Jantar Mantar is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments, built by Sawai Jai Singh who was a Rajput king. He had constructed a total of five such facilities at different locations, including the ones at Delhi and Jaipur, but this Jaipur observatory is the largest and best preserved. It has been inscribed on the world heritage list as "an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period".

This is Nadivalaya, it is an equinoctial sundial more analogous to the European sundials. It has two circular dials in the plane of the Equator - a North facing one and a South facing one. If you are interested in this study, I would suggest to Google about it and once you are in India, it will be awesome to visit Jaipur Jantar Mantar. I am just fascinated that a King in the era of 1700 has been building and studying it keenly. Amazeballs!

I stand in front of 'Rashivalays', Rashivalays is used for the direct observation of celestial latitude and longitude. The Zodiac here is divided into twelve parts, each spanning a longitude of 30 degrees. The twelve zodiac signs include Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. I am standing in front of my zodiac here :)

I got side tracked outside the Jantar Mantar and bought some of these stamps...

Who wouldn't? they are sooooo awesome!

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On to next place, the Gatore Ki Chhatriyan; it is a complex of temples and tombs in the foothills of the Nahargarh (Tiger) Fort. It was the royal crematorium for the majestic rulers of Rajasthan. The beautiful edifice also has a cenotaph for each of the more famous maharajas cremated there. Engraved with beautiful Rajasthani carvings, the cenotaphs are one of the major attractions of the place. The cenotaphs are shaped like umbrellas (chhatris).

Oh, and just in case you are wondering what a cenotaph is, a cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been re-interred elsewhere.

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Stepping out from the Gatore, we spot What? Who? It was Gray langurs or Hanuman langurs that were around the area, it is the most widespread langurs of South Asia, they are a group of old world monkeys constituting the entirety of the genus Semnopithecus. You can read more about it here.

As we climb up the stairs outside the Gatore, we are heading towards the Ganesh temple, look at this beautiful view....

you wonder about the peeping hole next to me here? here goes:

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Amber Fort is located in Amer; a town with an area of 4 square kilometres, located high on a hill. Amber Fort was built by Raja Man Singh I and is known for its artistic style, blending both Hindu and Rajput elements. I has large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront. Built in 1550 – 1614, Man Singh, is one of the first war chiefs or the trusted general of the Emperor Akbar. Akbar included him among the ‘Navaratnas’, or the 9 (nava) gems (ratna) of the royal court. Man Singh began the construction of a fortress-palace of white and red sandstone. He was the Kacchwaha (Rajput) of King of Amber, a state later known as Jaipur.

‘Diwan e-Khaas’ or the ‘Hall of Private Audience’ has delicate mosaic work in glass. In this hall, king used to meet special guests from other states, ministers, and his friends.

The Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Palace) is the most famous and beautiful part of Amber Fort. The Walls and ceiling of this hall is carved with beautiful paintings and flowers and that too made with pure glass. The reason behind why this hall was made by glass because in ancient days the queen was not allowed to sleep in open air but she loved to see the stars shining. So the king ordered his architects to make something which could solve the purpose. The most stunning thing about this hall is that if someone burns two candles, then the reflection converts that small light into thousand of stars.

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Jal Mahal (Water Palace) is a palace located in the middle of the Man Sagar Lake. The palace and the lake around it were renovated and enlarged in the 18th century by Maharaja Jai Singh II of Amber.

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Hawa Mahal ("Palace of Winds" or "Palace of the Breeze"), so named because it was essentially a high screen wall built so the women of the royal household could observe street festivities while unseen from the outside. Constructed of red and pink sandstone, the palace sits on the edge of the City palace and extends to the zenana (the women's chambers).