The Golden Triangle

In Jaipur, we learned that our Delhi flight that night to Mumbai had been delayed, and that meant more time to explore, so we stopped at a little-known ruins called Amber Fort. It was set high in the hills, overlooking the city, and there were very few white tourists (that's because we could find no mention of the place in the Lonely Planet guide and only a passing mention in the Rough Guide which was also unflattering). It turned out to be V's and my favorite tourist spot. Maybe it was because it was so run down, or maybe it was because no one cared where you went once you were inside - everything was open to the public. We were left to explore (and get lost) on our own. It was a really huge structure, spread out like a village with living quarters, gardens and towers. Some of the rooms were tiny, but many had ornate paintings and windows. Like the one in the picture with the doves.
Some of the structure looking vaguely like a place of worship, though that is only a guess on my part - perhaps it was merely the room used by people of higher ranks. Anyway, this one section was lined in mirrors so I took a picture of Vidhu gazing into one. You can see my arm behind her.
Even though there were many people there that day, when we went off on our own we almost got lost. One thing I found amusing was the hallways were quite narrow, but then the steps were so high, even I had trouble walking up or down them. Maybe the Indians used to have long legs but the rest of their bodies were short. The garden shown here was actually the most maintained element of the fortress. The rows of stone were a pattern that was repeated elsewhere in the design of the structure. I have no idea what the significance was of this pattern, as there wasn't any literature or writing anywhere that explained it. You can see how detailed the artwork on the walls is in the picture of us here.