Today started off with a breakfast in our excellent hotel, where we woke up early because Tal had the time wrong. This has been the nicest hotel yet, and breakfast was delicious. After breakfast, we departed for the Amber fort, where we arrived early to secure a spot in line to ride elephants. This was the highlight of our day. We rode up the hill and were treated to a beautiful view while photographers along the route took our pictures. Later in the day, once we had explored the fort, some of the photographers found us as much as four hours later to sell us the photos. The fort was very complex, with many balconies to view the surrounding land. At one point, we visited a room covered in small silver mirrors. The guide took out his phone, turned on the flashlight app, and showed us how the mirrors were made to make the illusion of stars in the night. On our way down the fort, we were heckled for our photos and random tourist goods. Maddy H. accidently paid a 1,000 rupee bill instead of a 100 and realized it half way down the stairs back. Our great tour guide Ali helped her get the money back from the guy with a combination of fake crying and intense Indian negotiating.

From the fort, we went to see the water fort, which was located in a man made lake on the way to our next destination. There, we met a young boy who showed us amazing magic tricks such as pulling money out of Nate’s shirt and Caroline’s ear. We continued on to a textile factory, where the workers showed us how they made the prints. At the factory, we got our shirts and arms stamped with cool elephant designs. They showed us rugs, which we didn’t buy, and then showed us cloth items, which Nate and Maddy H liked. Their prices were very high, so most of the group waited for later on. We went on to lunch from the textile factory, which was excellent. We were served a particularly great garlic-y dish, which we don’t know the name of.

After lunch we stopped at an observatory that could count time down to 2 seconds using ancient sun dials. Next we visited a palace where, we saw a wedding in preparation, which really excited Tal. We ended our day with shopping for all sort of goods. The group liked that part a lot, as most enjoyed the intense bargaining. We are about to go off for a meal, which I believe will be Indian food…again. Happy thanksgiving to everyone back home!

-Nate, Tal and Spencer\\\