On Christmas day my new tablet computer stopped working. It went off in what seemed to be a power or battery issue and no longer turned on again. Supposedly India is the land of IT support. In the days that followed I tried to find someone to fix it, generally IT experts recommended by staff at the hotels or guest houses where we were staying. They didn't find anything obvious and warned me against their tampering with the tablet's guts since that would void the manufacturer's warranty on it. So I stuck my computer into my souvenirs bag, reverted to using Internet cafes for my remaining 5 1/2 months in Asia, and gave up on writing my blog until I got back home. Thus, entries from this one onward are written from memory and notes after the fact rather than shortly after I visited the places.

Jaipur is the capital of Rajasthan state and part of northern India's so-called Golden Triangle for tourists along with Agra and Delhi . It is also known as the Pink City because the facades of most buildings along the major streets in its center are of the same pinkish stucco, an architectural style that results from the decision of a nineteenth century ruler to give the city a harmonious appearance, rather than from available building materials. Rajasthan state is the land of the Maharajahs and lower-ranking Rajahs, a mostly desert state of fortress palaces, camels, big turbans, and bright colors that's closest to the exotic image of India in most westerners' minds.

We stayed at the Bissau Palace Hotel, one of the palaces of minor nobility situated shortly outside Jaipur's old city wall. It was a mix of exotic India and the feel of the Raj with a dark paneled library, colorful papered walls, plush furniture, high Mughal-style cuisine, and performance of classical India music on sitar and drums, plus an evening puppet show to top it all off. 

Jaipur's main tourist sights include the Amber Fort, a honey-colored hilltop royal fortress palace a short distance outside the city; the Jantar Mantar, a 300-year old city center astronomical observatory that looks more like a collection of bizarre modernist sculptures than a set of sophisticated scientific instruments; the still partially inhabited City Palace of the local royalty; and the Hawa Mahal, a pink sandstone palace built with plenty of windows to let the women of the royal household see the street life they weren't able to join in on .

After our morning tour of the Amber Fort and early afternoon visits to the city sights, I went off on my own to explore the busy old city within the walls. Between all the jewelry I have no interest in and plenty of cloth and tourist tack, I found few of the handicraft treasures of the exotic desert city I was hoping for. Jaipur's crowded alleys were interesting enough, though, as was the magnificent Rajasthani vegetarian thali I found at a busy restaurant named LMB, probably the best I encountered anywhere in India.

And contrary to almost all my previous experiences in India I encountered a few people in Jaipur who were genuinely interested in chatting with a foreigner and hearing my impressions of India, rather than pretend to be friendly only as a way to sell me something or pull me into a scam. One young guy who saw me talking with some Sikh dudes visiting from Delhi for the weekend told me he wanted to be big and strong like me. "What is your secret? What can you tell me to help me?" I should have told him, "Drink lots of beer!"

Jaipur was probably my favorite place I encountered in India up to that point of the tour, one that met my expectations for a crowded, exotic place of palaces. A few weeks later I had the opportunity to watch a rather recent movie set in the city, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", a British comedy that I could especially relate to after seeing Jaipur. Watch it if you're interested in an entertaining glimpse of modern India and some westerners' experiences in it.