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]

Celebrating Dasara in Mysore

Dasara is one of the biggest holidays in India and Mysore is the place to be (two hours from Bangalore). Huge crowds visit the Majarajah's palace ablaze with thousands of lights.

Leela Palace Hotel

Jenny and I visited this five star hotel last week. It gives the feel of what it must have been like during the British Raj. India is a land of extremes - hotels tend to be either high end or modest with not a lot in between.

Furtado Beach Resort in Goa

We spent a few days this week in Goa, a very small state on the western coast of India. The fishermen still use the same type of boats the Portuguese did in the 1600's. A man we met who was visiting from the UK and originally from Goa told us the beach we were staying at is the best in Goa - it's very clean and the waves are calm. Lucky us! We became acquainted with a few of the jewelry and sarong sellers and fruit vendors. These beautiful tribal women can't read or write, but they learned to speak English quite well from all the Westerners they met. Furtado's is definitely geared for a nonIndian crowd. We became new best friends (interesting how that happens when you're traveling) with a young woman in her 20's from Switzerland. Like other places in India, a variety of animals (dogs and water buffalo) share the space. On our last day we hired a driver and spent some time visiting the Catholic church in Old Goa where St. Francis Xavier is buried and the flea market in Anjuna (the sellers were all Indians and most of the customers were Westerners, some of whom looked to be straight out of the 60's!)

On the bus to Hassan (week of Oct 8)

We missed the express bus to Hassan, so we caught a bus that stopped at every little town between Madikeri and Hassan. There was a town every few kms so the 80 km trip took us four hours and more and more people squeezed in. I thought the bus would fall apart! The luggage rack actually did, but not on my side. I got acquainted with two boys, their mother and the mother's sister. The boys were on their way to a military academy (those who attend often end up as the country's leaders). When I told one of the boys how old I was his jaw dropped. His mom asked me if I still had my original teeth!

Bahubali Hindu statue in Hassan district (week of Oct 8)

Mohan hired a driver in Hassan to take us to see Bahubali. We didn't realize we would have to climb over 2000 steps (bare feet again) to reach the statue and made it to the top just before closing. It was well worth the climb. We were there at sunset. The scaffolding is in place to wash him during different festivals. He looks in pretty good shape for being over a thousand years old.

Tibetan temples

Bylakuppe is the largest Tibetan refuee camp. This is one of four temples we visited. Mohan and his mom are standing in front of another temple.

Elephant ride in Dubare (Kodagu district)

Elephants are protected in a national park. The elephant we're standing next to is a 25 year old female who was used in a talk by a park ranger. The elephant we rode on is a 40 year old male. They rotate the elephants and just use them for limited hours.

Hill above Tala Cauvery shrine

We climbed up the stairs on our bare feet (ouch!) to the top of a good sized hill. Whenever we go to a shrine we take off our shoes.

1. Hindu priest at Talacauvery.
2. Mohan's mom and a view of the mountains in the Coorg District. This area is known as the Scotland of India. Mohan said it also reminds him a lot of Germany.

Talacauvery Shrine in Kodagu (Coorg)

We ate lunch at this small restaurant before going to the TalaCauvery Shrine. Inside is the restaurant owner's shrine (behind me and Ramama). Although the restaurant itself is modest, the food was yummy. We had chapatis (like tortillas) and khorma (spicy vegetable soup).

Trip to Coorg (Kodagu District)

We're at the headwaters of the River Cauveri. Places like this are considered sacred. By stepping in the water, Hindus believe you'll receive blessings. I'm all for it!

Fresh fruit every day.

I'm in food heaven. I love Indian cooking. South Indian cooking is on the spicy side, but I'm getting used to it.

Gandhi Bazaar.

Gandhi Bazaar is a great place to get flowers, fruit, and spices. Our new friends, Claudia and Phillip from Switzerland, took us out for tea after our visit to the Bazaar. They were so glad to get some tips on living in Bangalore. The next day they brought us delicious Swiss chocolate.

Gandhi Bazaar

Jenny, Claudia, and Claire - we met Claudia and her husband Phillip at the Bull Temple. They are thinking about moving to Bangalore.

Bull Temple - Oct 6

Bangalore has many parks and is known as the Garden City. This one is near the Bull Temple, within walking distance of Jenny and Mohan's place.