After a tasty lunch in the more casual of the two hotel restaurants we followed up with a nap - if we were scheduling this trip again, we'd probably schedule a bit more down-time into it.
After napping, and knowing we were getting close to the end of the trip and in a city with a lot of shopping, we all went out looking for things on our lists. Our friend was looking for anklets, I bought a t-shirt, picked up more scarves and also three silver bracelets for Ana from a more upscale place that had nice things. Our friend had been giving us a hard time about not negotiating enough and we didn't much feel like it, so we simply sent her in to do the haggling when we wanted something - no hassle for us, saved money, works for me. We were thinking, since we were in town, that we might go see The Force Awakens, since that had just come out in theaters, but we couldn't find an un-dubbed (into Hindi) one in time. Were mostly wanted do to this just for the experience of seeing something in a theater in India, but no special loss.
Being in a big city, we didn't have to rely on the hotel or driver for food recommendations and went to a restaurant recommended in the guidebook that was sort of a diner/coffeehouse. I think we paid all together for dinner for four what a single entree for one of us at a tourist place would cost (so, about $3). Ana ordered something called 'rose milk' which I believe was flavored with actual roses and she reports it as 'interesting, but wouldn't order again'.
The next morning (our last as a tourist group with our friends before splitting up at the end of the trip) we headed out to the Amber Fort, which originally was part of the protection of the city and is perched on a hill nearby. We were originally scheduled to ride an elephant up to the front gate, but there was a line an hour long and we didn't really feel the need to partake so we simply drove up to the parking lot below the entrance. Our main driver was still with his family so we had a new driver for the day, who skipped the place where you can take pictures of the whole fort both coming and going, despite requests.
The fortifications extended far beyond the fort itself.
Looking down over some of the oldest parts of the city.
Elephant ride up to the main gate. We were told the elephants make a specific limited number of trips per day and are treated well.
Mirrored inlay in the walls of the fort - more attractive than some other places we've seen such work.
We didn't get to explore the one up on the hill - believe it is closed to the public.
Wished that the water had been going - there were dedicated fountains and channels cut into the gardens and surrounding structures that were not turned on.
Maintenance work was ongoing but the garden couldn't be called well-maintained - note the green lagoon and no flowing water.
We were eventually turned loose to explore the open areas of the fort. This is probably where the water used to come up
The parking lot was a bit more full when we came out.
More shopping was next - went to a place where the driver probably gets a kickback, enjoyed this pro-wrestler public elementary school event billboard. We didn't find a lot we wanted though our friends found more. Did blow a guy's mind by telling him how much a custom suit costs in the US, though the fabrics this particular place had were not that exciting and we wouldn't have time for shirts or suits to get made anyway. However, one of our friends had had 6 shirts made in Mumbai for cheap and liked them a lot. Ana tore strips off a salesman who tried to make nice about her knitting and suggested that women were better at some crafts and men at others. Did not go the way he wanted it to. I think he also asked for one of the socks she was working on as a gift and said he'd gift her something back, which, uh, no?
Went to the current / active city palace (the flag on top means the ruler is at home, I think). The palace itself isn't open for tours but the grounds around it have plenty.
Including giant solid silver pots (the biggest in the world according to signage) used by a former ruler to transport Indian water to England on a trip. There was also a Rolls Royce on display, which was given as a freebie to one of the local rulers. However, the story before that freebie was more interesting - the ruler while in England had gone to a dealership dressed in rather ordinary clothes and was turned away rudely, presumably for being Indian. He then sent someone to buy every car in that showroom and set them to work hauling trash in Jaipur, never saying a word to Rolls about it. When they eventually found/figured it out, they sent the freebie over to make up for it.
There was an artists' workshop and store in the palace area - you aren't supposed to take pictures in there but we got permission from this gentleman when we bought one of his metal-inlay boxes.
Another major observatory on site, and in better shape with better signs than the one in New Delhi. If you can see this one, skip that one.
After all that we returned to the hotel. It was New Year's Eve, and our booked tour included a 'Gala' at the hotel that night starting at 7:30. Thankfully no dress code, as we had nothing fancy. We went on time / a little late and the party was absolutely dead. There was music painfully loud (truly honestly actually, loud like a rock concert and maybe a bit beyond) in one room and a thankfully much quieter area with food and an open bar. We needed to eat and drink A LOT to get our money's worth for this event, fortunately the food was pretty good buffet with crispy fried fish and decent chicken and veggies. Since alcohol is expensive in India, that was the way to go in terms of costing them money - tried a few more local whiskeys, some of which were adequate for drinking and some of which were clearly intended for mixing. People started showing up and it got a little crowded given the limited number of tables, and kids started dancing inside which was cute (I would not expose small children to those volumes but at least someone enjoyed it), though the event was supposed to be adults / couples only according to the tickets and ads.
Pretty sure they re-used the 2015 sign and put more lights across the bottom of the 5.
We ate and drank and hung out chatting for a while trying to get our money's worth - pretty sure we accomplished it at tourist prices. We didn't bother staying up for midnight itself and there didn't seem to be major fireworks or anything, which was fine with us. The next day, we'd be splitting from our friends and they'd be headed back to the US and we'd go out to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, which they'd visited before we arrived in India. As always, more pictures on Flickr.
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