Rajasthan

 

Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri

We have covered many miles since our last post. After our wonderfully relaxing stay at Mukul and Sunita's in Agra, we headed to Rajasthan. On the way we stopped at Fatehpur Sikri, capital of the Mughal Empire for 14 years under Akbar's reign. It was nice to revisit this site, as we had more time to spend than we had in 2007.

Steph, Hemant, Deepak, and Craig

Entering Amber Palace...

 

 ...Maharaja-style

 

Amber Palace

 

Amber Palace

 

Amber Palace

Amber Palace

We then crossed into Rajasthan. Our first stop was Jaipur, the Pink City. There we stayed at the home of Mr. Hemant Agrawal, owner of Deshantar Travel who helped to organize our trip. He and his family were wonderful hosts and we enjoyed our time there.  Mukul took us for drinks at the exquisite Rambagh Palace Hotel (absolutely incredible!!) The next morning we visited Amber Palace and entered Maharaja-style...on the back of an elephant! It was amazing. The palace was beautiful and we enjoyed exploring it. Afterwards we saw demonstrations of some Rajasthani handicrafts, including block printing and hand-knotted carpets. Mukul took us to the LMB Hotel confectioners to buy some local sweets. While there, we were interviewed for Channel 99 News, who seemed to be doing a story on the rush on sweets for the upcoming Diwali festival.

Channel 99 News

 

Samosas in Fatehpur

Locked room at Junagargh Fort

Locked room at Junagargh Fort

 

Locked room at Junagargh Fort

 

Rats, Karni Mata Temple

 

Rat art, Karni Mata Temple

 

With the rats, Karni Mata Temple

 

Gajner Palace grounds

The next day we had a long drive to Bikaner. We visited the beautiful Junagargh Fort. The highlight there was a room containing 300 year old paintings. The room was locked, but Mukul worked his magic and arranged a private viewing. We went to a camel breeding center where the government artificially inseminates camels in order to breed the best and strongest (camels are even used by the miltary and border patrols here). After that we headed to the Karni Mata temple (also known as the Rat Temple). Hundreds of rats live in this temple and are revered as the temporary repository of human souls waiting to be reincarnated. They are fed and well taken care of, and it was quite a unique thing to witness. We stayed at the Gajner Palace, which was an absolutely gorgeous hotel with an ancient temple onsite, and parakeets, fruit bats, and owls in the trees.

Gajner Palace entertainment troupe

 

Gajner Palace

 

Veiled woman

 

 Ram Deora shrine

 

Girl watching shoes, Ram Deora shrine

 

Ram Deora shrine

 

Ram Deora shrine

 

Ram Deora shrine

 

Ram Deora shrine

 

Bada Bagh Cenotaphs

 

Bada Bagh Cenotaphs

 

Jaisalmer Fort in background

Dinner - Hotel Gorbandh Palace

Entertainment -Hotel Gorbandh Palace

 

Jaisalmer Fort

Sadhus, Jaisalmer Fort

 

Musician, Jaisalmer Fort

 

Jaisalmer Fort

Then we drove to Jaisalmer, in the desert. On the way we stopped at the Ram Deora shrine. There were no other tourists there, and we really enjoyed watching Indian pilgrims at this site. It was authentic, alive, and vibrant - a kaliedoscope of colors and people, and everyone there was very friendly to us. People were going about their daily actions without pretense and we had genuine interactions with them. It was definitely a highlight.

Jaisalmer Fort

 

Passageways, Jaisalmer Fort

 

Jaisalmer Fort

 

Jaisalmer Fort

 

Jaisalmer

Today we went to Jaisalmer Fort, a walled city that is just as alive today as it was when it was founded in the 12th century. People still live and work within its walls, and we really enjoyed exploring all of its alleyways, and looking out over its ramparts to the modern city below. It was like being in another time.

Camel rides at the Sam Dunes

Mukul's surprise

 

Our camel herders

 

Desert Camp entertainment at Kanoi Dune Resort

 

Dinner, Kanoi Dune Resort

 

Dancer, Kanoi Dune Resort

We finished off the day with a camel ride near the city of Sam, around 60 km from the Pakistan border. We rode our camels through the dunes, and Mukul surprised us by bringing along an ice cold beer for him and Craig to share, and a cold orange soda for me. It was so serene watching the sun set over the desert. In the twilight, we rode the camels to a desert camp where we watched Rajasthani musicians and dancers perform while we reclined on couches. After the performance, we had a nice dinner under the beautiful stars. We came back to our hotel and called Craig's dad to wish him a happy birthday. He turns 80 today.

Tomorrow we head to Jodhpur, and then from there, Deogargh, Udaipur, Delhi, and then home. This trip has been so amazing, and we are enjoying Mukul's company so much! We are all having a lot of fun together. We will certainly miss him when it comes time to leave.