Arrival Jaipur

This is the trip and the arrival in Jaipur. It is a region only 200 km away from Agra and already looks totally different. It's also in a different state. The craftmanship and clothes look more Arabic than in other parts of India that I have seen. So, I arrive in the city of Nitin and have just done some sightseeing today. The part I arrived in is older and poorer than the real city, as I could see later.



Outside of the city of Jaipur is "Chokri Dahni", which is an ethnic village. Actually a touristic village place with a 5-star resort bordering it, which makes it slightly less interesting, but yesterday it was a good introduction to the more folkloristic side of this place.

Going through Jaipur, I see distint differences also in behaviour and clothing. I think that this city is a lot more Hindu than the rest we have seen so far, quite a lot more. This state seems to have a bit of a ban on the consumption and use of alcohol, although it is mostly fought by the local more fundamental communities. Inside the hotel this is reflected by the lack of choice in beverage, for example in Delhi there is a choice of 6-7 different wines on the menu, but here only 1 or 2.



Agra was also very difficult tourist-wise. Not only is tourism under-developed in the sense that hotels are suprisingly unprepared for international tourists, there are also large scams in some restaurants. One of these scams in Agra was for example that you go to a restaurant and have food. Then you fall ill. A three-wheeler taxi outside seems very concerned and brings you to a local clinic. The doctor there prescribes some medicine after a short diagnosis, but only after having taken $$$$ from your health / travel insurance package. The story ends that the medicines keep you feeling sick actually, so you end up going back and spending more. A British couple since has called for an investigation and the Delhi government has started this in Agra. However, nobody was judged for this atrocious scam, but it has so far not seemed to happen that often.



Back to Jaipur, this hotel "Holiday Inn" is quite good. The food is good, there are two restaurants to choose from and a coffeeshop / bar here.