Author Archives: Travis

The Pink City, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

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Continuing our ‘gold triangle’ leg of India, we caught a five hour bus ride from Agra to Jaipur, the entrance to the Rajasthan region. Jaipur is also known as the Paris of India and the Pink City, though I didn’t find it particularly pink at this time.

On arrival, we found it extremely difficult to find a hotel with vacancies, our auto-rickshaw driver somehow knew this, and even after seeing a few of the  Lonely Planet recommendations that were all full, we took his advice and used one of his recommendations. Unfortunately, like many of the hotels it wasn’t walking distance to the main square.

After we checked in we decided to follow the LP’s Jaipur City Walking Tour, this gave us a feel for the city and also allowed us to see a few of the main sights with sunset light.

The next day we checked-out some of the main Jaipur tourist attractions.

Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds)

Early in the morning we made our way to the Hawa Mahal (or Palace of Winds). The Hawa Mahal has an amazing exterior facade, looking similar to the honeycomb of a beehive. These individual windows allowed for the ladies to view the streets without being observed themselves, this practice known as purdah is similar in concept to the veils worn by Islamic women.

Inside the palace was a maze of hallways and rooms, all intricately decorated with colour and floral decorations. From the highest levels, the Jantar Mantar and City Palace was visible, our next destinations.

The beehive appearance of Hawa Mahal, the Palace of WindsThe beehive appearance of Hawa Mahal, the Palace of the BreezeLooking in from the main entrance into the Hawa Mahal
Entrance to the Hawa Mahal inner courtIndian god on sitting on lotus flowerEntrance to the Hawa Mahal inner court
Entrance to the Hawa Mahal inner courtGanesh god above the entrance welcoming guestsThe honeycomb looking buildings seen for the main inner court
Inside the Hawa MahalBeautiful decorated green wooden doorA wooden door at the Hawa Mahal
Floral stained glass window at the Hawa MahalPeeling floral painting on a wooden doorDecorative arches looking out towards the courtyard
Looking out from one of the rooms through to the courtyardArches and pillars of the undercover halls of the Hawa MahalArches and pillars of the undercover halls of the Hawa Mahal
The Hawa Mahal viewed from belowLooking over the main courtyard towards the entranceStained glass windows found in may rooms of the Hawa Mahal
Sonya standing under one of the decorative undercover featuresRear view of the Hawa MahalTravis resting under one of the many undercover arches of the Hawa Mahal
Sonya with the Hawa Mahal in the backgroundView of the Hawa Mahal from the insideOne of the viewing areas allowing women to view the streets
Arched pillared halls found in the Hawa MahalDecorative golden features on the roof of the Hawa MahalThe highest point of the Hawa Mahal looking towards the jantar Mantar
The Jantar Mantar complex seen from the Hawa MahalSonya at one of the women's viewing areasThe Hawa Mahal with the old bazaar street below

Jantar Mantar

Jantar Mantar (literally calculation instrument) is a collection of architectural astronomical instruments and was one of the more interesting sights I had seen.  Again we decided to get the audio tour, though even for me, an engineer, I found the content far too complex.

There are fourteen instruments, the largest known as the Samrat Yantra, the world’s largest sundial at twenty-seven metres high. The collection made for great photos, unfortunately, I got told-off by one of the guards when I tried climbing them.

Observation deck of the samrat yantra (Giant sundial)Giant Sundial known as the Samrat Yantra (The Supreme Instrument)World's largest sundial, standing 27 meters tall
Shadow moves visibly at 1 mm per second, or roughly a hand's breadthRam Yantra at Jntar ManarRam Yantra at Jntar Manar
Astrological and astronomical instrument at Jantar MantarConstellation Pisces zodiac instrumentConstellation Pisces zodiac instrument
Narivalaya Yantra at Jantar Mantar, JaipurAstrological and astronomical instrument at Jantar MantarJai Prakash Yantra at Jantar Mantar, Jaipur

City Palace

Nearby the Jantar Mantar is the Jaipur City Palace, a huge complex, with portions still in use by the royal family and sealed off from tourists.

The highlight of the palace for me was the Pitam Niwas Chowk, an inner courtyard surrounded by four gateways each representing a different season and adorned with amazing decorations. The most famous is the Peacock Gate, which represents the season autumn.

The colour of the buildings is the origin of the term Pink City, having been painted on the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1853 in a show of hospitality.

