The Terrific3 travel blog

We awoke at the bright and early hour of 530am. It was the first day everyone actually slept that late, so a bit ironic, but we were off to the leopard reserve in Jaipur and leopards are nocturnal animals who rest when the sun is up, so we needed to start before sunrise. Our driver got a little lost on the way there and drove around in circles as Google maps was not correct. It was the first time I’ve seen him slightly flustered. We really like our driver. Jagdish is a man in his early 60s (I think), with dark brown skin, a big mustache, and a very gentle manner. He seems also calm and cool as a cucumber and happy and flexible and helpful if the kids need anything. It’s been a pleasure having him with us through this journey. He is also protective of us when he needs to be, advising me of how to avoid street vendors or scammers, and just overall looking out for us. He is always asking S and Z how they are and if they’re happy, and he says driving is his job and his guests are his God and if they’re happy, he’s happy.

Anyways back to the leopard reserve. I wish someone had advised us how cold it would be. Though not dressed in shorts and t-shirts, we were woefully underdressed for the colder upper 40s/lower 50s pre-sunrise, driving fast in an open air jeep weather. They gave us a blanket but we are still freezing. Our guide told us that 40 leopards lived in the reserve and it was not guaranteed we would see one during our 2.5 hour excursion and the most likely time would be before the sun rose higher. We drove around for 2 hours in search of leopards. We saw peacocks, antelope, deer, lots of birds, but no leopard. Our guide had his ears open for “alarm calls” of other animals and we would quickly drive in that direction but no leopard. I had resigned myself to being happy with seeing the other wildlife. Then, as we were driving up and then down the mountain range, the guide got a call from another guide about a leopard sighting and we held on tight as the jeep sped over the bumpy roads towards the direction. We got there just in time to see the leopard for about 30 seconds and snap some photos. It was exhilarating!

After the leopard safari, we headed to the city palace and solar observatory to meet our guide, Vance, who we had seen the first day. He showed us the instruments in the solar observatory, constructed 300 years ago, with a super accurate sun dial as well as astrological instruments. It was super impressive.

We next went to the city palace and looked at various galleries and had a delicious lunch.

Next we drove to a gem store as Rajasthan is known for its natural gems and I bought myself a very nice jewelry set. I have so many I’ve bought before in India, but all of them were of lower quality, and I wanted to own at least one piece I really liked. I love collecting jewelry from around the world (it used to be wall art, but that’s a lot harder to match in the house). We then went to pick up our stitched textiles (they did a great job), and our guide found Z the best Jalebi in Jaipur and then said bye. We really enjoyed our guide. He was patient and calm with the kids and knew so much information.

Next up was a “cooking class,” which was very different than our Thai cooking class. This woman had already made most of the food and we watched her make the rest. Not what had envisioned but she and her family were very nice and it was nice to sit down and have dinner with them.

Then back to our hotel. It’s been a long day. The boys relaxed and did their daily journals that I’ve been requiring and they are now asleep before 8pm and I am to follow soon.

We really enjoyed Jaipur. It is a crowded Indian city, but it has a lot of beautiful history, character and culture and some very nice people.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Udaipur the next few days. But first, the 6-7 hour drive tomorrow, last long drive of the trip, and the boys convinced me to let them have 2 hours of screen time in the car tomorrow. Good night!