December 4, 2015 – It was the last day to be a tourist on this leg of our trip. Tomorrow, I will move to Kerala for my Aspen Global Leadership Network seminar and Hubert will go home. Therefore, the day was very bittersweet.

We met Govind and Artie around 9:30 and went first to Galta, the Hindu Temple to the Monkey God, Hanuman. It was about 30 minuntes outside of Jaipur and I was very excited about it. Hubert and I had loved the monkeys so much in Ranthambore and Artie had said we would love this. The drive in was very pretty – in the mountains and clean. It felt like it would be a place just like us! We arrived to the temple gates and I noticied it was a different type of monkey than Ranthambore and the city. Instead of the black faced monkey, it was a monkey that looked more like baboons. When we arrived there was a  poor person outside of the gate selling  monkey food. It sounded like  a great idea –  the Greenville zoo sold animal food. I asked Govind if we should get and he said no and then said, “don’t look them in the eyes.” Hubert turned to me and said, “the monkeys or the people?” Truthfully, I didn’t know! We had been told to be careful of beggars so it made sense that he might tell us not to look the monkey food vendor in the eyes! So, I went to Govind and asked, “Do you mean not to look the monkeys in the eyes?” He answered, “Yes, the black face monkeys are calm but these monkeys are usually aggresive. However, at this temple, they are used to people, but if you look them in the eyes, they may feel threatened and attack.” Oh Lord, things changed for me!

I stayed right next to Govind. Meanwhile, I looked back at Hubert and he was trying to take selfies with the monkeys. He even was clicking his tongue at them like he was calling a dog. He wanted them to sit on his shoulder. When I saw him do this, I told him what Govind said!!! I am not sure he believed me! 

We walked through building areas towards the temple. It was at the same time peaceful and creepy to think about the monkeys. They were everywhere and freaked me out. Hubert loved it though so I just stayed next to Govind. I realized quickly that if a monkey attacked me, Govind would help me and Hubert would take a picture!!

The area is a mountain that has an unknown water source which is holy. People come to bath in the water pools. We went to that area and saw two women bathing. Outside of that area were 2 women and 2 children who were snake charmers. A girl about 3 years old took a snake out of a basket and wrapped it around her. Another girl about 7 did the same. At that moment, I almost lost it. I did not want to see beggar children with snakes. Govind told the grandmother not to let the children have the snakes since he realized it bothered me. She took the snakes and then Hubert went over and held the snake. Hubert was fascinated by the whole thing, but I was upset. As a mother, I couldn’t imagine ever asking my children to do such things for money. However, like Govind said, a little money helps them. But, that was my “Western” moment. The time when I couldn’t make the jump from my Western world and ideals to understand that. The grandmother looked at me and her grandchildren and conveyed to me that it was okay, but I struggled to understand. I was so very excited to go to the “monkey temple,” yet I was even more excited to leave. It was upsetting to me and uncomfortable. There was beauty there too, but I struggled with it. 

We then drove back to Jaipur and went by the rug place. We officially bought the rugs along with some more gifts! It was loads of fun and exciting to think we have a rug being made for our kitchen!

Then we went to Jantar Mantar which is an observatory built in 1726 by king Sawai Jai Singh II. It was so cool and felt like a modern art garden as well as an observatory. It is still precise in the measurement of time and was cool not only to see the time but also the astrology measurements as well. Hubert and I really both enjoyed it. 

We then walked across the street to the City Palace, which is still the home to the Rajasthan royal family (even though there is no longer an official royal family anymore). It is now a private residence but parts are open to the public. We went through the main courtyards and to a gallery with artifacts and information about the history of the royal family. Then we walked into another courtyard which is for the public and there was a wedding being set up. It is like some of our public buildings, it can be rented for private events as well. They were setting up for what appeared to be a huge and magnificent wedding. I was blown away by the setup!!

Amber Tours has done so many special things, and today was no exception. Instead of staying in the public area, Govind took us to a side area so we could enter the private areas of City Palace. We went to 7 floors and each floor we were by ourselves with the security guard. We went into rooms that were mini jewel boxes and the walls and ceilings were inlaid in actual jewels. We went to painted “monsoon” rooms which were painted blue and white to help the king forget the rain and to the top room which was a room with all the walls and ceilings as mirrors. The helper with the guard lit candles to demonstrate the effect. It was magical. We could not take pictures of the rooms, but we could of the views. We were 8 stories above the rest of Jaipur and we privately saw 8 rooms on each floor of the City Palace that the kings of Rajasthan had enjoyed. It was special and was concluded with some Marsala Tea on the ground floor. It would have been very good to have been king/Maharaja!

After the City Palace, Govind took us to a nice Tandoori lunch. Then we went to see some jewelry  as Jaipur is known for jewel cutting. We were done with buying so it was a quick trip. We went back to the hotel early to pack and rest. We both were tired so it was perfect to have some rest before our travels.

That night, Amber Tours made a reservation for us at Suvarna Mahal at the Rambaugh Palace. The Rambaugh Palace is property owned by the royal family and leased to the Taj group so it is run as a hotel. It is a gorgeous heritage hotel and not to be missed. We arrived early so we could have drinks in the Polo club (the polo grounds are nearby and one of the old maharajas was a very famous polo player (on elephant, not horse!). A person from Amber met us at the drop off from Artie and showed us the bar. He did not stay, but just made sure our reservation was good! 

The restaurant is gorgeous and the food is from the royal kitchens of 4 different areas of India. When we began to order, the waiter basically took over and told us what to order. We listened thankfully and it was outstanding!  Laal Maas, Dal, green pea naan and a special rice! And as an appetizer, tiger prawns from the south. The food was outstanding,  the ambiance amazing and my date was so handsome! Sometimes in life, you just have to pinch yourself to believe that you are really lucky enough to be in that moment – tonight, and many times on this trip, was one of those moments!

It was a wonderful day, wonderful evening and outstanding trip! Blessings have been bountiful. We have learned so much and have grown on this trip!