City Palace entrance to Royal Family still in useAntique canon outside the Jaipur City PalaceEntrance arch to the Jaipur City Palace
Chandra Mahal at the Jaipur City PalaceDiwan-I-Khas, a private audience hall of the MaharajasChandra Mahal, seen at the top is the flag of the royal family
Travis and Sonya self portrait in Gangajelies (Ganges-water silver urns)Marble floored chamber of Diwan-I-KhasModel of the Jaipur City Palace
Clock Tower in the Jaipur City PalaceArches of the Chandra MahalWindows of the Chandra Mahal
Upper area of one of the gates at the Pitam Niwas ChowkFamous Northeast Peacock Gate with motifs of peacocks on the doorway representing autumnSonya at the famous Peacock Gate
The details of the Northeast Peacock Gate with motifs of peacocks on the doorwayOne of the wooden peacocks at the above the Peacock GateNortheast Peacock Gate with motifs of peacocks on the doorway dedicated to Lord Vishnu
The Peacock Gate and the Lotus Gate at the Pitam Niwas ChowkBeautifully decorated Lotus Gate at the Pitam Niwas ChowkSouthwest Lotus Gate with continual flower and petal pattern suggestive of summer season
Southwest Lotus Gate with continual flower and petal pattern dedicated to Lord Shiva-ParvatiSonya outside the Lotus Gate representing summerSonya and Travis self portrait with an antique mirror

Nahargarh Fort

From the City Palace we made our way north along the south face of the Aravalli Hill to the Nahargarh Fort. The fort, whilst unrestored, still showed some amazing frescos. Looking over the fortification walls was a beautiful view of Jaipur City below.

At the base of Aravalli Hill with Nahargarh Fort on topThe main face of Nahargarh Fort looking over JaipurFortification wall of Nahargarh Fort with Jaipur visible below
Inside the Nahargarh Fort palace compoundFresco of a bush found inside the Nahargarh Fort palaceFresco of horse rider found inside the Nahargarh Fort palace
Fresco of elephant rider found inside the Nahargarh Fort palaceColourfully decorated wooden door of the Nahargarh For palaceCow on the winding path in Aravalli Hill
You shall not pass, cows along the Aravalli Hill pathView of Jaipur old city from Aravalli HillView of Jaipur, the pink city
View of Jaipur, the Paris of IndiaView of Jaipur, the pink cityView of Jaipur, the Paris of India

Jaipurian Langurs

A trip to an Indian city isn’t complete without bumping into a few monkeys. At Naharagarh Fort we came across into a troop of friendly Jaipurian Langurs, I had fun feeding them our mango skins, until one of them grabbed the whole bag full.

Langur monkeys on the Nahargarh Fort wallsTravis with a troop of langur monkeysTravis feeding a barrel of Langur monkeys mango skins
Two happy monkeys eating mangosWise Langur monkey sitting and watchingMonkey sitting on the peak of the Nahargarh Fort walls
Langur monkeys sitting on the Nahargarh Fort wallsLangur running along the tops of the Nahargarh Fort wallsMonkey running along the tops of the Nahargarh Fort walls

We made our way back down the hill, passing a few cows that were also making the journey down, though somewhat slower.

That night we had some of the most delicious (and cheap) chicken tikka masala at local restaurant.

Chicken tikka masala

Related posts:

  1. The Paris of India, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
  2. The Blue City, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India
  3. City of Lakes, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
  4. Venice of the East, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
  5. Delhi, India – Humayun’s Tomb and Red Fort

Around Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

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Agra was the formal capital of the Mughal empire, due to its significance many historic sites exist around Agra.

After visiting the Taj we decided to explore some of the popular historic sites, as all the sites were in different directions we arranged for a rickshaw. After some negotiations we settled for around 200 rupees with the condition we had to visit some shops after. It sounded like a good deal at the time.

The drivers split us into two rickshaws which halved the work, and double their return on commissions, though it did allow us to take some nice photos of the journey as well.

Sonya and the rickshaw tour guideTravis laid back and talking to the rickshaw driverSonya blending in on the Indian roads

  1. Taj Mahal
  2. Agra Fort
  3. Itmad-ud-Daula Tomb
  4. Mehtab Bagh

Agra Fort

A beautiful red sandstone fort conquered and modified by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, a marble balcony provided clear views to the Taj Mahal. What I found really interesting was the story of the peacock throne, the name of a throne created by  Mughal Badshah Shah Jahan previously standing in the the Diwan-i-Am  or public audience hall located inside Agra Fort. We had seen a similarly named Peacock Thrown in Iran, known as the Naderi Throne, now located in the National Treasure of the Central Bank of Iran, Tehran.

