We started the day early yet again. We got in some tuk-tuks and first stopped at the Wind Palace. We were not able to go inside, but just take photos from the outside. We then headed out for a guided tour of the Amber Fort. It was quite the trek up to get inside, but it was very impressive and worth the effort. This Fort was built to protect the King. They even built a structure that looks similar to the Great Wall of China to protect the Fort. There was a lot of art and marble still intact. We spent a little over an hour here, then went to a gem stone demonstration. Jaipur is famous for its gems and we were able to see a very fancy shop where they cut and polish the gems.

Apparently the cutting and polishing of the gems takes hours and sometimes days, so we didn't actually get to see a demonstration of this process, but rather the stones in their pure form and then what they look like when they are completed with the process. This shop was nice because the gems were inexpensive, but real, and it was a place that had set prices. After about two weeks of haggling with marketplace vendors, it was very nice to shop around a place where they didnt pressure you, and where the ticket price was just the price. I was hoping to find a nice opal ring or necklace, but the opals they produce here are just the white ones. I like the opals with the hint of blue and other colors, but they don't have them here. I did however find an amazing silver snake necklace made with yellow sapphire, and that was my big souvenir for myself from this trip.

We were very hungry by this time so we headed to lunch where we were serenaded by some traditional Indian music. And then it was a free day! Jaime and I walked around old town Jaipur for a while then headed back to our hotel. We are so lucky that we became tired when we did because about 2 minutes before our tuk-tuk arrived at our hotel it started POURING rain and there was a massive thunder/lightning storm that went on for a good portion of the afternoon. And it was cold! I actually had to borrow a blanket from our tuk-tuk driver during dinner. I never thought that would happen on our trip.

Dinner was at a very cool restaurant where we were treated to some traditional Indian music and dancing. Jaime and I even got a chance to dance with her! We also got to see the inside of an Indian restaurant's kitchen, and the evening ended with a puppet show. Very cool. During the day I had several sneezing fits, and ended up getting the sniffles pretty bad. I am hoping this does not develop into something worse. It's nothing I can't power through, but I am glad this came toward the end of our trip. Tomorrow we catch an early morning train back to Delhi where we have our last day. What a vacation this has been!