INDIA - DAY 4: abhaneri & jaipur.

In the morning, we said goodbye to Bharatpur and headed out to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan.  On the way, we made a stop in the village of Abhaneri to see the Chand Baoli, the largest stepwell in India. It was built in the ninth century, and was used mainly for storing water to help resolve the fluctuation of the water supply from season to season. I was excited to see it because Landin had shown us all a photo of a Rajasthani stepwell from the current National Geographic, and it looked awesome. It was even better in real life. The perfect geometry and careful planning of the structure was mind-blowing. We got to explore all over, including the attached building, which had some pretty great architectural details. Some of the other women and I had some boy fans following us around, taking our pictures with their phones. It was interesting to be on the other side of the camera; a reversal of my photographic ambitions.

scene from abhaneri

chand baoli

we look so tiny [johanne lu]

the main building [landin donner]

pigeons in flight & peggy looking a little scared [joel kraut]

me

the stalker boys [landin donner]

woman in blue [landin donner]

locked door [landin donner]

elephant carvings [joel kraut]

We walked from the Chand Baoli stepwell to the ancient Harshat Mata Temple behind it. This was also built in the ninth century. On the walk over, we saw and heard women in a funeral procession singing the most beautiful mourning songs. Unexpected moments like this really made the whole experience even better than planned. When we got to the temple, we were blessed by the priest and got to look around at all the statues, carvings and what looked like a statue/carving cemetery.

funeral procession

mourners arriving in the village [jonathan dipratna]

abhaneri girl [blair stirek]

kathryn, my trip twin, with handsy abhaneri boys [jennifer turner]

walking to the harshat mata temple

closeup of the temple

the priest [jonathan dipratna]

indian chelsea

some of the dirtier carvings

column cemetery

outdoor shower in abhaneri

goat outside the temple

For lunch, we went to a beautiful restaurant, but I can't remember the name. Oops. It had such gorgeous views that Colleen, Blair & I decided that it would be the perfect place to get married...to our future Indian husbands, of course.

walking into the restaurant; sentinel zacji

landin & blair eating

smeared bindi

tiffanie, josie & joel [jennifer turner]

terry & lisa [jennifer turner]

painted elephant

We continued on our way to Jaipur, the Pink City, nicknamed for its many pink-hued buildings. In Jaipur, we visited the Amber Fort, which is the ancient seat of the Rajput clan of Jaipur. It was HUGE and, of course, ornate, with a mixture of Hindu and Muslim architecture. The bike gang's guide had an amazing mustache, with perfectly coiffed, yet windblown hair. He was the best.

a view of jaipur

the great wall of india

amber fort

details of entrance with ganesh [jennifer turner]

ladies' garden [jennifer turner]

columns & doors [landin donner]

column shadows

repairmen

hall of mirrors

detail from the hall of mirrors

ceiling of the hall of mirrors [joel kraut]

rooftops

view from inside

wives' palace courtyard [joel kraut]

just chillin in the wives' courtyard [blair stirek]

our guide with that hair & that expression

indian teens [landin donner]

balancing act

Our hotel in Jaipur was Suryaa Vila. The rooms were pretty spare but nice, and mine opened out onto the beautiful courtyard and pool area. We had a candlelit outdoor dinner with a local ruling family. Blair & I chatted with the wife about makeup and girly things. I bet it was a relief for her to talk about something frivolous, as it seems like she is generally only questioned about more important affairs. She told us about my new favorite eyeliner, Kajal eyeliner from the Ayurvedic brand, Himalaya. Later, I ended up buying it in bulk at the Himalaya store in Udaipur. After dinner, I had to write a paper for my history class, which was not fun, but then I got some much needed sleep, which was fun.

me & blair's room; love the bedspreads

radiance [joel kraut]

zacji handing out sesame treats for dessert [jonathan dipratna]