The Lahore Gate the main tourist entrance to the Agra FortWatch tower on the Agra Forts internal wallsSmall internal gate to the Court of Amar Singh Gate
Map of Agra FortOne of the entrance gates to Diwan i Am SquareThe carved red sandstone of the Jahangir Mahal
Sonya at the Agra Fort with carved red sandstone in the backgroundInternal carved red sandstone reliefs of the Jahangir MahalNow defunct water feature inside the Jahangir Mahal
The halls of the Jahangir Mahal or palace for women belonging to the royal householdThe Taj Mahal viewed from Agra FortTravis fitting in as a local, camera and Lonely Planet in hand
Court between the Jahangir Mahal and Yamuna RiverDiwan I Am (Hall of Public Audience)One of the many arches in the Diwan I Am (Hall of Public Audience)
Semi precious stones inlaid in the white marble of the Diwan I AmUnused water feature inside the Diwan I Am (Hall of Public Audience)The white marble patterned floors of the Diwan I Am
Sonya in the column courtyard of the Diwan I AmView of Musamman Burj from northwest, with the Yamuna river and the Taj MahalThe black throne of Jehangir
Arches of the Diwan-i-KhaasMonkey on the roof of the Agra Fort wallsAgra Fort wall viewed from the south

Itmad-ud-Daula’s Tomb (Baby Taj)

One of the popular attractions all the rickshaw drivers advertise they can take you to, I didn’t have very high expectations, thinking why would I want to see the Taj on a less grand scale. It turned out the lack of other tourists was quite pleasant.

What was a sight, around sunset a troop of monkeys migrated across the garden grounds, as usual we couldn’t resist taking many photos.

The Tomb of Etimad Ud Doulah 1628The Baby TajJali screens of intricately carved white marble
White marble with set coloured stones at the Baby TajTourist Travis outside the walls of the Baby TajCupola of the Baby Taj minaret
Detail of one of the exterior walls of the Baby TajSonya with the intricate internal white marble walls encrusted with semi-precious stone decorationSonya with the intricate internal white marble walls encrusted with semi-precious stone decoration
Itmad-ud-Daula's Tomb inside the Baby TajFloral paintings inside the Baby TajOne of the four red stone gates
One of the four red stone gates on all sides of the Mini TajThe Baby Taj or Mini TajThe Baby Taj or Mini Taj
Sonya and Travis at the Baby TajBaby monkey with motherMonkey sitting on scaffolding
Monkey looking busy on some scaffoldingAt sunset a troop of monkeys migrate across the gardensMonkey looking amused

Mehtab Bagh (Moonlight Garden)

Our final real stop was the Moonlight Garden, located across the Yamuna River directly opposite the Taj Mahal. It provided nice views of the Taj Mahal from behind, not normally seen.

Two local Indian girls carrying bags of grass clippings on their headsView of the Taj Mahal seen from the Mehtab Bagh gardensSonya and Travis with the Taj Mahal in the background

This concluded our tour, so now was time to meet our side of the bargain and visit some stores, every store we visited the drivers got 50 rupees each. After the second store the ‘just looking’ got quite tiresome, we had a very hard time trying to shake a seller of ‘star stone’ a black star sapphire apparently commonly found in Agra.

Related posts:

  1. Taj Mahal – Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
  2. Delhi, India – Humayun’s Tomb and Red Fort
  3. Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India
  4. The Paris of India, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
  5. The Blue City, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India

Taj Mahal – Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India

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From Khajuraho we caught a train to Agra, the home of India’s most famous landmark, the Taj Mahal. We arrived in Agra just in time for sunset and decided to view the Taj from one of the roof-top restaurants recommended by the Lonely Planet. After, we decided to have an early night intending to catch the Taj at sunrise.

Early in the morning, though not quite as early as the Sunrise Ganges boat ride, we made our way to the Taj’s west entrance. Once we were inside the complex we made our way through the Great gate (Darwaza-i rauza) providing our closest views (well, my closest view given Sonya had already seen it) of the beautiful Taj. We snapped the obligatory photos with the Taj mirrored in the reflecting pools and due to the early hours of the day there were only a small amount of fellow tourists.

