INDIA
DESTINATION #3 NEW DELHI
I chose Megha Homestay Bed and Breakfast from the internet primarily because big tourist hotels are targets for bombing. With four stories, we were thankful our room was on the first level and quite nice with a marble floor. The variety of showers on a trip is always challenging. This one, below, was extremely interesting with nine knobs to negotiate.
The flight to Amsterdam had a short layover before boarding the KLM flight in a rain storm for Delhi Airport and our welcome by Roy, representative for Palace on Wheels who delivered us to Megha Homestay, our B&B. Arriving about midnight, I slept until noon.
A driver took us sightseeing including Humayun's Tomb that was the inspiration for the Taj Majal and a typical Indian restaurant for lunch before meeting the Palace on Wheels for our 8-day train ride through Rjasthan at 4:30 pm.
At 4:30 our luxury train, The Palace on Wheels, arrived with great fanfare, flower leis and blessings. Jodhpur Saloon was our coach. It contained three staterooms and a room for our two "butlers", Umesh (right) and Pradash. They were at our beck and call at the press of a button that I would accidentally push to turn on the lights! They didn't seem to mind my mistakes and took care of us like babies.
We had a lot more closet space than we did on the Nile River boat.
There are four suites to each train car plus a lounge where we joined our coachmates for breakfast each morning. This "Palace" of 22 coaches also had two kitchens, two restaurants (Maharani and Maharaja), a spa and a couple of lounge cars and bar.
Our Suite
And still another shower to learn to navigate.
The bathroom accommodations were nice.
I loved lying in my bed looking up at the flowery ceiling.
And having breakfast in our Salon with our four coachmates, an Indian Dad with his young son from Australia and newlyweds, an Indian man and German bride from the U.S.
And looking at the mirrored ceiling in our brealfast Salon (below).
Our first Palace on Wheels destination (April 12) was Jaipur, a city chock full of pleasures. Jaipur known as the Pink City, (1727), is exemplified by the Palace of Winds, home of the Majaraja's wives where they could see through honey-combed windows, but remain unseen.
We visited amazing Jantar Mantar, a huge observatory built in the 1700's.
Jaipur
An elephant ride took us to the Amber Fort, a fabulous example of Mughal designs. Little Picture below, taken from the elephant's back, is the turban of our elephant mahout as we rode to the top. If you click on the fort, you will see our route to the top of this amazing complex.
I took this picture of the City Palace of Jaipur as a flock of birds took flight. The palace was filled with historical armor, gorgeous chandeliers and a huge silver pot taller than the people reflected in it.
An elegant lunch awaited us.
Detail above one of the doors in the courtyard of the palace with peacocks signifying royalty.
The detail above of the elephant over the doorway of the palace entrance within the fort is the Hindu God Ganesh who removes obstacles. Of course, he is my favorite Hindu God because elephants are my favorite animal and it is always nice to have obstacles removed!
Magnificent Mughal designs covered this palace. The walls of the rooms are inlaid with precious jewels. In one room, with the door closed, our guide lit a match and the whole room sparkled. Some buildngs are for women only. They see this intricate Mughal designed garden through filigree windows (above).
Ranthambore National Park
Day Two of our eight-day train ride began very early when Umesh woke us at 5:15 a.m. with coffee and cookies and we were off to this 400 sq. kms. wildlife sanctuary near the ruins of a 10th Century fort.
Our goal to see a tiger. Only one of our train groups saw the elusive animal; however, we enjoyed the many peacocks, birds, deer, monkeys, and aligator on board a land rover on this quiet peaceful early morning.
Returning from our wildlife experience, we napped, lunched and enjoyed looking out the window as the train traveled to this Ninth Century fort. Entrance wasn't designed for our big busses. Saw many examples of the Hindu religion with bas reliefs of animals and celestial goddesses.
Chittorgarh Fort
As the sun went down, we were treated to a light show and spellbinding story of ancient times of love and valor, scars of battles won and lost.
