While we ate on the hotel rooftop restaurant, our expanding luggage was carried up to our cheery room. Consistent with the rest of the hotel, the rooftop was also decorated in a very artistic, if not eclectic style. Sculpted metal peacock heads protruded from the upper roof, partially shaded by small round huts also made of metal. Tables and the chairs were slightly Dali-esque, forming hands, faces, protruding noses, and more. Down in the expansive common room, chairs by the computers were barely recognizable beneath the smiling papier mâché face. Other furniture looked rather neoclassical. Walking through the hallway, ceramic faces smiled back at you, encouraging you to stop and admire the slightly whimsical murals, decorative ceilings, and to peek in open rooms - each one of which were unique.
Refreshed with a good (but slow) meal and a bit of lounging around, one friend and I began walking towards the old city of Jaipur. At first we ignored the auto and bicycle rickshaw drivers because we felt we could walk the trip, the increasing distance and heat prompted us to accept a bicycle rickshaw ride. That poor skinny guy really sweat and pumped his legs up and down to propel us to our destination, but he succeeded. Feeling a bit sorry for him, we gave him an extra tip.
Shopping in the Bazaars
We now were at Bapu Bazaar road, place for what else - shopping. Both sides of the street were lined with a smoky coral-colored strip mall, whose signs were alternately written in English or Hindi. Bapu Bazaar tended to be a bit more of a potpourri with its selection, a mixture of crafts & textiles from all over Rajasthan. Having done enough shopping in these cities already, we passed over this area rather quickly - but not without purchasing at least one thing. Turning onto Johari Bazaar, we now were in the jewelry district. In addition to the usual silver and gold, display cases sparkled with a rainbow of various gems. From the delicate to the incredibly chunky, these tiny shops had a lot to offer if you gave them enough time to bring out all the plastic bins and display boxes. You didn’t even need to step inside to buy one of these colored rocks; plenty of vendors sat on the sidewalk curb, encouraging you to look at their potentially dubious gems. Rather uneducated about gems - their worth and how to distinguish real from fake - I stayed clear. Having only walked on one side of the Johari Bazaar, we turned left onto Tripolia Bazaar. This area was much more domestic in its offerings, specializing in kitchen utensils, textiles, spices, and other household goods. Spotting our landmark of the Iswari
Minar Swarga Sal (Heaven-Piercing Minaret), we made another left and headed down the Maniharon ka Rasta lane. Here stall after stall in this narrow lane was packed with stacks of colorful lac (resin) bangles. Both men and women craftspeople sat cross-legged near the front of some stalls, forming the bracelets over small tins of coal, pressing tiny mirror pieces or beads onto the still-soft bangles. Some shops were quite lively, filled with brightly clad Rajasthani women chatting excitedly as different stacks of bangles were shown to them until just the right ones were found to match their dress material.
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