We spent a good few hours wondering the large garden and surrounding buildings. The Taj was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and it was really interesting seeing all the Mughal architectural traits, a lot which we had seen along the Silk Road starting in Iran. One of the most impressive features was the detailed floral Pietra dura, the coloured stone inlays or floral patterns on in the inside and exterior of the Taj.

The Taj Mahal
The jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritageTravis and Sonya with the Taj in the backgroundThe finest example of Mughal architecture
Great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)The Taj Mahal viewed from the great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)The interior ceiling of the great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)
Pillared halls of the walls adjacent to the great gateGreat gate (Darwaza-i rauza)Local Indian men crossing one of the many pools found in the surrounding garden
Floral designs carved in the red stone of the Taj Mahal MosqueInterior ceiling dome of the Taj Mahal MosqueDecorative sunken reliefs of the Taj Mahal Mosque
Boy walking inside side the courtyard of the mosqueThe Taj Mahal viewed from the mosqueSonya resting near the Taj Mahal mosque
One of the four 40m minarets surrounding the Taj MahalContrasting red and white tiles surrounding the Taj MahalCarved stone screen surrounding the Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal MosqueColourfully dressed locals walking around the Taj MahalOne of the corners of the Taj Mahal
View from the Taj of the great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)The great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)Detailed floral Pietra dura
Coloured stone inlays or floral patterns on in the inside and exterior of the TajArabic verses in stone inlaysIntricate decorative borders from coloured stone inlays
One of the four 40m minarets surrounding the Taj MahalLocal women resting outside the great gate (Darwaza-i rauza)Colourfully dressed local women

Related posts:

  1. Around Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
  2. Silk Road and trans-Himalayan – the end of an epic journey
  3. Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India
  4. Delhi, India – Humayun’s Tomb and Red Fort
  5. Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque), Delhi, India

India train travel

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India has the most comprehensive railway network we had ever experienced. As soon as we crossed from the Nepal border we were already taking transport to the nearest city with a railway station. It took us a little while to get comfortable with the India train and railway system.

Our first try buying a ticket was a nightmare of an attempt at the Gorukpur railway station. We found the nearest ticket window, however as we waited in line we realised we were in the unreserved seniors line; explaining the hundreds of old men pushing us around. We left when Sonya was finally pushed out the line. We then tried the computer booking service, this was a lot better but we still had problems finding the place and then waiting in lines. A line clearly marked for tourists only, but had half of India pushing in. For the rest of our India trip we opted to pay people (‘booking agents’) to arrange tickets, costing us about fifty rupees (one dollar) each time. I’m still unsure how many of those were genuine ticket sellers or just people who hung around tourist hotels.

Next came trying to catch a India train. Not much is signposted and when platform details are there, it changes very soon after. A number of times we found ourselves waiting on the wrong platform, or close to boarding the wrong train. Fortunately, many a times, Sonya took the initiative and ask somebody if we were on the correct platform.

Once inside the train’s carriage, there’s the strategic mind game of musical train seats. There are eight sleeping beds per compartment, two lots of three bunk beds and then a single lot of two bunk beds along the aisle. If you are the unlucky one to get the middle or upper bunks you are at the mercy of the lower bunk’s passenger who can shoo you away from a seat because they wish to sleep, even though it is broad daylight. Many couples pre-book the two bunk beds along the aisle and stake their claim by stretching their legs on the lower bunk so no other passengers may sit down. In the end we would sit straight on the upper bunks, we got a bit of privacy and were out of reach of beggars and riffraff.

Now, I know the above sounds like a lot of work to ride a train, but here is the most enjoyable part: the food. Prior to your departure on the platform, you can easily pickup snacks of lychees or mangos, magazines and drinks all with the sellers coming to you.  On the train it gets even better, briyani, dhal, lassies and hot chai, all without the need to leave your seats. We’ll never forget the joyous sound of the young men walking up the aisles shouting ‘pani (which is water), cool drink’.

One of the major culture shocks for me was the way the locals treated their environment; rubbish was simply thrown out the train window without a second thought. As one cleaner swept the train, I watched thinking, ‘that’s good of them to remove the rubbish’, only to find he swept it out the carriage door.

Overall train riding is an interesting way to see and experience India.

India train, Sonya sitting on the upper bunk
India train, Travis sitting on the upper bunk

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  2. Xining, Qinghai to Lhasa, Tibet railway, China
  3. Varanasi, India
  4. Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, India
  5. Taj Mahal – Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India