This past weekend, I took a wonderful mini-vacation to Jaipur in Rajasthan. Bhubaneswar is not the easiest place with regards to connectivity and traveling, therefore I chose to fly to Delhi on Thursday evening and book a driver from the Delhi airport to Jaipur, which ended up being about a 4 hours drive in the middle of the night. Deciding to stay in Bani Park, a short rickshaw ride from the old city, Hotel H.R. Park was a nice choice: completely over value and under budget. I arrived late in the night and got some rest before beginning my exploring on Friday morning!
The next morning, three of my classmates and I grabbed a Tuk Tuk from the hotel to the New Gate, which is often referred to as the Pink City. Jaipur, often referred to as the Pink City, is known for its beautiful old city with very saturated architecture and tons, I mean tons, of bazaars. After entering through the new gate and taking a hard right, we landed at the Bapu Bazaar, which covers the length of the entire street along the old city wall. It was in those first 10 minutes that I realized Jaipur was the India that I had pictured in my mind before my arrival. Literally ever step was met by a vendor shoving scarves, trinkets or jewelry in my face, in ever color imaginable, with the constant chattering “only 200, 300, 500 rupee”. I was overwhelming but in the best way! I felt like my senses went into overdrive as my eyes glazed over, taking in the rich colored fabrics as my nosed picked up the smell of the camel leather shoe shops. It took me about 7 minutes before I already had my first purchase in hand. Once we reached the end of the Bapu Bazaar, a quick left deposited us at the Johari Bazaar, sprawling the length of the street leading to the City Palace. This Bazaar is known for both its jewelry and saree shops. Along the way we popped into shops whose storefronts enticed us with glamorous rings and hand painted sculptures. My bag began to feel very heavy at this point!
Once we made it through the bazaar, we crossed the street and walked up to the first tourist sight, the Hawa Mahal. The Hawa Mahal, known as the wind temple, was built in 1799 by the royal family in Jaipur. The entire facade is covered in tiny windows, so that in the past, the royal women could look out onto the streets to see the lives of people beyond the palace walls. If you venture down the street you can climb up some stairs and enter into the palace and to the top, giving you an amazing view of the forts, dotted along the skyline, overlooking the city of Jaipur. All the stairs and photo ops resulted in quite an appetite, so we back tracked down the Johari Bazaar and had lunch at Laxmi Misthan Bhandar, LXB, a famous institution for those looking to try Rajasthani cuisine. Nicole and I decided to select and share some of the Rajasthani options and were not disappointed, but be prepared because Rajasthani cuisine should read: Insanely Spicy! We finished the meal with a few of the sweets from behind the counter in the LXB snack shop next to the restaurant. After this, the City Palace was on the agenda. Down the road from Hawa Mahal, the gate to the City Palace is accessible through a winding, narrow street. We went to the City Palace museum and walked about the expansive and extremely impressive palace. All the structures were ornate and true to the saturated pink coloring that Jaipur is famous for. Once roaming around was complete, dinner was up next and Nicole and I chose to make our way to Natraj on M.I. Road outside of the old city wall. We started with a dosa, whose sour, crispy yet porous dough was perfect and the coconut chutney that I sopped up with my torn dosa pieces was the best I have ever had. We were craving some North Indian food and went with Palak Paneer, the rich spinach gravy cooked over chunks of Indian cottage cheese. I left Natraj with a feeling of sleepy contentment, ready to take on the next day in Jaipur after a good rest.
Saturday morning was an early one, as we choose to venture outside of the city to visit some of the famous forts in Jaipur. First on the list was Jaigar Fort, which is half way up the mountain on the way to Naragarh Fort. Jaigar Fort was breathtaking and only outdone by the views of the entire valley and city. We continued on to Naragarh, sitting at the very top of the hill and providing truly the best panoramic view of the city. On the way back into the city, we stopped to be mesmerized by Jal Mahal, the iconic Water Temple.
Obviously, one of the most important parts of my trips is where and what I eat! And I have to admit that lunch was just as exhilarating for me as the forts. Ganesh is a hidden gem, up a set of stairs tucked along the edge of Nehru Bazaar. Once I climbed to the top and walked along the edge of the building roof, I knew I would be in for a treat. A little structure for seating overlooks the cook, who is working in a pit right above the street. These are the types of places that many people would often avoid or choose to order safely at, however that is not my M.O. I decided on two dishes I had never tried: Kaju Kari, a rich red gravy studded with roasted roasted cashews and a spicy cinnamon flavor and the Ganesh Special, a vegetable curry with bell peppers, onions, tomatoes blended with creamy paneer. Both were complete knockouts, served along with very crisp and fluffy rotis which are common in Rajasthan compared to the very thin almost tortilla like rotis found in Odisha.