Udaipur, the Lake City
Day Three. The Lake City (1559) has two marble palaces, one on the edge and one rising from Lake Pichola. Click on the picture below to appreciate the indescribable splendor of these palaces as witness the palace facade and mirrored room. Maharajas spared no expense.
We had lunch in a magnificent dining room in the Palace
After lunch we took a boat ride out to the Lake Palace. Look- ing back we could see the enormity of the Jag Mandir Palace.
A visit to the beautiful grounds of a palace in the city of Udaipur was a wonderful experience. We were fore-warned of a "slipper surface" so I avoided "photography by not climbing on it". This beautiful fountain with floating lotus had elephants squirting water.
Just about to enter an art store, I heard music approaching and waited to see what was happening. A bride with a group of girls dressed in beautiful saris followed the trumpeting music and then the groom on horseback completed the procession. It was thrilling to see this typical Indian celebration and also, typically Indian: a snake charmer.
Another fort to climb, but unlke the others, this one is still home to many. Looking up at this yellow sandstone fort founded in 1158, I was fascinated. With a steep hill to climb, Bob and I started walking up the road. People on our bus said if we were willing at our age, they would come also. We were not disappointed as Jaisalmer turned out to be one of the most interesting places we visited in India.
Jaisalmer
Day Five: We were welcomed to Jaisalmer by a band and girls applying red dots on our foreheads and placing flower leis around our necks.
We were allowed to visit the Patwon Ji ki Haveli, the most important and the largest haveli (mansion), as it was the first erected in Jaisalmer. Constructed in the year 1805 by Guman Chand Patwa, then a rich trader of jewelry and fine brocades. Completed in the span of 50 years, Patwon Ji Ki is renowned for its ornate wall paintings, intricate yellow sandstone-carved jharokhas (balconies), gateways and archways. Above, left, is the entrance to this haveli that we were allowed to enter as the family now gets an income from the tourist visits. Picture above, right, is the entrance hall as I looked up to paintings of the family circling the room. A peep into a room verified that children all over the world watch TV.
Sacred cows make themselves at home so watch your step! The cow pies are gathered to burn for cooking, patching roofs and building walls.
Click on pictures to show the stone carvers' skill. Many of these stone carvers were jewelry makers also.
This gentleman claims to have the longest moustache as he holds the Guinness record.
In each city, we were invited to purchase whatever the craftsmen have to offer. In this case, beautiful quilts.
Leaving Jaisalmer, we were returned to our train for lunch in one of the beautiful dining rooms aboard. Our view out the window was the Thar Desert only 30 miles from the Pakistani border. Sparsely populated, we saw lots of goats and camels wandering around loose and this building whose sign says: English Wine Shop. Our tour offered a camel ride through sand dunes.
I was really looking forward to riding a camel over sand dunes as I had ridden camels before. I think my camel was pregnant, as straddling this animal was killing my back. I told Bob, if I continued the ride, I wouldn't be able to dance that night! So I walked back with a guide and was picked up and taken to the meeting place after the ride where the returning camel riders were served tea and enjoyed a musical program.
Returning to the Palace on Wheels, we saw a real operating fort: the Thundering 27. We were awfully close to the Pakistani border!
I was really thankful I hadn't finished that camel ride! And I did dance with one of the entertainers!
Jodhpur
We showered and dressed for dinner in the outdoor gardens at a local hotel. My beautiful coach mate, the German bride, was always dressed beautifully and when the four of us arrived at the hotel, our train mates took our pictures and gave us a big ovation! We felt like celebrities.
Day Six: Another fort to climb overlooking the "Blue City" due to the fact that Brahman's houses are painted blue. Part of the fort is now a museum displaying many types of palanquins. We were shown how a turban is wrapped.....all 5 1/2 yards.
Notice our guide is wearing jodhpurs. My mother always wore jodhpurs to ride horseback. Did England bring them to India or vice-versa?
What can taste better than a good martini on the rocks made by the handsome bartenders after a day of touring?
