We booked 3 nights in Jaipur so we can arrange to go to Taj Mahal. Taj is in Agra and we flew into Dehli. Dehli, Agra, and Jaipur form a triangle. We read Agra is really a bad city to stay, plus Jaipur has a Karma resort which happened to be on a special. So we picked Jaipur without knowing much about it.

What a treasure Jaipur is with Amer Ford and Palace, right up there with any palace we have visited, and we won't be surprised if tops any fort and palace combo in the world; City Palace; old Jaipur which is built with pink sand stone and earned a name Pink City; Water Palace, Wind Palace, and lots more.  We didn't get to tour the city at night which has some spectacularly lit structures.

Pictures of The Amer Fort/Palace: a beautiful structure that was built by Raja Man Sing in the 16th century, he and his 12 queens stayed here for centuries. The structures were build with marble and pink sandstones which creates a contrast of white and pink in colors.  The different symbols from Hindu and Muslim religions reflect a harmony of the time among peoples and religions.  

Amer Fort and Palace near Jaipur India.

The white marble and pink sandstone make a spetacular contrast.  The bottom of the pillar is common in muslim Multhal architecture, the elephant trunk at the top of the pillar symbolizes the Hindu religion, while the lotus flower at the end of the elephant trunk indicates buddhism co-existed at the time.

Teh fort has a long wall which you can see in the distance.  It reminds us of the Great Wall in China.  There are steps and one can climb along it.  Looks a little scary where you might end up with.

Elephant rides are popular up to the Palace from the man-made lake.

This is the square for the 12 queens. Each queen has a living quarter which is designed to get to the king through private without any other queens noticing.

Queens quarters

This is a really cool trick.  It is taken by our guide in the mirror palace inside the Amer Palace.  The angle he took this makes it look like we are part of the mirrored wall.

Man-made lake

Elephant rides

Maintenance crew.  One doesn't look too happy that I took this picture.  But they are so beautiful.