Tipu Sultan's summer palace

I'm back in the states. It's good to be home with my family and friends, but I miss Jenny and Mohan, my most amiable Indian hosts. Updating this blog will help my transition back to a world without sacred cows and all the other unique aspects of Indian culture. Top row left: road scene on way to Mysore (where is all the traffic?). Top row middle: fast food service for the bus in front of us. Top row right: the Sri Ranganathaswamy Hindu Temple on the way to the summer palace. Tipu Sultan ruled here during the 18th century until he was defeated by the British in 1799. The palace is the green building in the center photo. The green wood is there to protect what is left of the intricate paintings on every ceiling and wall.

Delhi

Rows 1 & 2: Red Fort, built by Sha Jahan (who also built the Taj Mahal) in 1648. He wasn't able to live there because he was imprisoned in Agra Fort by his son Aurangzeb (maybe because the father overspent the family wealth on buildings?). Row 2 - 2nd and 3rd photos: Who knew there was such a variety of lentils! Fruit sellers on the street use a scale and weights. Row 3: Our driver Ashok didn't want us to miss the largest Hindu temple in Delhi. 2nd photo: Statues of India's greats with Gandhi in the lead. 3rd photo: Grounds of Indiri Gandhi's home. 4th photo: site of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assasination by her Sikh body guards. Row 4: We were very glad to have Mohan join us for the rest of our trip. Here he is staying front of a Delhi government building. 2nd and 4th photos: India gate built in honor of Indian soldiers who died in WWI. [Nov. 2, 2007]

Fatehpur Sikri

On our way to Delhi, Jenny and I visited Fatehpur Sikri (40 km west of Agra). It was built by Emperor Akbar in an area of water shortages, so it didn't last long as the capitol of the Mughal empire (1571-1585), but it's still very well preserved. The white building is a still used mosque. A teen age student at the mosque showed us around.

Amber Fort

Amber Fort is 11 km north of Jaipur and was built in 1592 by Maharaja Man Singh. We loved the detail (including Venetian glass decor on the walls) and the symmetry of the design.

Jantar Mantar Observatory in Jaipur, Rajastan

Ahjay was our guide in Jaipur. He was very helpful in explaining each of the observatory instruments. When we were through here, he took us to shop at the bazaars that evening. The shopkeepers here tend to be very agressive since there are so many tourists. They want to clinch the sale and not let you walk away! We were ready to escape, but Ahjay wanted to show us a view of the Hawa Mahal, Jaipur's most distintive landmark. What he didn't tell us was that we had to go through a gem store, owned by a friend. That was one store too many!

Jantar Mantar Observatory

We were amazed by the Jantar Mantar observatory in Jaipur (built in 1728 by Jai Singh). There are mammoth sculptural pieces that still function today. Jai used huge sundials to measure time and chart its progress through the zodiac. There is one large piece that even calculates eclipses! [Oct. 31, 2007]

Colorful Rajastan

This little girl and her father entertained us at a tourist rest stop on our way to Jaipur. Later, after we arrived at our hotel, we could hear some music serveral floors above us on the roof. A troupe of puppeters were putting on a show. We stayed long enough for Jenny to try her hand at dancing with a puppet. Camels are a common sight in Rajastan and are used as working animals. We never had an opportunity to ride one (maybe next trip!). [Oct. 30, 2007]