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary
Day Seven: Early morning wakeup took us to what had been a hunting place for Rajah's and their friends. Listed on a marker were the totals of birds shot by famous people (British officers and royalty) on recorded dates dating from 1902. One hunt listed 4,000 birds killed.
Now we were able to enjoy this peaceful spot riding quietly in a bicycle rickshaw. Our knowledgeable driver was 60 years old.
We were privileged to have lunch in an elegant Maharajah's hunting lodge. Bob enjoyed the Indian beer.
Often returning to our train, we climbed up and over tracks on a high bridge. My new friend Barbara Chan would often help me on the stairs. Her husband Francisco Chan helped Bob with ATM's. Following are some pictures taken from our train window .
Typical boys watching the train go by.
Preparing cow pies for recyling.
Our last day before returning to Delhi, we also visited India's Crown Jewel, the Taj Majal. My first visit with my son Jim was in 1998. This was Bob's first visit.
Day Eight: Agra and the Red Fort
Pietra Dura detail: inlaid jewels.
Below is the view of the Taj Mahal down river that we could see through these windows.
The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia and over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials. The translucent white marble was brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble. The rectangular marble building blocks weigh 5,000 lbs. each!
IAt all the tourist spots, we saw Indian women dressed in their beautiful saris. It was not so when I was there in 1998.......a sign of increasing prosperity in India.
Pictured is our little group from the C-Pink coach where Umesh and Pradesh always found us and brought us to our Jaipur Saloon. They were all fine folks and lent me a hand when I was tired and needed help on stairs. Sometimes, we were their inspiration to climb up to one more fort!
IOur coach mates, Rima and Dee, with two ladies from Sweden.
IEmily and Peter from Melbourne and Francisco and Brabara Chan from Singapore (now living in South Carolina). They came to Villa Rica to see us.
New Delhi Tour
IArriving in New Delhi early in the morning, we were met by the Palace on Wheels local guide to drive us around the city as part of our tour.
Mahatma Ghandi's Memorial is quite beautiful and well kept. From there we were shown the government buildings. Then we were driven through some interesting traffic to Old Delhi part of town to see the market place by bicycle as the streets are too narrow for cars.
Our first stop was a Sikh Temple with a visit to their kitchen where they prepare food for as many as 100,000 people served in a huge hall in one day. Anyone who is hungry is welcomed to eat.
A handsome turbaned Sikh gentleman spent a little time with us explaining their religious beliefs.
And the streets got narrower.
And narrower.
A monkey in the wires.
After eight days sleeping on a moving train, our Palace on Wheels guide returned us to Mega Home Stay B & B and our host Arman and his mom had our room ready for us.
Some of the streets had some well-kept colorful houses.
Brahma bull pulls cart of packaged saris.
Motorcycles also used to transport live chickens and saris and McDonald's is never too far away.
Indira Ghandi's home was the last stop on our tour. Again, there were many Indian tourists with their children.
Arman suggested a beautiful restaurant that served alcoholic drinks........many do not. Martini Time!
Our last day in India, we took a taxi (loved the tasseled taxi interior) to see this enormous Hindu Temple: Akshardham. Out on the edge of the city, we were not allowed to take cameras inside so my picture was taken from the parking lot.....a Iong way to walk. Constructed entirely from Rajasthani pink sandstone and Italian Carrara marble, the temple has no support from steel or concrete. The monument consists of 234 ornately carved pillars, nine domes, and 20,000 murtis and statues of Hinduism's sadhus, devotees, and acharyas.
This picture and the one below are from Wikipedia. They show the detail I could not get.
The gardens were beautiful and the covered walkways made for a pleasant walk on a warm day.
The monument also features the Gajendra Pith at its base, a plinth paying tribute to the elephant for its importance in Hindu culture and India's history. It contains 148 scale sized elephants. We circum-ambulated the perimeter, enjoying my favorite animal.
We returned to Mega Home Stay to pack up our suitcases and then it was off to the airport and our third destination: BALI
A big elephant and baby in the lobby were there to say goodbye.
Namaste to India!
