Mar 12, 2020 - Travels In India Cut Short

@@@@@@@ KAPOORS ON THE ROAD We left for India on February 1, 2020 in order to meet up with family to celebrate my husband’s older brother’s 50th wedding anniversary. Our daughter and son in law, who live near us in Victoria, were planning to join us a few days later. We had invited my sister and her husband to travel to India for the first time, and after the festivities were over, we planned to tour the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan with them, and then head to Nepal for a couple of weeks of exploration as well. We also tacked on an...

Mar 9, 2020 - Goodbye India

@@@@@@@ KAPOORS ON THE ROAD It’s really too bad that we had to cut our trip short because of the COVID-19 outbreak. We had booked our Aeroplan reward plane tickets almost a year earlier, so we had been thinking about the trip for a long time and were looking forward to all the extended family getting together in Delhi. We then took the opportunity to add on a tour of the western part of the state of Gujarat. We’d also invited my sister Donna and her husband to join us, and when they eagerly accepted, we decided we’d like to take them around...

Mar 8, 2020 - Umaid Bhawan Museum

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Lonely Planet – India chapter Rajasthan has to say about Umaid Bhawan Palace and Museum: “Take an autorickshaw to this hilltop palace, 3km southeast of the old city. The royal incumbent, Gaj Singh II, still lives in part of the building. Built in 1929, the 365-room edifice was designed by the British architect Henry Lanchester for Maharaja Umaid Singh. It took more than 3,000 workers 15 years to complete, at a cost of around 11 million rupees. The building is mortarless, and incorporates one...

Mar 7, 2020 - Jaswant Thada

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Lonely Planet – India chapter Rajasthan has to say about Jaswant Thada and the Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park: “Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park This 72-hectare park – and model of ecotourism – sits in the lee of Mehrangarh. It has been lovingly restored and planted with native species to show the natural diversity of the region. The park is crisscrossed with walking trails that take you up to the city walls, around Devkund Lake, spotting local birds, butterflies and reptiles. For an extra insight into the...

Mar 7, 2020 - Pal Haveli Rooftop Dining

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Lonely Planet – India chapter Rajasthan has to say about The Pal Haveli: “This stunning haveli, the best and most attractive in the old city, was built by the Thakur of Pal in 1847. There are twenty-one charming, spacious rooms, mostly large and elaborately decorated in traditional heritage style, surrounding a central courtyard. The family retain a small museum here. The rooftop restaurant, Indique, is one of the city’s finest and boasts unbeatable views.” KAPOORS ON THE ROAD We checked out the...

Mar 7, 2020 - Mehrangarh’s Museum

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Lonely Planet – India chapter Rajasthan has to say about Mehrangarh’s Museum: “The fort’s museum encompasses the fort’s former palace, and is a superb example of Rajput architecture. The network of courtyards and halls features stone-lattice work so finely carved that it often looks more like sandalwood than sandstone. The galleries around Shringar Chowk (Anointment Courtyard) display India’s best collection of elephant howdahs and Jodhpur’s royal palanquin collection. One of the two galleries off...

Mar 7, 2020 - Mehrangarh’s Zenana

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Lonely Planet – India chapter Rajasthan has to say about Mehrangarh’s Zenana: “You then enter the extensive zenana, the lovely latticed windows of which are said to feature over 250 different designs (and through which the women could watch the goings-on in the courtyards). Here you’ll also find the Cradle Gallery, exhibiting the elaborate cradles of infant princes.” KAPOORS ON THE ROAD After admiring the views in three directions, we moved through a hallway that led us into a large open courtyard....

Mar 7, 2020 - An Easy Retreat

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here are some facts I learned from the website ‘indiamyworld.com’: • “The fort has witnessed many battles in the past though none of them eventually led to the capture of this majestic existence. The gates of the fort still bear the marks of failed seizure attempts by the Mughals and the armies of Jaipur. • The Fort welcomed triumphant soldiers after their win over the Bikaner armies and the Mughals who were on a spree to take over whole of India. However, their attempts to seize the Mehrangarh Fort went in vain • Many...

Mar 7, 2020 - The Royal Apartments

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Lonely Planet – India chapter Rajasthan has to say about the Royal apartments: “Takhat Vilas was the bedchamber of Maharaja Takhat Singh, who had just 30 Maharanis and numerous concubines. Its beautiful ceiling is covered with Christmas baubles. You'll also find the 17th-century Moti Mahal (Pearl Palace), which was the palace’s main durbar hall (royal reception hall) for official meetings and receptions, with gorgeously colourful stained glass. Also worth exploring is the right turn from Jai Pol,...

Mar 7, 2020 - The Maharaja Gaj Singh II

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Smithsonian Magazine’s website at smithsonianmag.com, has to say about Maharaja Gaj Singh II in its article entitled ‘The Fall and Rise of A Modern Maharaja', published on January 21, 2016: “Gaj Singh II tells the story matter-of-factly, as if it might have happened to anyone: He was four when his father, the tall, dashing Hanwant Singh, crashed his plane and died. The boy was told only that his father had “gone away” and that he would become the 29th maharaja of the princely state of Jodhpur. On...

Mar 7, 2020 - The Mehrangarh Fort

@@@@@@@ BACKGROUND Here’s some of what the Lonely Planet – India chapter Rajasthan has to say about Jodhpur and the Mehrangarh Fortress: Jodhpur “In 1459 the Rathore leader Rao Jodha chose a nearby rocky ridge as the site for a new fortress of staggering proportions, Mehrangarh, around which grew Jodha’s city: Jodhpur. Jodhpur lay on the vital trade route between Delhi and Gujarat. The Rathore kingdom grew on the profits of sandalwood, opium, dates and copper, and controlled a large area, which became cheerily known as Marwar (the Land of...

Mar 6, 2020 - Newborn Baby Camels

@@@@@@@ KAPOORS ON THE ROAD About an hour after leaving Jaisalmer, on our way to Jodhpur, I could see that we were approaching a spot where a camel herder had settled down his herd beside the road. Now I’ve loved camels for a very long time, ever since I spent almost a year in Khartoum, Sudan back in 1972-73. You don’t get a lot of opportunity to see them outside of zoos, but there were lots that afternoon. To my surprise, our driver pulled over to the side of the road, telling us that there were newborns in the group, some must have been...