FUN-travel: Historical Hampi
November 21, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Historical Hampi
Who knew?
- It was one of the richest…
…and largest cities…
…in the world…
…during its prime…
…with over 1600 surviving remains…
…that include forts…
…riverside features…
…royal and sacred complexes…
…temples…
…shrines…
…pillared halls…
…memorial structures…
…gateways…
…defense check posts.
- Built between 1336-1570 AD…
…this temple town…
…recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site…
…with an estimated population…
…of 500,000 inhabitants…
…made it the second largest city in the world after Beijing.
- Lakshmi Narasimha statue…
…one of the most imposing sculptures…
…is the largest monolith statue in Hampi.
FUN-fact – An amazing ancient water network…
…with impressive and extensive…
…aqueducts and canals…
…supplied numerous stone tanks…
…pools…
…and small reservoirs…
…everywhere in the vast city.
FUN-travel: Temple Touring
November 21, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Temple Touring
- Long…long…long…drive…
Rulers of the Road
…over 13 hours!
…to get to our next BIG adventure.
- So Chikmagalur…
…a town in foothills…
…with coffee plantations…
…and the only nice hotel half way there…
…is the overnight stop.
- Along the way…
…we stopped at 2 temples…
…with more incredible carvings.
FUN-fact – Today’s Rulers of the Road were the goats. They had traffic stopped in both directions.
FUN-travel: Nature in Nagerhole
November 20, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Nature in Nagerhole
- And its nature at its finest…in this 247 square-mile national park…
…with an astonishing abundance of wildlife…and its tropical forest.
- Much lusher…and in our opinion…much better than Rathambhore.
Total of 2 Safari’s…
Cormorant Condo
- 1st in a boat…on the Kabini River…gave us vast viewing of…birds…crocodiles…elephants
…and spotted deer…but some pretty far away…needed binoculars.
- 2nd in a Jeep…in search of the ever elusive tiger…which sadly remained just that…
…we did come upon a small herd of gaurs… but unfortunately busy with our photo op…
…Leona the Leopard made an ever so brief appearance…as she tip toed across the trail behind us…
…only saw the picture one in our group got.
- Tigers…leopards…wild elephants…black panthers…and Gaurs (Indian bison)…round out the “Big 5” here.
Not so FUN-fact – On November 8th, India decided to pull all 500 & 1000 bank notes off the market in an effort to curb “black market” money. No one knew this was going to happen until they woke up and found out their money was worth nothing. What this has done is wreak total havoc and caused long bank lines trying to turn in old money for new money. And they don’t have enough printed so even ATM’s are running out. And on top of that, they will only give you 2000 rupees at a time which is equivalent to $30 US!
FUN-travel Tip – never leave home without plenty of cash in small denominations. Everybody takes US dollars! You don’t ever want to be stuck without cash anywhere. We fortunately were prepared for possible issues in Burma that never happened so we are OK.
FUN-festival – Dev Diwali Delight!
November 18, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-festival – Dev Diwali Delight!
- The Festival of Lights of the Gods…
…is only celebrated in Varanasi…
…15 days after the country celebrates Diwali…
…when the moon is full.
Can you spot her baby?
- Steps of all the ghats on the riverfront…
…are lit with more than a million earthen lamps (diyas)…
…in honor of Ganga, the Ganges…
…and its presiding goddess…
…so popular that this city of 3 million…
…swells to a whopping 5 million.
Final Finishing Touch
- Glad to be in a boat…
…with only a dozen of us…
…away from the hoards of people on land…
…but that quickly faded…
…as more and more boats arrived…
…all jockeying for position…
…until we were totally enveloped…
…by a sea of boats…
…merging with the river bank…
…and making the river seem nonexistent.
FUN-Bonus – We were booked at the Taj in Varanasi but because they were oversold we got an upgrade to their Nadesar Palace next door. Only 10 rooms/suites and sweet it was! I just LOVE when that happens.
FUN-travel: Very Sacred – Very Special – Varanasi
November 17, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Very Sacred – Very Special – Varanasi
- Regarded as the spiritual capital of India… the city draws Hindu pilgrims… who bathe in the Ganges River’s sacred waters… believed to have the power of washing away all of one’s sins.
- Dating to 11th century B.C…at more than 3000 years old… makes it the oldest “living city”…and where Hindu’s come to die.
- Shrouded in white cloth…then wrapped in bright orange…the body is set on a bed of thick wooden logs…with more logs placed on top…before being lit from the eternal flame…by the eldest son.
- And thus begins the cremation process…that ends when the final flame dies out…and all that’s left are the ashes… and where each day between 200 and 300 souls…hope to achieve absolute salvaton.
- As I stood on the banks of the Ganges…in the midst of their morning rituals…my thought was how it all felt…so natural…so peaceful…so loving…and such a special experience.
FUN-travel Tip – Watch your step and watch “where” you step as… cows, camels, dogs, goats, pigs, sheep & water buffalo …are the Rulers of the Roads…and the highways…and the streets…and the alleys…and the steps…