FUN-photos: Incredible & Insane India – 42 Crazy & Chaotic Days – Part 1

December 24, 2016 by · Comments Off on FUN-photos: Incredible & Insane India – 42 Crazy & Chaotic Days – Part 1 

  • We covered a lot of territory…from the tippy top in the Himalayas…and ending … at the very end… literally! …in the city of Trivandrum.

First 22 Days – Bustling Bombay…our Himalayan high…Dizzying Delhi… Awesome Agra with its Majestic Taj Mahal and Red Fort Complex…Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary…Rathambore Reserve… in search of the ever elusive tigers…which remained just that…Jaipur Palaces…Pushkar Camel Fair…Commanding Kumbhalgarh Fort… Jain Temple Treat…Unbelievable Udaipur…and Very Sacred – Very Special – Varanasi…where we celebrated Dev Dewali on the Ganges.

FUN-travel: Jaipur Palaces

November 10, 2016 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Jaipur Palaces 

  • City Palace…Dancing Courtyard Doors…

jai-door-2

…4 in total…

…each depicting a season…jai-door

…and also the only time they were used…

…each intricately painted…

…from the top to bottom.

  • Palace of Winds

…a high screen wall…

…built so women of the royal household…

…could observe street festivals…

…while unseen from the outside…

  • Voyeuristic?

…apparently not…

…since they had to obey strict “purdah” (face cover).

  • Built in 1799…

…this unique five-story exterior…

…is akin to the honeycomb of a beehive…

…with 953 small windows…

…decorated with intricate latticework…

wind-palace

…which allowed cool air to pass through…

…creating air conditioning during the high temperatures in summers.

FUN-fact – on driving – Why have 3 lanes when 5 cars will fit? The lines mean nothing!

FUN-travel: Jiggled in Jaipur

November 8, 2016 by · Comments Off on FUN-travel: Jiggled in Jaipur 

jai-ely

  • Ely the Elephant…jai-ely1

…slowly plodded up the stone path…

…zig-zagging back and forth…

…before depositing us…

…at the foot of the Amber Fort…

…sitting high atop the hill…

…protected by the “mini wall of China” …

…as locals refer to it.

  • Sheesh Mahal – the Mirror Palace…

…exquisitely embellished…

…with mirror mosaics…

…of glass inlaid panels and ceilings…

…in a convex shape…

…designed with colored foil and paint…

…created a  “glittering jewel box…

…in flickering candle light”…

…or basically a disco ball by today’s standard.

jai-ceiling

FUN-fact – So far we have had one elephant, two horse carts, and three rickshaw rides.