Some of the most fascinating historical buildings in India are the Jantar Mantar astronomical observatories, and I went to the one in Jaipur to discover what these intriguing instruments were actually used for. Jantar means instruments and Mantar means calculation and the one in Jaipur is a UNESCO-listed building. There were also Jantar Mantar observatories built at Ujjain, Varanasi, Mathura and Delhi. They all still exist except the one in Mathura. There is a wealth of budget accomodation in Jaipur if you’re coming here and we stayed at Boby Mansion which was a lovely guesthouse. Before I changed guesthouses in Jaipur, I had my worst…
Why Jaipur was my favourite part of the golden triangle
There’s something different about Jaipur, and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was. I’d already been to Delhi and Agra so this was the last corner of the triangle for me. It was also my favourite part of the golden triangle. Jaipur is actually India’s first planned city and I think that’s what distinguished it from the others. There was more space, more order and everything was very close together which made it easier as a tourist. I don’t know why but I was surprised that the city was indeed, pink. An orangey pink admittedly, but pink all…
Is Raj Mandir in Jaipur the world’s most beautiful cinema?
I haven’t been to every cinema in the world, but I can tell you that the Raj Mandir is a strong contender. I’m a big fan of Europa cinemas and I’ve been lucky enough to watch films in some of Europe’s most incredible art-house cinemas. I’m sad to admit that the only Asian cinemas I’ve frequented before now have been soulless multiplexes so I was excited for the Raj Mandir experience after reading about it in my guidebook. We went in the daytime to book our tickets at the advance booking counter to avoid disappointment. There is only one screen…
The boiler wire set on fire at the worst hostel I ever stayed at in India
I’m an experienced traveller and I’m happy to put up with a lot for cheap accommodation but I wanted to talk about this hostel we stayed at in Jaipur for two reasons. One is that I think it’s important that hostel buildings are safe and the other is that everything about this experience was awful. When we checked in and paid, the woman didn’t give me my change for two days after constant reminders. It was only a small amount and that set the tone that every small thing you asked for was too inconvenient for them. Everything felt like…