After this, I was on a mission. Lassi is basically liquid Indian Gold and they (well, good ones) are literally nonexistent in Bhubaneswar! Lassis are often found fruit flavored outside of India, however in Jaipur the traditional sweet lassi is served by a plethora of shops around every corner. The average lassi was not going to cut it for me, so we ventured outside of the old city and went in search of the real Lassi Walla on M.I. Road. Shop 312 is the original spot, the oldest standing Lassi shop in Jaipur, serving up fresh sweet lassis in the iconic clay cups. I went with a small lassi, served along with a dollop of the intensely sweet curd plopped into the glass, along with a small wooden spoon to fish it out with. The experience was divine. The lassi was cool and sweet but still reminiscent of the tangy natural yogurt that makes up the base of the blended beverage. Depression set it as I neared the end of cup and I finished it off my smashing my ceramic cup in the nearby bin. On we went to do some more shopping along M.I. Road at the jewelry and antique shops.
The ‘dining a la top of the stairs’ theme continued for dinner on Saturday night as we made our way to The Doors, which was quite appropriately the “cherry on top” with regards to my culinary expeditions in Jaipur. Up a narrow metal staircase down an alley off M.I. Road is where you can find The Doors, after you pass by the open kitchen on the ground floor. The second floor dining room is dark and the menu is simple with a great deal of options that I had never come across before in India. Tempted with curiosity, we chose to split the Vegetable Soyabean Keema, which turned out to be a spicy tomato gravy mixed with ground soybeans and peppers, Mutter Malai Mushroom, a creamy cashew gravy surrounding tender mushrooms and peas, and the Bhindi Barawan, a deeply charred equally spiced mix of okra, tomatoes and onions.
On the way out of the city of Jaipur on Sunday morning, we stopped at Amer Fort. This fort overlooks the entire city and was originally the capital of the region during the early 18th century. The walls and buildings inside the fort are covered in extremely meticulous and impressive engravings and stone work. A personal highlight was being able to see the elephants that guests often ride up from the bottom of the hill. I enjoyed watching them populate the entrance square of the palace. Amer Fort was incredible to see, although it was a bit grey and raining, and it was the perfect last stop of the weekend before I headed back to Delhi and grabbed a plane to the Bhub!
The next morning, three of my classmates and I grabbed a Tuk Tuk from the hotel to the New Gate, which is often referred to as the Pink City. Jaipur, often referred to as the Pink City, is known for its beautiful old city with very saturated architecture and tons, I mean tons, of bazaars. After entering through the new gate and taking a hard right, we landed at the Bapu Bazaar, which covers the length of the entire street along the old city wall. It was in those first 10 minutes that I realized Jaipur was the India that I had pictured in my mind before my arrival. Literally ever step was met by a vendor shoving scarves, trinkets or jewelry in my face, in ever color imaginable, with the constant chattering “only 200, 300, 500 rupee”. I was overwhelming but in the best way! I felt like my senses went into overdrive as my eyes glazed over, taking in the rich colored fabrics as my nosed picked up the smell of the camel leather shoe shops. It took me about 7 minutes before I already had my first purchase in hand. Once we reached the end of the Bapu Bazaar, a quick left deposited us at the Johari Bazaar, sprawling the length of the street leading to the City Palace. This Bazaar is known for both its jewelry and saree shops. Along the way we popped into shops whose storefronts enticed us with glamorous rings and hand painted sculptures. My bag began to feel very heavy at this point!
