Udaipur
Udaipur is surrounded by the offers a blend of Aravalli hills providing natural defense to their strong warrior resilience. Contrasting are the five serene lakes that provided a cool breeze and amazing views which we enjoyed in our downtime.
The hills provide marble that were mined and impressively lined along the highway. The natural resource visible impacts the city with regional revenue and found the city to be super clean and well maintained.
City Palace Museum is the home of Udaipur royal family; House of Mewar, which has had the longest family succession- 77 generations over 1500 years.
Jagdish Temple is a large Hindu temple just outside the royal palace. It has been in continuous worship since 1651. There are 32 steep stairs to the temple. We visited during a daily ceremony where the local celebrated the presentation of Lord Vishnu which is impressively carved out of a single black stone.
Jaipur
The Jaipur City Palace is in the heart of India’s Pink City. Inside the museum, textiles and royal waredrobes were showcased including that of one rajah who was seven feet tall and four feet wide. I couldn’t wait to see the Pitam Niwas Chowk courtyard with the four gates of the season.
Amber Fort is set on the hilltop and rode an elephant ride to the fort entrance. The elephant gait was a graceful, rolling, slow, steady, and consistent that made the ride calming and almost therapeutic.
Magnificent Sheesh Mahal also known as the Hall of Mirrors. Walls and ceilings are covered with tiny mosaic mirrors in beautiful patterns. Illuminating a flashlight onto one tile, we saw that light reflect infinitely in surrounding tiles along the hall.
Jantar Mantar Observatory with instruments to observe astronomical positions and time of day.
Iconic Stepwell Panna Meena Ka Kund. Perfect geometrical symmetry that is four stories deep however we only see two and half below.
On the drive to Jaipur we visited Fatehpur Sikri a UNESCO site. The palace was abandoned due to lack of water however they did build three different structures for the three wives, Hindi, Christian, and Muslim.
Agra
December in Agra brings fog making Taj Mahal at sunrise impossible. We started the day at Agra Fort. The fort’s defenses included a moat with crocodiles, spouts in the walls to drench attackers with hot oil.
Taj Mahal
Upon arrival the the Taj Mahal was concealed in fog and magically the fog lifted and the magnificent memorial revealed itself.
Details of Taj Mahal
New Delhi
The capital of India is bursting with sites, rickshaws and people enjoying the Sunday market. First stop was Old Delhi and Chandi Chowk market.
Jama masjid and India Gate were other must see places.
Qutub Minar. A monument of victory build which started construction 1199 AD making it the oldest structure I have ever visited. It is 72 meters tall and in another site there was a start to build a second structure double in height but not realized. Iron Pillar of Delhi six-ton wrought iron column famous for resisting rust for over 1,600 years due to its high phosphorus content.
Mahatma Gandhi is famous for leading India’s independence know for his peaceful resistance against British rule including Salt March (against salt tax), manufacturing local textiles, and challenge colonial power through peaceful resistance.
Already Told My Friends 