Approaching Jaipur, the capital city of the western, desert state of Rajasthan, India, we see this building on the hill.

Pretty building on hill

We do not know what it is, but we thought it was beautiful.

Really thought this was beautiful

So white and impressive.   Our first stop, 2.5 miles (4 km) from Jaipur is Jal Mahal.

Jal Mahal. Water Palace

Jal Mahal means ‘water palace”.    Jal Mahal is in Man Sagar Lake.   This is Rajput style of architecture.

Zeb and Soapy by Jal Mahal in Man Sagar Lake

We like this palace.   It has 5 stories and with the lake full, 4 stories remain under water.   A perfect backdrop is provided by the surrounding Nahargarh hills.   Restoration and cleaning of the lake and palace began in 2004.   Now there are many venders here.

Venders and activity here

This is a popular with the residents of Jaipur.   These ladies have beautiful dresses.

Colorful dresses

Are the bright colors attractive?  We like them.   This must be a happy place.

Vender has balloons

Venders have balloons.   Balloons are for happy occasions.   This table of snacks was a puzzle to us.

Food for purchase

We recognize the tomatoes, but are not sure what the grain type food is.    Later in the evening Jesse took us to a nice restaurant where we ate outside.   Unfortunately we cannot find the paper with the restaurant name, and we forgot.  The food was very good.   Of course, Jesse was able to tell us what we were eating, and we liked it.   There were entertainers there also.

Musicians

These two men, sitting on the grass, provided music.   It was suggested that we not take flash photos, especially while the lady was dancing.  The flash could be a distraction.   New request to us, but it was OK.   These photos are dark, because we did not use our flash.

Dancer

The lady is dancing with two vases on her head.   Then she came to our table and asked Soapy’s mom to help her.

Entertainer and Soapy’s mom

Soapy’s mom helped with the third vase and then the entertainer and Soapy’s mom did a little dancing.   This evening was fun.   We were entertained and well fed.