Once we made it through the bazaar, we crossed the street and walked up to the first tourist sight, the Hawa Mahal. The Hawa Mahal, known as the wind temple, was built in 1799 by the royal family in Jaipur. The entire facade is covered in tiny windows, so that in the past, the royal women could look out onto the streets to see the lives of people beyond the palace walls. If you venture down the street you can climb up some stairs and enter into the palace and to the top, giving you an amazing view of the forts, dotted along the skyline, overlooking the city of Jaipur. All the stairs and photo ops resulted in quite an appetite, so we back tracked down the Johari Bazaar and had lunch at Laxmi Misthan Bhandar, LXB, a famous institution for those looking to try Rajasthani cuisine. Nicole and I decided to select and share some of the Rajasthani options and were not disappointed, but be prepared because Rajasthani cuisine should read: Insanely Spicy! We finished the meal with a few of the sweets from behind the counter in the LXB snack shop next to the restaurant. After this, the City Palace was on the agenda. Down the road from Hawa Mahal, the gate to the City Palace is accessible through a winding, narrow street. We went to the City Palace museum and walked about the expansive and extremely impressive palace. All the structures were ornate and true to the saturated pink coloring that Jaipur is famous for. Once roaming around was complete, dinner was up next and Nicole and I chose to make our way to Natraj on M.I. Road outside of the old city wall. We started with a dosa, whose sour, crispy yet porous dough was perfect and the coconut chutney that I sopped up with my torn dosa pieces was the best I have ever had. We were craving some North Indian food and went with Palak Paneer, the rich spinach gravy cooked over chunks of Indian cottage cheese. I left Natraj with a feeling of sleepy contentment, ready to take on the next day in Jaipur after a good rest.
Saturday morning was an early one, as we choose to venture outside of the city to visit some of the famous forts in Jaipur. First on the list was Jaigar Fort, which is half way up the mountain on the way to Naragarh Fort. Jaigar Fort was breathtaking and only outdone by the views of the entire valley and city. We continued on to Naragarh, sitting at the very top of the hill and providing truly the best panoramic view of the city. On the way back into the city, we stopped to be mesmerized by Jal Mahal, the iconic Water Temple.
Obviously, one of the most important parts of my trips is where and what I eat! And I have to admit that lunch was just as exhilarating for me as the forts. Ganesh is a hidden gem, up a set of stairs tucked along the edge of Nehru Bazaar. Once I climbed to the top and walked along the edge of the building roof, I knew I would be in for a treat. A little structure for seating overlooks the cook, who is working in a pit right above the street. These are the types of places that many people would often avoid or choose to order safely at, however that is not my M.O. I decided on two dishes I had never tried: Kaju Kari, a rich red gravy studded with roasted roasted cashews and a spicy cinnamon flavor and the Ganesh Special, a vegetable curry with bell peppers, onions, tomatoes blended with creamy paneer. Both were complete knockouts, served along with very crisp and fluffy rotis which are common in Rajasthan compared to the very thin almost tortilla like rotis found in Odisha.
After this, I was on a mission. Lassi is basically liquid Indian Gold and they (well, good ones) are literally nonexistent in Bhubaneswar! Lassis are often found fruit flavored outside of India, however in Jaipur the traditional sweet lassi is served by a plethora of shops around every corner. The average lassi was not going to cut it for me, so we ventured outside of the old city and went in search of the real Lassi Walla on M.I. Road. Shop 312 is the original spot, the oldest standing Lassi shop in Jaipur, serving up fresh sweet lassis in the iconic clay cups. I went with a small lassi, served along with a dollop of the intensely sweet curd plopped into the glass, along with a small wooden spoon to fish it out with. The experience was divine. The lassi was cool and sweet but still reminiscent of the tangy natural yogurt that makes up the base of the blended beverage. Depression set it as I neared the end of cup and I finished it off my smashing my ceramic cup in the nearby bin. On we went to do some more shopping along M.I. Road at the jewelry and antique shops.
The ‘dining a la top of the stairs’ theme continued for dinner on Saturday night as we made our way to The Doors, which was quite appropriately the “cherry on top” with regards to my culinary expeditions in Jaipur. Up a narrow metal staircase down an alley off M.I. Road is where you can find The Doors, after you pass by the open kitchen on the ground floor. The second floor dining room is dark and the menu is simple with a great deal of options that I had never come across before in India. Tempted with curiosity, we chose to split the Vegetable Soyabean Keema, which turned out to be a spicy tomato gravy mixed with ground soybeans and peppers, Mutter Malai Mushroom, a creamy cashew gravy surrounding tender mushrooms and peas, and the Bhindi Barawan, a deeply charred equally spiced mix of okra, tomatoes and onions.
On the way out of the city of Jaipur on Sunday morning, we stopped at Amer Fort. This fort overlooks the entire city and was originally the capital of the region during the early 18th century. The walls and buildings inside the fort are covered in extremely meticulous and impressive engravings and stone work. A personal highlight was being able to see the elephants that guests often ride up from the bottom of the hill. I enjoyed watching them populate the entrance square of the palace. Amer Fort was incredible to see, although it was a bit grey and raining, and it was the perfect last stop of the weekend before I headed back to Delhi and grabbed a plane to the Bhub!