6AM and we are on the way to the train that will take us to southern Rajasthan-the land of kings.
As a matter of fact we landed in Mumbai and went north to Jaipur which is the capital .
The landscape changes, there are no green fields of wheat or yellow flowers we saw from Agra to Jaipur but rather desert like sceneary, some trees but mostly dry land.
As we get closer the white magnificence of the palaces appears.
We drive through narrow streets up and down alleys towards our hotel which sits on the lake.
As we enter The Jagat Niwas Palace we think we are on the set of the improved Marigold hotel ( some of us saw Judi Densh in Jaipur filming the sequal).
We go on a boat ride, see the palace , unfortunately it is closed as the prince is getting married tomorrow.
The mountains around reminds of Italy, There is the summer palace which sits in the middle of the lake but alas it is converted into a fancy hotel.
We have a Rajasthan diner on the roof of another hotel by the lake looking at the palace.
I am not a big fan of Indian food but there is not much choice so I tried the daal which is basically lentil soup in yellow orange sauce, basmati rice, paneer with spinach and some spicy vegetables, desert is these round sugary balls .
As we leave we try the mix of fennel and sugar to cleanse our palate, it’s actually good, does the trick.