Jaipur

In the morning we rode up the mountainside to the majestic Amber fort on the back of an elephant. The views of the mountains and the walls around the city were spectacular and the fort itself was very interesting. We came back down by jeep through the older part of town.
In the afternoon we took a city tour which includes a really neat old observatory followed by more shopping. I tease a bout the shopping but mostly we go to government co-ops where standards and quality are controlled and the artisans demonstrate their techniques and encourage pictures even if you buy nothing.
In the evening we had a cooking demo followed by dinner with a local family. This family was very wealthy and well connected and the conversation was lively. They owned and ran a private school and told us the goverent made them provide free education to 25 percent of the children but were a bit slow to pay them back.
Overall I found the gap between rich and poor much bigger and more disturbing here than in other towns and cities we have visited. There really are two Indias.