India 2009 Part 9 - Palace of Winds and Amber Fort

First stop in Jaipur - Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds). It was built in 1799 by Pratap Singh and was a Royal Grandstand for Palace women

We alighted from the tour bus to snap some quick photos and were greeted by a snake charmer.

Amber Fort and the Old Capital of Jaipur Rulers is next, where you can take an elephant ride up to the Amber Fort

Amber Fort in Jaipur - waiting to "board" the elephant... my wife and I decided to walk up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur instead... so did 8 other people

hang on for dear life!

we simply followed the trail and avoided the "land mines".....

See how tight the road is? just three elephants wide....

On hindsight, it was quite scary in a way... imagine an elephant tripping over you

Amber Fort in Jaipur - pedestrian walk (no more elephant dung / pee pee!)

we were greeted by trumpets as we entered the Amber Fort in Jaipur... I can imagine how it was like during the days gone by.

before climbing up another flight of steps..... and

getting a fantastic view of the entire courtyard!!!!... woah!!!! Amber Fort in Jaipur

Amber Fort in Jaipur: Some say this is the most beautiful gate in India. This court is where the Maharajah entered the palace upon his return.... see the small window in the center? The Maharani would throw flowers to welcome her husband home...

The view....what the Maharani would see.

Another Mughal garden (above).....

Another view on the balcony... dizzy

Thankfully, we used the jeeps to travel down the fort... it was a fast 5 min ride down...