Jaipur was a late addition to our schedule which had to change because we couldn’t get train tickets to Chennai. We had planned on a few days there to see some temples and then an overnight train to Goa. As it turned out we flew from Rishikesh directly to Jaipur instead and spend four nights in the capital of Rajistan.
We had suffered some very basic accommodation up until Jaipur. In Delhi we had no hot water, broken toilet flush necessitating a DIY bucket arrangement.
In Kalka we’d had another basic hotel with flies and no hot water and in Shimla we’d had a really cold room and freezing cold bathroom. I again, had no hot water. In Rishikesh we knew we had signed up for a basic room so we were prepared for the hard beds and again I had to have a cold shower.
Hence when we got to Jaipur and saw the Diggi Palace Hotel where we were staying, we were ecstatic. It is a little piece of peace in a noisy city.
Peacocks and macaws are on the lawn, in the trees and chipmunks call to each other. The rooms in this oasis are furnished with old but intact furniture and have huge bathrooms with plenty of hot water, white towels and crisp sheets.
We determined immediately, to spend most of our time here and only venture out for a few hours. We walked to the pink city which although close, required numerous hazardous road crossings and walks up rubbish-strewn alleys.
We were hassled a lot by vendors in the fabric bazaar and of course, by tuk-tuk drivers.
We lashed out of a £2.50 trip to the Tattoo Cafe where we could sit and admire the outer wall of the pink city and the Hawa Mahal (the cover of the India Rough Guide apparent). It was crawling for tourists of course.
Everywhere, like the other cities, we were stopped for photos with Indian tourists and their children. Everywhere was rubbish and noise and dust and chaos.
We retreated to the hotel and sat around the lawn or lay down or sat on loungers by the pool – rested, recuperated and sheltered from the chaotic scene that is a large Indian city.
Thank God for Diggi Palace Hotel – none of us has been happier than when we walked through the gates into this tranquil haven.
It’s as if we have been holding our breath for the whole time we have been in India and finally we can breath. It;s amazing how much you can miss the simple things in life like hot water, clean sheets, hotel towels, kettle and tea bags and even hangers for our clothes.
Diggi Palace hotel has them all and for this, we are all very grateful.