Don’t Skip: Bundi
Intro to Bundi The region in the northwest of India known as Rajasthan has long been a favorite base for cultural and historic exploration. Most popular routes include the three J’s: the Pink City and capital, Jaipur, the Blue City, Jodhpur, and the Desert City, Jaisalmer, along with Pushkar and Udaipur, the City of Lakes. […]
Weekly Photo Challenge: Illumination
Illumination has many interpretations, from the simple brightening with light, to a deeper spiritual or intellectual enlightenment. In India, both of these concepts seemed to constantly be at play. Major temples and structures glow in the night, an ever-present reminder of their importance. Colorful, twinkly lights adorn restaurants and shops, inviting people to enter. There […]
Travel Budget India: Recounting Rupees
India was one of our most challenging and most rewarding stops. We saw the heights of art and architecture and the depths of poverty and despair. We were sweet-talked and hustled, greeted graciously and treated with kindness. We were thrilled, frustrated, over-stimulated, exhausted, energized, thankful and sad, often in the same day. India will touch you, one way or another, in ways you can’t imagine until you’ve been there. We spent our five weeks exclusively in the north, taking our time, but still covering a lot of ground. We did the full Rajasthan circuit, substituting a couple of less-traveled spots for those we heard were over-saturated. Outside Rajasthan, we visited Varanasi and Khajuraho, New Delhi, and Agra (Taj Mahal).
Reflection: India
The magical kaleidoscope that is India.
Camel Safari
Twenty miles or so out of Bikaner, in a small, dusty village on the edge of the Thar Desert, we met our two camels. A third was hitched up to a cart pulling some provisions for our journey. Each camel had his master/owner, who knows him best and responds to his commands (more or less). […]
Don’t Skip: Bikaner, India
Desert Outpost Bikaner Firmly planted in western Rajasthan Bikaner has a distinctly different feel from the other Rajasthani cities we’ve visited thus far. It’s a big city, but one that seems more like a desert outpost than a modern urban center. Camels are everywhere, used here mostly for pulling carts and work in agriculture. Hauling […]
Jodhpur Blues
Jodhpur has long been known as the “Blue City,” and the views from the top of its imposing fort prove this still to be true. Historically, it was only the high class, priestly Brahmins who painted their homes this color, and the old Brahmin neighborhoods are still the bluest, but as many other residents started to follow suit over […]
Udaipur, City of Lakes
Udaipur is known as the romantic City of Lakes. Throughout Rajasthan, people kept asking when we would visit this quaint, yet well-touristed spot. The city is as picturesque as promised, oriented around Lake Pichola. Bathing and clothes washing ghats are always in use, while a major temple, the City Palace, hotels and restaurants enjoy lovely […]
Push(y)kar: Feeling the Pressure in Pushkar
Monkeys gather near sunset. Some gaze placidly toward the pinkening sky, while youngsters tussle and tumble or practice jumps and balancing techniques. There are two main species, one noticeably more aggressive to both humans and their monkey cousins. One evening we watched a small band of these more aggressive red-faces (Rhesus Macaque) move quickly across […]
Not Yet Beaten: The Path to Bundi
Believe it or not, pounding the tourist trail can be hard work, especially somewhere as intense as India. When it all gets too overwhelming, it’s time to take a few deep breaths (another thing India often seems to make challenging!) and reassess. What are we traveling for? What do we hope to accomplish? For us […]