The morning after Diwali. We woke up a little rough on this day as we had a few drinks and a lot of fun in celebration of the festival the night before. We had to meet our guide early today as he wanted to secure our spot for the elephant ride up to The Amer Fort. We were less than thrilled for this one. Arriving at the bottom of The Amer Fort where the elephants were beginning their work day, we were met with over 20 giant tour buses with larger than life Americans, their fanny packs, pushy Italians and the ever present screaming Asian group with large professional cameras in hand. We were ushered down to the end of the line where Dane and I looked at each other and in an instant we looked at our guide and both said “We’re not waiting in line for this.” We bypassed the crowds of tourists in line and headed back to our car where Altaf, our lovable driver whom we referred to as dad, drove us up the mountain and left us at the large fort gates with our guide Shiv. Continuing to bypass everyone in their unloading off their elephants we moved into the fort. 
Through small door after small door after small walkway and through another small door we started to feel the sunlight on our faces again. As we walked through I became stunned by what I see. By far one of the most beautiful, awe inspiring and emotional sights I’ve been blessed to view. In front of me is a spacious garden fashioned after an Indian rug where the flowers in each section were bright with colors representing what would be the rugs threads. To my right, a long corridor that faced the tapestry-like garden lined with exaggerated ceilings and arches made out of pure white marble slabs that contained hundreds of pastel colored glass Indian perfume bottles. We learned that the maharaja wanted the palace to be constructed in a way that would be as one with nature; so the shapes of the marble were in their natural form ranging from large pieces to tiny little ones that were used to fill in the gaps. Truly one of a kind beauty in a land that is decadent in perfectly constructed palaces. 
Now for the most spectacular thing I’ve seen… Across the garden and fountains is where the maharajas dining, entertaining and sleeping quarters were. The guide pointed it out, and as I turned to look, my mouth dropped and my eyes started to water. I walked over, dragging my mouth on the natural slabs of marble, to view this structure that was covered with delicately placed tiny pieces of glass that looked like mirrors. Each small but perfect piece had its own hand made size and shape. It covered the walls, the ceiling and some on the floors. From a distance it looked like a painting of a beautiful tapestry but when you got close you could see the intricate work and depth of these tiny pieces of glass that had been hand placed over many maharaja regimes. Beautiful pattern after pattern in soft golds, silvers and metallic-like baby soft blues flooded the ceiling and flooded my eyes as tears flowed. I have only cried once before over design, in Italy when I was surprised with a trip to the JK Place Hotel in Florence.
I stayed standing in this one place for some time as I was mesmerized by the disco ball sparkles that came off the designs when the sun hit each one of these spectacular pieces of beauty. I ran my hand down a piece of the wall and it was smooth as silk. I was told by our guide Shiv, who came up to console me with his sweet smile on his face, that his bedroom was a smaller version of this so that when he went to bed a single candle was lit and placed in the middle of the floor and it was said to have filled the space with what could only be described as ‘the night sky indoors.’ I unsuccessfully tried to view this as it had been closed off to the public. As we excited my future dream palace, I found Dane bargaining once again with the local vendors. This time, he was buying bangles. Tons of them. And they were so inexpensive. If he melted the coins he used to pay for them, the value of the raw metal would be worth more than the bangles.
Pleasure,
Joshua Ingraham