Hi FARA friends,
I have totally fallen in love with Jaipur, the warmth and love radiating from it’s pink walled old city – at times you feel as if you are stepping back in time. It’s how you might picture India in a dream. You meet peacocks and monkeys, women in stunning swirling saris and men in colourful turbans – there is so much colour. And the sunsets, when the light shifts and softens, the city becomes radiant like a gemstone.
Our postcard perfect picture comes from the Galta Ji Temple just outside the city to the West, it’s a very special place to come for sunset. We captured this ornate painted entrance to the temple in such an amazing light. In such a bustling city it’s amazing you can still find a place to be alone with your thoughts, feel the sacredness of the temple and take in the breathtaking beauty of sunset.
Thanks to FARA we headed off the beaten track to find another quiet, often overlooked, haven to shoot Shades of Blue and discovered Gatore ki Chhatriyan. A calm and beautiful site with fewer tourists where stunning hand carved sandstone monuments capture shades of the desert and refract the sun’s rays.
Light is important to me, and in the middle of the city we found the airy Half Light Coffee Roasters – it was our morning ritual. Then for lunch, we loved Jaipur Modern for its chic design and great food.
Our friend @rachel_entwistle_jewellery recommended the beautiful dining room at The Johri right in the heart of the city – it’s a beautiful renovation of an old haveli (mansion house) with an inner courtyard. Coming here felt like being let into a secret – these buildings hold a magical energy – we were in heaven eating the delicious organic vegetarian dishes whilst sipping cardamom and vanilla flavoured gin. I am already longing to stay here next time I come to Jaipur, it’s right in the Jewellery Bazaar of the old walled city and the rooms are quite divine!
I loved the atmosphere at the Jharokha bar at the elegant Leela Palace for a glass of wine post shoot. Again the light here is so beautiful and the gardens are both lush and ornate with many arches to stop and see yet another beautiful view of Jaipur…
Dreaming of my next visit…
With Love,
Alena
