We went to the old city through the Chandpol Gate. We saw Hawa Mohal, Palace of the winds. I got a nice photo from a rooftop across the street. We went to the Jantar Mantar, an observatory with a collection of sculptures. It was fascinating to look at the unusual instruments. Next we went to the City Palace. I saw 2 huge silver vessels used to carry drinking water for the Maharaja to England. They are the largest silver pieces in the world. There were some good courtyards of interesting architecture and some monkeys on the walls. The museum was in a decorative room of paintings, carpets, and royal carriages. I wasn't very impressed with the Palace. I bought some old copper stamps outside for 400R (see photos to the right) We then went on to Amber Fort.
The Amber fort was fantastic. We had to ride a jeep up to the top. I paid 50Rp to bring my camera in. It was Rajput architecture situated on a hillside overlooking a lake. The Fort is located 11 km from Jaipur. It was the ancient citadel of the ruling Kachhawa clan of Amber, before the capital was shifted to present day Jaipur. Amber Fort is known for its unique artistic style, blending both Hindu and Muslim (Mughal) elements, and its ornate and breathtaking artistic mastery. We explored a maze of passages. It would be a great place to have a party. I saw some guys chasing a dog that had some jewelry in his mouth. I picked up some bracelets from a monkey that I assume took from someone's bag. Then I gave it to the young guys who said it was theirs. Later one of them came up and gave them back to me. He talked with us and wanted to be our friend. He gave me his address and I got a photo of us. 
The young boys just followed us around and giggled. One of the most striking parts of the fort is the Hall of Mirrors (Jai Mandir). Tour guides tell visitors that when the palace was occupied by royalty, the hall could be lit at night by a single candle because of all the tiny, intricate mirrors. We also met a wealthy man and his family on the tour. We talked about Donna's toe rings. They were very kind and invited us to join them at their home afterwards. Donna rode an elephant with their daughters. I wandered around and watched the monkeys and elephants.
It was a blistering hot day. We rode down in a jeep and a guy sold me an elephant poker. Negi said we took too long and we drove north. 
Its amazing how many smashed up vehicles from tractors to huge lories we saw on the road. And the highways have everything from camels pulling carts, lories, tractors, goats, buffalo, and 2 year olds darting across the road. It got cloudy and the wind picked up. Dust filled the sky and it started to pour down rain. We stopped at a avery nice midway for lunch. Cost 300Rp. The floor got flooded with water. The staff were really nice. Negi took us to a hotel in New Delhi that he thought was good. It had AC and cost only 500Rp. We wrote in his book and gave him the rest of our money, 3,000Rp. for his services. We ate at Raffles, a nice place nearby and watched TV in our room before going to bed.
We had breakfast at the same place as last night. I was feeling dizzy this morning. We went to Fatehpur Sikri. These were imperial ruins of a Mughal city with fine stone architecture which combined Hindi and Muslim elements. I liked the jewel house with its massive central column and intricate designs. There was a building with five levels from 4 columns on top to 80 on the bottom. It was a fun place to explore the courtyards and buildings. We were followed around the Fatehpur Sikri Mosque by touts. I took a photo of the Bulland gate and went inside the tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti. 
Some of the people ran outside to see a plane they saw crash land out in the desert. I didn't see any fire or smoke. I think I saw the tail in the distance. We escaped the barrage of touts at the exit by jumping into our car that was awaiting us outside. 
Hawa Mohal
