February 2013
Udaipur, India

Udaipur is in Rajasthan in the North West part of India.  It has more desert there and the people's dress is very colorful.  Each part of India seemed distinct but this area was even more different. 

 There was so much to do in Udaipur. A cooking class seemed in order. It was very interesting how all of the dishes we made started with only one sauce.

My cooking partner was a Canadian who was on holiday from living in England.  We wound up watching the cook and writing down the recipes.  So many men are very good cooks in India.

There were so many vegetables available all over India.  Fruit was also available everywhere and more expensive.  I read that only 90% of the people can afford fruit.  The color of all of the carrots were very odd.  They were red.  And they tasted a little different too.

We could take a miniature painting class at the hotel or get temporary tattooed with henna.  

Doing henna once was enough for me.  It took about two weeks to come off and my arm looked dirty the entire time.  I guess I'm not a tattoo candidate.   I would get tired of it after only a few days.

The roof top restaurant of our hotel with a beautiful view of the lake.

My friend Ligia had been in the south of India and not having a very good time  so I suggested she come to where I was. I took a 12 hour train ride to pick her up at the airport in Delhi.  Then we took the 12 hour train back to Udaipur.  Travel is so complicated in India that you are better to have someone meet you and show you how to do it.  After that, you can do it by yourself.  

One of the islands made by a king now is a hotel and restaurant.

I believe these men were promoting their theater.  They were entertaining in the streets.

We decided to go to one of the two island summer palaces.

A boat took us to the palace.  We splurged and had $8 ice creams and pretended we lived there.  It felt so exotic.

Elephant statues greeted visitors.

The flowing black curtains looking out onto the water

 gave the restaurant an exotic aura.

The area was originally damned to make the lake which is so shallow, that sometimes in the hot summer it's not deep enough for the small motor boats to move around on the lake.

 Traffic on the dead end street that leads to the city palace.

School children on an outing to see the palace.

Traditional entertainment balancing pillows on her head while dancing.

Muslim family on the lower berths of the train.  It was interesting to watch them eat with their fingers getting food all over the place and then wiping everything up with newspaper.  I was told they believe they should have a lot of children to populate the world with more Muslims.

The ancient way of getting water using bulls.

A very beautiful Jain temple carved of all white marble.  These odd little entrance steps were  used throughout the temple.

No two pillars are alike.

A large carved elephant.

Tourists walking among the many carved pillars.  It seemed as if there was no place for people to meet with all of the pillars covering the main floor areas.

                A view of the ceiling through an opening on the main level.

The all white marble was so beautiful.

Gargoyles.

February 2013
Pushkar, India

Pushkar is a small town of 15,000 people 6 hours south west of Delhi.  It's a nice manageable town with a small holy lake, gatts and a nice, quiet and a little hippish ambiance. It's also known for its camel fair in November.

The little holy lake

My balcony over looking the lake.

Balcony view.

 Nice place to hang out with a restaurant on the next floor.  There were many people from Italy here for up to a month at $4 a night.

 Camel ride for sale.  When camels walk fast, their lips bounce up and down. 

This cow insisted I give him a treat before I could get out the door.  I had to crawl around him to get out. They are like dogs, they are used to being fed by the towns people. 

Wrapped up in the early morning chill.  Hard to believe it will be in the 100+ degree ranges within 30 days or less.

 More vendors.

Selling beans and grains.

Holy cow!

Street food.

No kissing or holding hands in public.  Along with no meat, and 

certainly no beef, no eggs were allowed in this area either

Colors used for water colors or anything you would like to do with it.  

During the 'holy' festival coming up, color will be thrown at each other. 

The small busy main street filled with pilgrims and tourists.  

Turbans were the norm in this area of India.  Each turban told what you did for a living and where you came from. This musician would play for tourists on the gatt steps every day.  The tourist season will only last until mid March when it will be too hot to attract tourists.

My hotel room had a balcony overlooking the little lake.  

They celebrate Valentine's Day borrowed from the USA and many people got married on Feb. 14th.  This is one day of a wedding celebration where a band is hired to parade around the town with the wedding guest women.

Cane juice with lemon.  Yummm... 

February 2013
Jaipur, India

In Agra, I met a young couple from Mexico who was traveling with a girl from England.  The three of them had rented a car to take them all around Nothern India.  That is the least expensive way to travel.  You get to all the sites very easily with someone who knows the best times to visit and it's less expensive for two or more people than going by train and bus.  The disadvantage is that you have a driver who tells you things are closed when they are not and is steering you to his favored places to eat and sleep.  You are also going at a very fast pace.  It was fun for a few days and I got to experience how many travelers see India.  Jaipur is just 4 hours from Agra.

For a reference, the top map is the entire 6 months in India, 

the bottom map is the northern portion only. 

I made friends with this calf sitting in the parking lot. 

 It was like petting a baby kitten. 

 Carlos made friends with the neighborhood cricket team. 

The Monkey Palace where lots of monkeys hang out.

 We saw a lot of palaces and museums in two days time.

Amber Fort and Palace.

A fort enrance with huge wooden doors.

 The City Palace museum is in the center of the old part of the city.

 You get your picture taken more when you travel with friends.

 Everyone of palaces and forts were so grand.

 Vendors outside of a fort. 

 A holy man.

Jade and Montserrat checking over the photographs.is

 Montserrat and Carlos on their first elephant ride 

taking the easy way up to the palace.  

 Each elephant was painted with chalk.

 The women's view.

 View from one of the holes.

The surrounding kingdom with gardens.

A reception area for visiting guests. 

Beautifully detailed.

 CaCarved marble screens from single sheets of marble. 

There were so many rooms and hallways.

The Hall of Mirrors captured visitors attention 

and they didn't seem to want to leave.

                                         A wall of mirrors. 

This was a difficut shot considering the amount of people in the background.

 LaLace work in a window.

 Intricate colored glass work.

 A large framed picture with only knives and shields.

 Royal conveyances.

 A completely portable roll up puppet stage of fabric.

 Door casing carvings.

More carved door casing work with peacocks. 

Close up.

I borrowed Jade's souvenir umbrella with the water palace in the back.  

No one is allowed in the palace.  

A wagon train...I mean elephant train.  We saw camel trains 

and donkey trains too.

Showing us the hand printed cotton goods.

Jade shows us how's it's done with three stamps.

We were fortunate enough to see a wedding from our hotel windows.  When we went down to check it out, the guests insisted we join them.  They even gave us dancing lessons.  The groom enters the celebration area with his younger brother.

The couple was elevated up into the air on a turning platform with flower petals sprinkled over the entire set.  It was impressive.

In India there are two types of marriages:  arranged marriages and love marriages.  This couple knew each other for only two months. If it's a love marriage and your parents don't agree and you marry anyway, your parents and families can disown you both for the remainder of your lives.  The families exert an immense control over the children. 

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The north east part of india in Rajasthan is certainly the most colorful region.

Wedding ceremonies will last from 5-7 days with this being the big party.  While everyone else has a good time outside with food and beverage, The bride and groom will sit inside on two throne chairs the entire evening so everyone can come and wish them congratulations and have their picture taken with the bride and groom. Another surprising element was that there were two beverages to choose from:  water or chai tea.df