FUN-travel: Rathambore Reserve
November 8, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Rathambore Reserve
- Bumpy…bouncy…dusty drives…
…surrounded by boulders… and scrubby bushes…
…with occasional waist high dry grasses…
…and all we got…was a fleeting glimpse…
…of Tina the Tigress… passing between two trees…
…on the distant hillside…before she vanished down the slope.
- Some Sambar deer…
…Bambi’s dad…
…and a sloth bear…
…sadly…was as good as it got.
FUN-travel: Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
November 7, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
- An 11 sq mile reserve…
…declared a World Heritage Site in 1985…
…the park is a mosaic…
…of dry grasslands…
…woodlands…
…wetlands…
…& woodland swamps.
- Home to over 370 bird species…(and a bunch of other animals)
…the most impressive were…
….painted storks and their nests…
…that filled treetop…
…after treetop…
…after treetop…
…and the symphony of sounds…
…that accompanied their feeding frenzy.
FUN-travel: Taj Mahal Milestone – Our 7th New Wonder
November 7, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Taj Mahal Milestone – Our 7th New Wonder
- It is Official…
…we have now been to all 7 New Wonders of the World!
…and to 19 of the 21 landmarks vying for that title.
- Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983…
…for being “the jewel of Muslim art in India…
…and universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage”…
…this masterpiece made of semi translucent white marble…
…is polished to emphasize…
…the exquisite detailing of flower carving.
- Specialists brought in from as far away as Europe…
…produced magnificent marble screens…
…archway spandrels decorated with highly stylized…
…almost geometric vines, flowers and fruits…
…and pietra dura (marble inlay work)…
…made with thousands of semiprecious stones…
…yellow marble, jasper and jade…
…polished and leveled to the surface of the walls.
FUN-fact – We arrived in time for a sunset visit and then had a sunrise the next morning. Good thing we had both! Best photos were at sunset (foggy in morning) and no long lines to enter inside in the early morning.
FUN-travel: Majestic Taj Mahal
November 4, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Majestic Taj Mahal
How deep is your love?
- Well, apparently, very deep…
…for Shah Jahan…
…the Mughal emperor…
…who constructed the Taj Mahal…
…to house the tomb of his favorite wife…
….Mumtaz Mahal…
…a Persian princess…
…with whom he fell in love at the first sight…
…and who died giving birth…
…to their 14th child.
- Taj Mahal means “Crown Palace”…
…and is the centerpiece…
…of a 42-acre complex…
…an ivory-white marble mausoleum…
…yes, seriously, no one ever lived here…
- Commissioned in 1632…
…it took 22 years to construct…
…by some 20,000 artisans…
…at a cost estimated at the time…
…to be around 32 million rupees…
…which in 2015 would be…
…approximately 52.8 billion rupees (US$827 million).
FUN-fact: The Diwali celebration continued at the Oberoi as candle lanterns were lit and then gently floated up into the night sky.
FUN-travel: A Lucky in Day Leh!
November 1, 2016 by Susan Clarke · Comments Off on FUN-travel: A Lucky in Day Leh!
- Snake like narrow roads…
…lead to monasteries…
…perched high atop the hills…
…clinging to the steep bluffs.
1st Monastery Monks…almost hidden in a courtyard corner…
…in total concentration…
…harmonizing their flute duet…
…for the festival
2nd Monastery Monks…almost three dozen…
…fill the central courtyard…
…rehearsing their meditative dance moves…
…for their upcoming festival
- Brightly colored…
…blue-eyed Buddha’s take center stage…
…surrounded by vivid fresco paintings…
…amid freshly white washed walls.
- Thick puffs of smoke rise…
…a strong smell of burning incense…
…wafts through the air…
…so strong at times…
…it makes it difficult to breathe.
FUN-fact: We came upon a group of village women returning from a funeral that were as happy to see us as we were of them!