8th April 2013 Jaipur is The Pink City - not given this name for the same reasons as Blackpool. Indeed one of the early kings had a harem of 1800 wives, as well as his 12 queens. And today we visited Nahargah Fort including Madhvendra Bhawan, where there were 9 apartments, one for each of the 9 wives, all linked by a network of corridors -used so that the king could visit any (female) queen without the other's knowledge. It is called the Pink City, because all residents of the Old City are compelled by law to paint their buildings pink ( the colour of hospitality), a tradition started in 1878 by Maharaja Ram Singh. The day started yesterday with a visit to Amber Fort, just outside of Jaipur, with the final part of the journey being an elephant ride. Entrance to the Maharajas' Apartments The Jai Mandir (Hall of Victory): Patterns made with coloured foil and paint are covered in glass, and night when lit with candlelight the mass of convex mirrors would have glittered brightly like stars. Afterwards we visited a store and watched the art of weaving and preparing rugs, as well as block printing on textiles. The speed with which the weaver tied knots was stunning, but, despite that, a rug 2 metres by 3 metres in silk, only costs about £3000. Carpet Weaver In the afternoon we visited the City Palace and saw, among other things, two huge silver urns. These were specially made to transport holy water from The Ganges to England when the Maharaja visited for the coronation of Edward VII. Each weighs 345 kg and contained 4000L of water. They were beaten into shape from silver sheets - each made from 14,000 melted silver coins - without any soldering. We also visited Jantar Mantar, one of the 5 observatories built by the first king of Jaipur. The scale and precision of the measuring instruments was stunning, and they are still highly accurate. One of the sundials is a massive edifice with a staircase running to the top. It has a 27 metre high arm, and the shadow it casts moves up to 4 metres each hour, and is accurate to 2 seconds. Sundial at Janta Mantra Today we have visited Sisodia Rani Palace Garden, and also Nahargah Fort, mentioned previously, but have had a mainly relaxing day, getting ready for an early start to Agra tomorrow and viewing of The Taj Mahal tomorrow evening. Monkey at Nahargah The Quarters of One of the Nine Queens We continue to enjoy excellent food, with great mixtures of spices. The initial impression of noise, colour, smells and people has not faded. India is a massive sensory experience. Most of all there are some interesting people to see. Carpet Weaver - Tea Break Striking A Deal The Garlic Seller Indian Turbaned Man