Greetings from the Pink City,

Today was a great day, as usual. In the morning, we ate a delicious breakfast. The breakfast served a great variety of food, ranging from boiled eggs to pasta. The highlight of the meal was definitely the mango juice. It hit all the right notes: sweet, flavorful, and filling. We made sure to fill our bodies with plenty of food for the long day ahead.

After breakfast, we met up with our guide, Deepesh, and boarded the van to head to the Amber Fort. As we were driving, there was a noticeable shift in the landscape outside our windows. The scenery shifted from loud, bustling city streets to the quiet, lush greenery of the mountainous hills. The buildings shifted from high-rise concrete to stone carvings with narrow alleyways. Once we slowed to a stop, we could see that the hills surrounding us were lined with stone walls. Each wall had a lookout post every 50 or so feet. We got out of the van and started walking towards an ancient well named Pana Meena Ka Kund. It was originally created by a husband for his wife. The husband intended to create a space for his wife to pray. The well is made of geometric steps that lead down to the water. The well itself is massive. It’s 200 feet deep. We took pictures, then headed back to the van for our next destination

We rode the van through very narrow alleyways. At some points, we were wedged so tight between cars and walls that people would get out of their cars to try to figure out how to pass by without causing any major accidents. A few more nerve-wracking minutes in the van, then we saw it; Amber Fort. Seated on the highest hill, Amber Fort is huge. It covers a little bit more space than the Texas School for the Deaf campus. We walked up what felt like thousands of steps in the midday sun. Finally, we reached the Amber Palace, which is the central part of the Amber Fort. The fort wasn’t always a fort. It originally was just the palace. However, the Mughal empire, an ancient Indian empire, conquered the palace. They then converted the palace to a Fort to house its royals. The royalty was a king and his 12 wives. The architecture of the fort is unlike any other. It’s full of intricate art and colors that show the artisans really put in the work. The attention to detail is particularly evident in the Mirror Palace. The Mirror Palace is a room constructed for a king in 1729. The room uses the reflection of mirrors to light up the room with only two candles. The room is a great example of Mughal mastery in design and architecture. We wandered the detailed pink limestone walls for some time until we found our way to the jail. The jail is accessible via an underground tunnel. The jail itself has high stone walls designed to keep cool year-round. Once we finished exploring the jail, we headed back to the surface. Then we walked down the thousands of steps once again. Finally, we reached the bottom and met up with our van to ride to our next landmark.

It wasn’t long before we could see the serene waters of the Jal Mahal. The Jal Mahal is located in the middle of a lake between high hills. Constructed in 1799, it was created to serve as a royal retreat for the king and queen. The Jal Mahal is genuinely a beautiful place. Its not hard to see why the royals selected this location. As the day progressed, we got hungrier and hungrier, so we once again boarded the van. This time, however, we headed to perhaps the greatest destination of all: lunch.

Our lunch was at a nice place named the Green Pigeon. We restocked on fuel for our minds and bodies with fantastic food. The restaurant served great food and plenty of naan.  Once we were full, we headed back on the road.

After lunch, we arrived at the City Palace, which is like every landmark today: massive and beautiful. The City Palace is where the royals lived after they relocated from the Amber Fort. Descendants of those royals still inhabit the palace today. Although, they hold no real political power. The Palace is part museum and part residence for the royals. We visited the textiles museum, which was full of the royal attire that former kings and queens used. Additionally, we saw the art museum, which turned out to be a market for local artisans. Next, we saw the Peacock Gates. The Gates are 4 intricate doors designed to show off the wealth and artistry of the royals. No two doors are alike. Finally, we toured the Royal Museum. This museum was a glimpse into the lavish lives of the royals. After the Royal Museum, we exited the Palace and walked over to a nearby garden space. The garden-like area held huge stone astronomical instruments. The smallest instruments were about the size of a room. The biggest one was about 150-200 feet tall. The instruments were very impressive and showed the intelligence of ancient Indian scholars. As the sun began to fall in the sky, we walked to our final destination of the day, Hawa Mahal.

We walked for about 15 minutes before stopping at a store within a shopping district. This store was owned by a Deaf man. We chatted with him before we headed to the Hawa Mahal. The Hawa Mahal is a building facade adorned with very detailed honeycomb windows. The honeycomb window design was implemented because, in the past, women were not allowed to be seen, so the honeycomb windows allow women to look out upon the street without anyone seeing them. We took thousands of pictures of the beautiful pink landmark. As the sun dipped below the horizon, we boarded the van one final time today to go to dinner.

Dinner was at a place called Gulab Garh. It was located far from the city. Gulab Garh offered authentic Indian food and an authentic Indian dining experience. The place was not only a restaurant, but it also had carnival games and Indian entertainment such as dancing, henna, and more. We all enjoyed a great time playing carnival games. We all decided to get henna as a group. Once we had our fun, it was time to eat. We sat criss-cross on the floor. The meal was one main platter that consisted of “toppings” and 5 other dishes with different types of Indian food. The meal is eaten by mixing and matching different foods. It was a unique meal that we had all never done before. With bellies full, we got on the van to head to the hotel for a great night’s rest.

See y’all in the next one,

Antonio