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We checked out of the hotel and walked the short distance to the Ajmer bus stop, where we could catch the bus for only a few cents. Instead of the bus, we saw a taxi waiting and paid the $3 to have him take us to Ajmer - much faster than waiting for the bus to fill up and leave! Once we got to the Ajmer train station, it took us a few tries to find the right ticket counter, since we were buying a ticket for less than an hour from then. It turned out we had to buy a general ticket, and then ask to upgrade once we got on the train. We were a little worried about having to spend the next 3 hours packed into a cattle car type train car with all the masses of people. As the train pulled up, we noticed all but 1 car was for the general seating. We got on the only AC sleeper car and the train conductor let us into a 4 person compartment that we had all to ourselves - it even had a door we could close and lock! We paid the difference to him for the upgraded ticket and settled in for the ride.
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We decided to try the "banana pancakes" for breakfast that everyone here has been advertising. It turned out they were just crepes filled with banana slices - no sauce or filling. We asked for syrup, and the waiter brought out a mysterious clear liquid that we took to be sugar water. Not sure what all the hype is about these pancakes, but I guess we can say we tried them :) 
We arrived in Jaipur on time at 2:45pm. We found a rickshaw driver for only 20 Rupees and he showed us where we could buy our train ticket for tomorrow's trip back to Delhi. Once that was accomplished, we set out for the hotel we had chosen from the guidebook, the Pearl Palace. It looked like a nice place when we got there, but the only room they had left was one in the basement with no windows and a shared bathroom. We decided to leave, and tried the hotel on the next corner, the Sundar Palace Guest House. They had a room for only $11 that looked clean, a private bath, and central air, so we took it. By now we were starving, having no lunch yet at 3:30pm, so we ate at the hotel restaurant. It was another good Indian meal, but again we forgot to ask for spicy :( 
We had arranged with our rickshaw driver to pick us up at 5pm, as there was a huge festival going on in town. Instead, we found the driver had sent a friend over to drive us around. He took us into the Old City part of Jaipur where the festival was going to be held. Jaipur was formed in 1727 by Jai Singh, and it was north India's first planned city. Twelve gates opened up into the walled city, which was split into 9 rectangles with the City Palace at its center. Of course, due to expansion, Jaipur is no longer contained within the Old City walls. Jaipur is nicknamed the "pink city" as all of the buildings in the old city are painted a pinkish orange color. The Maharaja Ram Singh ordered the city to be painted pink in 1876 when the Prince of Wales made a visit there (pink is the color of hospitality). To this day, by law, all of the buildings must be repainted often to preserve the color (although some look like they are in desperate need of a new paint job). 
We walked down to the main Tripolia Gate, used as the entrance to the City Palace. Here, crowds were gathering all around to watch the festivities. Just as we were wondering how we were ever going to see anything, we noticed some people up on a balcony overlooking the street. Soon after, a man came up to us and said he could bring us up to the balcony. When we got up there, we discovered many other tourists and rows of seats so we could all have a great view from above. The VIP, the Rajasthan tourism minister, soon arrived and was greeted with royal treatment. We were very impressed with the hospitality provided on the balcony, which included a free dessert, soda, and a key chain. The tourism minister sure understands how to keep her tourists happy - very smart of her!
The Gangaur festival is Rajasthan's most important festival, and celebrates the love between Shiva and Parvati. Women especially partake in this festival (both married and unmarried), as Parvati symbolizes perfection in married life. The festival began with a group of men playing old fashioned long trumpets, dancing, and one in a horse costume. They danced and twirled around the circle before making their way down the crowd-lined street. Next came another group of men playing drums, followed by a group of women. The women wore long silk dresses and head coverings and twirled around in circles in traditional Indian dance style. Next came the elephants - brightly painted and decorated all over! There were so many elephants (I counted 42) all lined up and marching down the street. It was impressive how well-trained they were (after seeing them in the wild in Africa). :) The parade culminated with a statue image of Parvati, carried on a large wooden palanquin. People seemed to know this was the end of the parade, as they started swarming all over in every direction as they left the square. We waited until the crowds died down a little bit and then made our way back down the street to where our driver was waiting. 
It was getting dark, but we wanted to get a glimpse of the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of the Winds. Our driver took us there and we stopped to take a quick picture - we will return there tomorrow for a more lengthy visit. He then took us to see the Lake Palace, used as a retreat for the royal family. It is surrounded by a lake in the wet season, but right now the lake was so dry you could almost walk out to it. Either way, after being in Udaipur, we were not impressed. Our driver wanted to take us to the camel market, but this seemed like a crazy idea since it was now completely dark outside. We asked him if he could just bring us to a restaurant instead. So we set out through the increasingly dense traffic. It took quite a long time to negotiate our way back towards the area of our hotel. Our driver took us to a small restaurant filled with some locals and tourists. It had a wide selection on the menu, but we weren't very hungry (having eaten lunch so late) so we only ordered one onion and potato dosa (very tasty!). Surprisingly, he waited there at the restaurant while we ate and then brought us back to our hotel (all this for only a little over $2). Tomorrow we plan to enjoy the sights of Jaipur before we have to get on our 5:45pm train back to Delhi. 