The Rajasthan circuit - Day 10 - The City Palace Museum, Jaipur - The 24th of November 2012

The last visit of the day was the City Palace Museum,  home to the rulers of Jaipur since the first half of the eighteenth century which was being decorated for a wedding ceremony.

The Rajendra Pol flanking the gateway (left). The Diwan-i-Kahas (right) where two giant silver urns accredited as being the largest silver objects in the world (underneath).

The Ridhi-Siddhi Pol with the Chandra Mahal ( a seven storey Palace) to be seen in the background.

We walked around the courtyards up to the Pritam Chowk (Court of the beloved) with amazingly beautiful doorways representing the seasons. We couldn't help  noticing the delicate way in which they had been  painted.

Some of us still managed to have a rather brief look at part of the Museum, which was open to the public and admire some miniature paintings, manuscripts and musical instruments, as well as the Museum shop which had some rather invaluable craft objects which were too expensive.

Before heading to the hotel we were given the chance of going on a rickshaw ride around the Badi Chaupar (Large Square), which took us once more towards the Hawa Mahal, the Ishwar Lat and theTripolia Gate.

Two different perspectives of the Hawa Mahal

The Ishwar Lat (left) built by Ishwari Singh in 1749 to commemorate his victory  over his step-brother Madho Singh I. The 1734 Tripolia Gate (right) once the main entrance to the Palace.

Back at the hotel, which had quite a few Bazaar-like shops I managed to buy two pieces of traditional jewellery (a pair of bell-shaped earrings and a matching necklace), an embroidered blouse, some typical embroidered sandals and two printed silk scarves.

It had been a long day though a rather diverse one culturally and I was happy we could have "squeezed" in every visit, that we would otherwise not having been able to make because of the previous Pushkar arrangements, at the cost of not having had a free afternoon for shopping.

The following day would be a rather special day because of the Taj Mahal visit that I believe everyone was looking forward to, so we went to bed fairly early, so as to be prepared for such a day.