Started early as we went into the city before breakfast to visit the Haveli area. Here no option to go in so the focus was on the streets coming to life. Quite some fog when we started from the hotel and this gave a serene start. Biggest surprise for me was the fact that the streets were clean and people were still cleaning them. Mix of people and activities came along in the time we walked around.
The man in this picture stopped at the corner and too time to reshape the "blanket" around his head and body before cycling this way.
Several photo's taken but none of them very special, the cyclist is the best for me as he shows the feeling of the morning and is a subdued image.
Back by auto with still a lot of fog.
A very tasty dish made of a kind of bean eat it with Roti and you will lick your fingers, which you normally should not do in India. After having this perfect lunch outside we crossed the street and entered the fort.
The fort is getting renovated I would say as several areas were under construction. At one place the Benetton guys according Sheena were busy with repainting. The walls were plastered with some kind of shell paste which made them extremely smooth. On to this on the basic colours the ornaments were put in place.
So had to do with the first shot which was complete as I had to make place for Prashanth who also wanted a clean area.
As more and more crowd was coming in we left the fort and went to the Chatris. Which was announced as the colourful umbrella's. So what I expected was something like a street where you could buy all kind of umbrella's which would look lovely with a little bit of sunshine on them.
So when we arrived I was surprised and had to shift my mindset from a colourful environment to a single colour area as the chatris are monuments for the members of royal family.
Took some time to find the interesting elements. The most beautiful was the ceiling of one of them.
And then it is time for snacks and sweets at one of the local food suppliers. Almost difficult to say no and why should you if the time is right.
Next target was just walking around and looking for a cap or shawl for me. For this we went into one of the side streets which showed a lot of activity and opportunities. Like a tailor working in a shop started by his grandfather 50 years ago. Looking at him I would guess he was already born at that time. some photos and then looking further. Shawl was found through a man having a good shawl but as he didn't sell them in his own shop we were escorted to the shop were he bought it. Here the value of having a lady with you showed the value. Not only for finding the best colour and shawl but also for the payment to be made. Standard discount was 10% so instead of 350 it would be 315, real bargaining mentality brought it easily back to 300, which is much easier to pay, no hustle with coins.
Before going to the hotel to have another round of photo reviews we helped Sheena with getting pictures of a tea stall. Small one on the side but it counts and we had a discussion with the crew around as the owners are busy with preparing the tea. Means one of the target 10 covered.