Jaipur: Where Rickshaw Drivers are all you really need

Welcome to Jaipur, the Pink City!

We had a premonition that our rickshaw driver might have been a Muslim. Tessa, in an effort to test out our hypothesis, began to speak a little of the Arabic that she picked up in the Middle East. Instant connection. From then on he seemed to think that she was a Muslim, and he treated us all like sisters.



He even let us drive! (Katy really should keep her eyes on the road)


Tessa was the wildest of the drivers, and our taxi driver was loving it (as you can tell by his expression)! Our first stop was the Amber Fort. (We figure you have seen a lot of photos of forts, so we decided not to post any more. If you really want to see these photos, which are quite breathtaking, you can conjure up their images by just uttering these simple words over and over: Amber Fort. Amber Fort. Amber Fort. Amber Fort.)

We had a whole day of sight-seeing, shopping, eating, and wild adventures planned but we decided, after a a generous invitation from our rickshaw friend, that we would stop off at his home, and visit his family. We were immediately bombarded by children.

And invited to undergo a mehndi (henna) makeover. By the end of the day, there was not a spare ounce of remaining skin that could be mehndi-ed (another word of our creation). On a side note, we think that we were some of these children's first undergoers (possibly another word of our creation). Just wait til you see the photos.

Family love. (Isn't it amazing how many people we fit into this room! Who would have known that a 12 by 12 foot room could fit over 30 people comfortably?)

We made a quick outing to the Sun Temple, where we hiked up a little monkey-filled path to visit a beautiful Hindu temple dedicated to the Sun God.

And then we returned to the family's home, where we blew a few bubbles, ate a delicious meal, and photographed a few more children.

Lesson of the day: Trust all rickshaw drivers who want to take you to their homes (just kidding).