I arrived in India at Jaipur International airport. Since it was an international airport, I thought it will be a huge and busy one. Turned out, it's not that big compared to CGK in Jakarta or DEL in New Delhi. I was with my friends, we were 5 persons, all girls. Our hostel was located in Banipark, about 20-30 minutes from the airport, we rented a prepaid taxi to reach it. Honestly, a prepaid taxi costed a quite pricey fare, but there was no other option since the internet was at low connection and we hadn't activate our local sim card yet to order Uber.
Here are some points from my experience in Jaipur.
Here are some points from my experience in Jaipur.
Where to Stay
I stayed at Tuktuk Backpackers for two nights, Kalyan Hotel for one night, and Jaipur by Roadhouse Hostel for two night. I had a great days there! If you stay at Tuktuk Backpackers, you may meet Husein and he will welcome you with the best hospitality he can offer. Here was a story about our stay, so we already booked a dormitory room for 5 persons, but the system didn't do it for us so the room tagged by others. Hence, Husein gave us two new rooms, which actually the rooms were the more expensive ones, but he said we only pay with the same fare with the dormitory because it's not by our fault.
At Kalyan Hotel, you should meet the lady who was the owner of it. We were just going back to the hotel to take our luggage that we put before. And she gave us the herbs and drink because we looked like so tired and also gave me a room for praying before we go to Jaisalmer. Such one of some little acts of kindness that Indian people did to us, it warmed my heart!
At Roadhouse Hostel, it had a friendly ambience. I really recommend it to backpackers who seek for experience of meeting and making new friends, especially if you are going solo. At the last night I stayed, we spent the night with other guest and the hostel staff. They offered a free drink and we were just having a chit chat until 3pm. They made pharata and we ate together.
What to Do
Jaipur has so much tourist destinations and each destination is located closely, they are not too far to be reached. Some famous places, or we can call it with "Jaipur's Must-Visit", are Hawa Mahal, City Palace, Amber Fort, Nahargarh Fort, Jawahar Circle, and Phana Meena Ka Kund or also known by stepwell.
Also, for those who like shopping, Jaipur is a heaven! A lot of choices for bangles, jewellery, gemstone, bag, shoes, with a unique pattern and details by handmade. So that, they don't have much stock for one design. You can go to Johari Bazaar to get the cheap price. A little bit extra, you can also get a heena art on your beautiful hands!
 |
| Get our hands in heena by this talented lady, she has been doing heena for the last 30 years |
 |
| The famous Hawa Mahal, you can go to a cafe in front of it to get this view |
 |
| Our Inspector Vijay at Amer Fort |
 |
| Wearing saree at City Palace. Seriously, it's such a pretty one! The detail of architecture is just that awesome! |
 |
| Paana Meena Ka Kund. This stepwell was beautiful, but unfortunately when we were there we couldn't step the stairs |
 |
| Jawahar Circle. It was only a gate, but it was soooo pretty into details! |
Some Tips While in Jaipur
-You can have a free stay, (and also free food!), by volunteering in a hostel. Go to a website named workaway.com or you can directly email the hostel which you want to be a volunteer there. You will sleep in the same room where the guest sleeps. When you have a free time, you can explore Jaipur by yourself or with a new friend you meet. Yes, I guarantee you will meet new people from variant countries and interact with them, both the guest and the hostel staff. I know about it when I stayed in Roadhouse Hostel. Obviously, It can be one of your choices to decide which hostel you want to volunteer at.
-Always bargains when it comes to shopping, even when you shop directly at the factory. When you go to a factory, the seller may say that it’s a fixed price or they are the distributor for another seller so it is already good price. But, do bargaining. Otherwise, you can just go to the bazaar/market and you will find a very cheap good price! When in a bazaar, bargain to the cheapest price you can, it may be a half price or 1/3 price. I tell you, some sellers are too much to state a price.
-When you go by tuk-tuk, always do bargaining to the fare they give to you. Or, you can go by Uber or Ola (local online taxi) to avoid the bargaining. But, to make your local sightseeing experience more efficient, you can rent a tuk-tuk for a day and the driver will wait for you and drive you everywhere. If you want to buy saree/bangles/etc, remember the tuk-tuk will get the commision from the shop. Hence, just go by yourself to get the cheaper one.
 |
| "Call for Manoj", our crazy tuk-tuk driver, lol. Jaipur was that fun with him. "You happy, I am happy, no problem" said Manoj. |
Well, in India, Jaipur is the first city I visit and the last city before going back to Indonesia. Thus, Jaipur came as my first impression with the country, also the city where I said hello and goodbye.
14 days in India, I visited Jaipur 3 times. It was like a transit city to continue my journey to Agra, Jaisalmer, and came back to Jakarta. I travelled with a tuk-tuk and crossed the one-way street, dirt road, causeway. Seems like every driver there pressed the horn anytime, it may be the way they communicate on the street. Otherwise, it is too much for us the tourist. Therefore, I know Jaipur much more compared to another city. It was crowded, chaotic, smelly. Nonetheless, don't get it wrong, I left my heart at Jaipur due to the beauty of the pink city and the kind people I met. That's a nutshell of my love and hate relationship with India. Go to India, and find your own love-hate-relationship!
@wulandarirobyanti
0 comments