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Penny and I traveled to India in the winter of 2012. I was invited to give a talk at a conference in Delhi at the end of February and we took the opportunity to visit different parts of the country, traveling by air, train, car (with a driver), and once by helicopter.
This web page is presently under construction and I will gradually add photos of our whole trip. At present only photos from the places below are available.
To see the photos, click on the place name on the map or on the text below.
Chandigarh - We drove (with a driver) from Delhi Airport to Chandigarh to visit the Nav Paryas Children`s home in Panchkula, a suburb of Chandigarh, which was established by Permod and Pearl Kaushal, friends from our student days. Penny did an art project with the children in the morning.
Jaipur - We flew to Jaipur and stayed at the Pearl Palace Heritage Hotel for 2 nights. We saw the sound and light show at the Amber Fort the evening we arrived. In the following 2 days went to the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds), City Palace. Jantar Mantar (astronomical observatory), and again to the Amber Fort (by daylight).
Chittorgarh - We drove to Udaipur via Chittorgarh with Rajasthan Four Wheel Drive (Mob was our driver), which I would highly recommend. We were with him for a total of 9 days. Chittorgarh Fort is very impressive, being situated on a large hill above the town. It has beautiful gardens inhabited by langurs and macaques.
Udaipur -
We stayed in the Jagat Niwas Palace Hotel at the edge of Lake Pichola. We had a wonderful view of the lake from our room. The rooftop restaurant was excellent and we were kept warm in the evening by a brazier beside the table. We visited the City Palace as well as they monsoon Palace perched on a hill outside the city. Shilpgram Village (traditional houses, musicians, and craftsmen) was also very interesting.
Kumbhalgarh Fort - We went to Jodhpur via Kumbhalgarh Fort on a small country road where we saw many birds and several Persian water wheels that are used to lift water to some of the rice paddies. The 15th fort, built on a hill, is very impressive withy its extensive walls (36 km in total). It is accessed by a winding footpath to the top, There are several sections with interesting murals of wild and rather vindictive elephants.
Ranakpur (Jain Temple) - Between Kumbhalgarh and Jodhpur is the spectacular Jain Temple at Ranakpur with its 1444 intricately carved marble pillars and domes. It is a very calm and peaceful place where we would have liked to have spent a little more time just to relax and absorb the atmosphere.
Jodhpur - We stayed at the Hem Guest House, which was rather modest, but had a rooftop restaurant with a great view of
Mehrangarh Fort and is run by a very friendly and helpful Jain family. The Fort is spectacular, with many highly decorative buildings, and was the most interesting of those that we visited. We also visited the Jaswant Thada, which is a white marble memorial
to Maharaja Jaswant Singh II.
Jaisalmer - We drove driectly to Jaisalmer and stayed at the Hotel Victoria, which is built into the walls of the fort. The room was modest, but the view from the small restaurant on top was excellent and the staff were very friendly and helpful. We came to during the Desert Festival, which commenced with a parade from Lake Gadisar to the Poonam Stadium. The Festival was a wonderful display of men, women and children dressed in traditional costumes and various competitions, including moustache, camel polo, kabaddi, tug-of-war competitions and a spectacular camel tattoo.