 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Some cow dung patties laid out neatly to dry in the sun on the road to Amber. | A brilliantly-decorated truck, this one is actually "God Gift." | Another truck with painted murals and the front end of some oddball 3-wheeler. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| This time it's wild boars eating garbage, but it could just as easily be dogs. | Jal Mahal Water Palace on the way to Amber fort. There are a few of these in India, the most famous of which is gold-covered (reminds me of Kinkakuji in Japan). | Poor elephants in India, they have to carry people and goods around or face the barbed club of mahouts on their backs. This one was plodding up a hill, lots of them were painted up like this. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Wed, Feb 2, 2005 |
| This was our driver to Amber fort. The going rate is 100 rupees ($2 and change) for a 45-minute ride through all kinds of traffic, up steep hils and all kinds of treachery. | View across the way from Amber fort, looks like a derelict road leading up to a temple or some kind of outpost. | Lame Photostitch software doesn't merge stuff right unless you have more overlap, which is bullshit. Panoramic view of water and Amber fort on the left. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| View from Amber (pronounced Ah-Mare) fort over the water and some elaborate gardens in the middle of the river. Note the poor elephants hauling idiot tourists up the hill at bottom. | Another pretty pattern, this one from a fence. | Not sure what the technique is called, but this room's walls and ceiling had lots of reflective glass-y inlays as a part of the design. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Vanessa in front of said reflective inlays. | More gorgeous pattern inlay work with contrasting marbles. Very pleasing proportions and balance. | I've upped the contrast a bit in this photo, the actual wall was even more subtle in coloration. Not sure if it's faded or purposeful, but it was nice. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| View of another hilly fortress behind Amber fort. | Arched doorways and courtyard, Amber fort. This place was interesting in that it just sprawled out, a maze of rooms and hallways, with no markers denoting what was what, where to go, where not to go, etc. We actually got lost in there at one point. | Honeycomb window lattice, Amber fort. |
 Wed, Feb 2, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Panorama of one of the main courtyards, Amber fort. | Beautiful colors and designs in an arched ceiling, Amber fort. | This is a Lambretta-based autorickshaw with double the normal seating capacity, seats facing front and rear. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sun, Feb 6, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Our autorickshaw driver stopped at a Paan stand to ask directions to our hotel, he was really cute. | These are some souvenir paan packets that I bought for Massimo, who's found them several times while uncrating Stellas from the factory. Paan is usually a kind of chewing tobacco that makes red juice (see it all over), but some don't contain tobacco. | Here's our driver trying to start the rickshaw with the pull-handle. Nice fringed vinyl bag accessory. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Building something with scaffolding made of lashed-together wood. At first I thought it was bamboo, and I did see that in a few places, but this is another kind of wood (it appears to be solid and not nearly as straight as bamboo). | Family on a Bajaj scooter in Jaipur. The women almost always sit sidesaddle and use the footrest, sometimes even holding babies or toddlers! | Some buildings in the "pink city" of Jaipur. For a lovely site covering Jaipur and its attractions, see www.jaipur-india.com. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| This is an interesting hybrid toilet, I believe the "wings" are for your feet if you prefer to squat over it in the traditional Indian style. Note the little faucet and bucket, that's the alternative to toilet paper and the method that most employ. | We had a nice hour or so in the pleasant late afternoon sun, writing postcards on these lawn chairs. A traditionally-garbed Rajasthani old man came up to us and gave us a dancing puppet show (with music), but I didn't get a photo of him. Old fox. | Goodbye to the Hotel Khasa Kothi, we had a few nice days there and would recommend them for a stay in Jaipur. Close to bus and train stations and a quiet oasis with friendly staff and affordable rooms. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Thu, Feb 3, 2005 |
| This Beauty Parlour and a post office were located in little spaces within the gate to Khasa Kothi. I kept telling Vanessa to get her hair done here, but she didn't. | At the Jaipur train station, just after I'd gotten scammed by a shoeshiner. Vanessa accidentally ripped our ticket on the platform and this guy asked to see it. Saying it was void if ripped, he offered to fix it for us. He did so very slowly and for a price. | I like this placemat from the train trip. The fact that they emphasize "safe food" says something about the sanitation problems that still persist in many places there. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Aboard the Shatabdi Express to Delhi. This train was nice, served good veg food and had soothing Indian music, but the windows were tinted dark and we couldn't really see out. | Back in Delhi at the Hotel Alka Annexe again, but in a different room (with a window and a heater!). A nice improvement. | Another view of this room at the Alka. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Bathroom at new room in Alka Annexe. | And just as soon as we check in, we're back out in the early morning, headed to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. There were several brilliantly-colored Juice stands with amazing lettering, this isn't the best one but an okay example. | Horn Please! If I remember correctly, Abhi said that most drivers were Sikhs, and this bird illustration (a frequently-seen motif) is one of their symbols. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| This farm implement was hauling a couple of motorcycles that looked like they'd been scooped-up right along with the harvest. | Another truck with excellent paintwork on the highway to Agra. | Guard at the "tollbooth" checkpoint, with misty winter scenery in background. Notice the little straw hut, these were common in the countryside, I think they're used for storage rather than shelter. |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
 Sat, Jan 22, 2005 |
| Passed another LML outlet on the road to Agra, this one wasn't yet open for the day. | I believe the sign says "Jaigurudeo Temple," this was outside of Agra and quite pretty. | We stopped at an Indian McDonald's. I hate McDonald's as a company but was curious to see their menu in India...a full HALF of which was vegetarian!. It's illegal to serve beef in India. The US McDonald's could learn much from their Indian counterpart. |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
| More Horn Please paint mastery. | Here we're driving through part of Agra. Not sure what this sign was all about, but I liked it well enough for a photo. | Very interesting scooter cowl setup; they're like P-range cowls, with Louvers(?), NO turnsignal holes but add-on turnsignals in a different spot. I think this is some kind of Bajaj. |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
| Here's another shot of those weird cowls. I also saw a few LML cowls with no turnsignals (no holes) and a P-series glovebox-style cowl (on an LML, not the Bajaj one), but don't have photos of either. So many interesting variations... | It's always nice to see female scooterists, here's a young lady on an LML in Agra. | This brave guy was "skeeching" a ride from a truck. I saw several people doing this, but it seems a bit risky given the hairpin nature of Indian driving and the uncertainty of the roads in general. |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
| Abhi's brother Rajneesh took us to Agra, and the poor guy had to contend with nonstop harrassment from touts and other people wanting our money. He dealt with it like a champ. Here's a first look at the Taj Mahal, visible in white through this arch. | And what a dramatic sight it was to go through the arch and see this huge white marble palace in front of you, in perfect symmetry. Really breathtaking stuff, and more beautiful the closer we got. | I was especially fond of the proportion of white marble to dark mortar in the four main columns that flanked the plaza. |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
| This shot starts to show the true beauty and richness of the stonework. Unfortunately we didn't stay until evening, when the color of the slightly luminescent stone modulates greatly with the evening light. | There were a couple of identical mosques to either side of the Taj Mahal, here's the western one as seen from the main plaza of the Taj. Rajneesh was a little sketched out about the Mosques though so we didn't go in. | Detail of some trim on the wall of the Taj. Again, great proportions down to the smallest pieces. |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
 Sun, Jan 23, 2005 |
| Can you see what I mean about the columns being really satisfying in proportion, with the pretty marble-to-mortar ratio? | Another detail of the stonework, Taj Mahal. | Vanessa and I pose in front of (and partially obscure) the Taj Mahal. |