The pink city of Jaipur
Summary
Jaipur is part of India’s classical Golden Triangle route and represents the natural gateway into the gem that is the state of Rajasthan. For sure it is nice walking through the chaotic pink city with monkeys jumping everywhere, visiting the nearby Amber Fort and you’ll naturally pass through Jaipur as part of any visit to this part of India. But . . . I wouldn’t say it is a highlight and you shouldn’t prioritise it over the real Rajasthan highlights of Jodphur, Jaisalmer or Udaipur
highlights
#1 Checking out some of the historic and ornate buildings within the Pink City itself
#2 Seeing the hundreds and hundreds of monkeys that call the Pink City their home . . . and are more than happy to relieve you of your items
#3 A trip to the nearby Amber Fort. Whilst the views are less impressive than other Indian forts, the battlements are still worth checking out
#4 Bracing yourself for some of the local markets - prepare to be hassled!
Experiences nearby
The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences
Other Fortress and Castle Experiences
Score Detail
Background - how many times have you asked someone what a travel experience was like and the response was "amazing" or "awesome"? That response is nice to know, but it makes it hard to differentiate that experience compared to others. That is exactly what these scores are trying to do - differentiate the experience by giving a score out of 10 based on 6 categories and then giving an overall experience score
This overall experience score is calculated by: take the highest of the "Culture" or "Nature" score (1-10) + "Fun factor" (1-10) + "Avoiding the crowds" (1-10) + highest of the "Unique" or "World Famous score" (1-10). Then convert into a score out of 100
Extra detail - the logic being that I find all of the 6 individual scores important, but I don't want to mark an experience down just because it doesn't cover both "Culture" and "Nature", or because it isn't both "World Famous" and "Unique". Take the examples of Safari in The Serengeti and walking through Rome - they both appeal at opposite ends of the nature / culture spectrum, and you can have a fantastic time without needing to appeal to both sides. So, their overall scores aren't penalized for their lack of one or the other, and I've done the same for "World Famous" vs "Unique". But . . . I do think that the "Fun factor" of an experience is important, irrelevant of other factors, and so is "Avoiding the Crowds" (or where there are crowds that add to the experience). So, both of these scores are standalone