Jaipur started with a bit of a bump. We arrived at Jodhpur train station early to catch our 22.30 train to Jaipur. As soon as we arrived there we noticed that the train had been changed to 0100, so a further 2.30 hours waiting on top of the hour that we had already waited. One o´clock came and went, as did two o´clock. Finally just before 3 we finally boarded the train and found our beds. For the first time, Javi and I were not together, but due to tiredness we didn´t complain and headed straight to bed.

The train had been due to arrive at 4.30 in the morning but with the 4 and bit hour delay we assumed that we should then get there about 8.30 ish, not to mention that all the trains seem to have arrived late so far. At 6 I woke with a start as someone sat on my bed. Now wide awake I watched the landscape fly by, and come to a stop at what looked like a large train station. Fortunately I asked a fellow train traveler where we were, once we had already been stationed for a good few minutes. The response "Jaipur" made me sit up quickly, grab my stuff and find Javi faster than I thought humanly possible. Javi was still sleeping, and I took no pleasure in waking him as I did, but panicking that the train would leave before we got off it, I made him grab everything and run. The train didn´t leave, and didn´t leave for at least a further 5 minutes that we were in the station trying to get our bearings, but you just never know. Didn´t fancy jumping off a moving train.

Jaipur or the pink city has many different things on offer and needs a good couple of days to appreciate it all. The main attraction here is the Amber Fort, which is not within the main city but a little out. We grabbed a tuk tuk for the day and I wanted our first stop to be there. He had other plans and took us to a tower first which gave views of the city. I appreciated this but I really wanted to catch an elephant up to the fort which you can only do early in the morning. We eventually got there, and took one of the last elephants up the winding hill before the heat got too much for them. The ride cost 900 rupees for a couple, and although it clearly states "no tips" they expect them, as do all Indians apparently. We gave 50 rupees, and he was not happy, telling us that it was 100 minimum even though it is a tip and should be what you are willing to give. We only gave the 50, we didn´t bend to pressure.

The elephant truthfully wasn´t very comfortable, the camel ride a couple of days previously was better, but another tick of the old to do list, well Javi´s at least, since I had been on a camel in Egypt and an elephant in Thailand.

The fort was good, but very similar to others that we had already visited in India. We bought the composite ticket for the fort and other places of interested for 400 rupees. The fort would have cost 200 on its own as would the jantar mantar which we also visited, this made up the 400 rupees not including the museum, fort and other things that are on the ticket.

The Jantar Mantar (observatory) was a bit of a waste time in my opinion, probably because I didn´t really understand it, there is the option of a guide but I´m not sure it would have made much difference to me.

The city palace, which is not included on the ticket, is worth a visit. We paid a little extra to get the audio guide here which I think made a difference. Although not very big it does take a while to go round, especially if you stop to listen to all the different things the audio guide talks about.

One last stop for the day was a visit to Hawa Mahal, included in the ticket price. This is an extrodinary building, best viewed in my opinion from the outside. The countless amount of windows were so the women could look down on the people below.

Day two in Jaipur was the day of forts. The first was Jaigarh fort which is home to apparently the largest cannon on wheels, but offer fantastic views of the city below. This fort is included in the city palace ticket so free to enter although it is impossible to walk to so you do still need to pay for a lift up and back.

Second fort was the Nahargarh fort and like the other was small and secondary to the Amber Fort that we visited the previous day.

Last stop and only to see from the outside was the "albert hall" where the local museum is housed. We could have gone in, it was included in the ticket with the amber fort, but by this stage we were tired and the sun was extremely hot so we headed back to the hotel to get our stuff and head to the railway station to head north to Amritsar.