I’ve always admired the Rajasthani culture. The People, the garments, the festivals and everything. One thing which comes into my mind when I think of Rajasthan is Royalty, the lovely palaces and their grandeur. We were on a trip to Jaipur for 2 nights and 3 days in the month of April. It is actually enough if you want to just move around Jaipur.
We reached at 3pm on Friday and were staying at a lovely Hotel called "Umaid Mahal". This hotel lies in the residential area (Bani Park) of Jaipur and is not very far from the Old city. (Kindly see the Review for Umaid Mahal if you want more information) so commuting is very easy (There are loads of Tuk-Tuks or Autos available). On the first day we decided just to shop around the city and so we went inside the walls of the city i.e., the Old City.
Some specialized shopping areas are as follows:Maniharon ka Rasta: It is actually a small gulli but what lovely shops !! Just amazing bangles. The shops look very small from outside but they have a store of lovely Bangles and don’t you think that you won’t get your size there because they manufacture bangles themselves and can actually give you your size of bangles in the design that you want. I suggest you to definitely go to this place if you want to buy bangles but do remember BARGAIN!!! (REMEMBER: Carry enough Cash alongwith you because there are no ATMs on this street and the shopkeepers do not accept Cards.)Johri Bazar: This street specializes is Dress Materials and Sarees and Jewellery. There are a number of shops selling costume jewellery too if one is interested.
Traditional Bandhej Sarees with lots of varieties are available. Even Furnishings like traditional Rajasthani Bed Covers, Blankets, Rajais are all available here.This place has some ATMs like IDBI, ICICI and HDFC.Mirza Ismail (MI) Road: This area has lots of Branded Shops . We personally didn’t shop at this place as these brands are also available in my city. There are lots of great restaurants here too one of which is NIROS, which I suppose to be one of the best eat-outs of the City.Bapu Bazaar and Nehru Bazaar: Here you can purchase textiles, local perfumes and shoes made of camel skin. There is a Shop in Hawa Mahal which sells lovely bangles. (Check this out if interested!)
The City is very safe for women. I personally traveled alone in an Auto at around 10 in the night and didn’t have any problem and people around are quite helpful.Try and buy stuff from Local markets and not from the Emporiums as they sell the same stuff at higher prices and you cannot actually bargain in these Emporiums.We went into this MAHARANI KA FACTORY which claimed that they sell at Factory prices but it was not so. AVOID THIS PLACE!!!(You can buy the same stuff of same quality in the Local market at better rates.)On the Second Day we had took a Tour of Jaipur starting with THE CITY PALACE, OBSERVATORY, AMER FORT, JAIGARH FORT and NAHARGARH. The view of JAL MAHAL was wonderful from the road to Amer.Lovely day spent. There was also the Light and Sound show which is orgainsed near the Amer fort and it was just AMAZING!! Do see this when in Jaipur.
One can also visit the CHOKI DHANI in the evenings and this place just promises lovely time. On the Third Day we visited the HAWA MAHAL and again shopped a little around the place. Try out the famous AKHROT KI BARFI from Jaipur. There is a nice sweetmeat seller near HAWA MAHAL who sells this sweet and its really nice so try it out.This is how we spent Three lovely days in Jaipur and I Can’t wait to go back to the place. I just loved it and would recommend this place to everyone of you.Chao…Take Care.