After a good night's sleep you are ready to start seeing the many sites of Jaipur. You decide to start with the Jantar Mantar, or observatory, which was constructed by the Maharaja Jai Singh, who was also responsible for the building of the city of Jaipur. This site, which dates from the early 18th century, has several large and strangely shaped structures which are actually very accurate astronomical instruments. Among them is a huge sundial, 60 feet high, which is read by climbing or descending stairs to find the shadow of the sun, and is reputedly accurate to within two seconds. These structures are puzzling, and, although they are quite functional, they are also strangely pleasing to the eye. When one learns the function of each of them, the genius of the builders becomes very clear.

     As you exit the grounds you can see a snake charmer sitting on the sidewalk across the street. He looks just like one would imagine, and the head of a large cobra sticks out of the top of his basket, appearing to be mesmerized by the man's playing. As another tourist prepares to take a picture, the man and the snake seem to be quite oblivious, but as soon as the woman lowers her camera, the snake charmer jumps up, covers the basket and the cobra, and rushes across the street excitedly. He demands a large tip, but eventually settles for a more reasonable contribution.

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