Luke the Gora: Adventures in Rajasthan

It has been far too long since my last blog... though I suppose some might argue quite the opposite! I am too far behind to catch up on all the blogs I intend to write, but am planning to begin chipping away at them. What follows is the first of my "catchin' up" blogs and my most recent blogworthy experience.

As has often been the case in previous blogs, this will be more like an illustrated book than a novel. Photography is about as close as I can get to releasing my artistic side without a canvas, brushes, and some paint. I hope you will find in these photos my love for people and my appreciation for architectural marvels (i.e. forts!). I continue to be amazed at the fact that God has created us in His image with such wonderful, creative minds and has give us ways to express ourselves in such marvelous ways... Soli Deo Gloria! Now, join me on a short, but majestic journey through Rajasthan!

First fort visited in Rajasthan - Amber Fort (Jaipur)

Where's the escalator?

View from the Amber Fort

Lake Palace... swimmers welcome

With only a day in Jaipur, there was hardly sufficient time to see all that there is to see there. I missed the Jaigarh Fort and sadly didn't get to do the Elephant Ride up to the Amber Fort. Nonetheless, Jaipur was a nice welcome to Rajasthan... next stop: Jodhpur!

My stay in Jodhpur lasted two days, which still wasn't sufficient, though it sure beat spending a day in Jaipur and another day in Udaipur! The Mehrangarh fort was impressive (enough so to have been filmed in the Dark Knight Rises) and the views were phenomenal. Just down from the fort was the Jaswant Thada, which is a memorial to one of the Maharajas. I'm beginning to realize that the stories I've read about the Maharajas are not made up--they were quite an eccentric group of characters! Now I know what is meant by the term, filthy stinking rich! I visited the Umaid Bhavan Palace, half of which was sold by the Maharaja to the Taj Hotel group and made into a luxury hotel. Having lunch there cost me a pretty penny, I mean, rupee, but was quite an experience.

Wandering through the streets of the Old City was one of the highlights in Jodhpur. My negotiating/bargaining skills need some serious work, so I only walked away with some tea that probably cost me at least twice what it should have... Everyone likes giving me the "white man's discount" for some reason. They all promise me their best price and I find it very difficult to resist at times. If only I had some clue about the actual value of goods over here!!

Entering the Jodhpur Fort

The life of a Maharaja must have been rough...

View of the Old City clock tower

Yeah, the Maharaja must've had a tough life!

I'm still trying to figure out why it's called the "Blue City"...

I think those pots are real... not just for show!

View from Jaswant Thada

Jaswant Thada memorial

Learning the difference between real and fake Saffron

The Spice-walla... i.e. Spice guy

Sardar Market

Every kid seems to love having their picture taken...

More of the market

A great lassi was found here (thanks to a buddy)

After two days in Jodhpur, before the grass could start growing under my feet, it was time to move on to Udaipur... This city was probably the most scenic of the three I visited in Rajasthan, primarily because of the lake views. If you've seen the James Bond movie, Octopussy, much of it was filmed in Udaipur. I was tempted to stay in the Lake Palace, but instead spent the night in a mediocre (but much cheaper) room that didn't even have a view of Lake Pichola. Wandering around Udaipur reminded me a bit of some European cities, though it was certainly not anywhere near as clean. Speaking of which, one memory of Udaipur I won't soon forget is the feeling I had after realizing that I had unintentionally killed a small rat that was attempting to gnaw on my ankle...