April 2019

Our tour group at Ganesh Pol in the Amber Fort; it was a very interesting mix of people, each with unique experiences to share

You have to be crazy to drive here with the different modes of transport and cows, goats, dogs, pigs, monkeys and camels in the road;

Jaigarh Fort, located on the hill above the Amber Fort,is connected to the palace by a tunnel; constructed of red sandstone and marble, the attractive, opulent palace is laid out on four levels, each with a courtyard

Wind Palace was built in 1799 to allow royal ladies to observe everyday life in the street below without being seen, since they had to obey the strict rules of purdah, which forbade them from appearing in public without face coverings

The Mirror Palace is the most beautiful part of the Amber Fort; our tour group has a young couple from Britain, girl from Germany, woman from Canada, girl from Australia, girl from N. Ireland and woman from Sarajevo now in Denmark

The Chandpole Gate is one of several leading into the Pink City; the gate is used by all as you can see by the tuk-tuk, bicycle powered wagon and even the goats

The Amber Fort is laid out on 4 levels, each with a courtyard; this sunken garden is in the third courtyard where it is surrounded by the maharajas apartments

The elephant path up to the Amber Fort resembled the Katy Freeway at rush hour; our local guides consistently give us an incredible amount of Hindu information that is too much to absorb (assuming you can even understand him)

Sheesh Mahal at the Amber Fort where the mirror mosaics and colored glasses were called a glittering jewel box in flickering candlelight when it was built in 1727; I loved the detail and workmanship

The Amber Fort, built in 1604i, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the most popular tourist attraction here; Jaipur is brutally hot with a record high of 119 degrees

We're definitely not in Kansas anymore!; Jaipur is a relatively new city, founded in 1727, and was divided into nine blocks, two of which contained the state buildings and palaces, with the remaining seven allotted to the public

The Public Audience Hall at the Amber Fort is a raised platform with 27 colonnades, each of which is mounted with an elephant-shaped capital, with galleries above it;; unlike the rest of Jaipur, the fort was clean

Jaipur is a center of gem cutting and jewelry manufacturing so we visited to see how pieces were made; I bought this necklace (rubies, emeralds, yellow and blue sapphires) for my mom

One of a pair of silver urns that are the largest silver objects in the world; they were made from 14000 silver coins in 1896 and each weighs 761 lbs

The Amber Fort fourth courtyard is where royal family women, including concubines or mistresses, lived; the queens were visited by the king at his choice without being found out as to which queen he was visiting

Jal Mahal is a five storied palace, of which four floors remain underwater when the lake is full and the top floor is exposed; millions of dollars have been spent to clean up the lake hoping to convert the palace to a hotel

It was an easy walk from the entrance but many tourists take elephants; a PETA team found elephants chained with spikes, blind, sick and injured elephants forced to work, and elephants with mutilated tusks and ears

The Amber Palace was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas and their families; the current Amber Palace, was created in the late 16th century

Jaipur is a textile center and we saw men block printing at this facility; the clothes were affordable and looked very comfortable so our group made many purchases

This building houses the royal apartments of the city palace; the rooms are astonishing, but at a cost of $50+ we decided they weren't worth seeing

The palace of Man Singh I is the oldest part of the Amber Fort; Amber takes its name from Amba Mata, the Hindu goddess of earth and fertility for Meenas

The Saffron Garden in Maota Lake whose plants are said to have been planted by a maharaja in the 15th century; there were pigs along the shores with the lake level low due to dry season

A metro system is being built but in the meantime the traffic is loud and chaotic; the streets are in terrible condition with lots of dirt roads and the ensuing dust

This victory monument, from 1749, is right in the center of this city of 4 million people; Jaipur is a popular tourist destination and forms a part of the west Golden Triangle tourist circuit along with Delhi and Agra

This is the world's largest sundial which measures time in intervals of 2 seconds using shadow; the collection of astronomical devices was really amazing, especially considering how old they are

The Lion Gate at the Amber Fort, aka Amer Fort, was one of the few places we have seen foreign tourists; our local guide explained the history of the fort but it was too much information

Public restrooms in India are never as clean as this one from the Amber Fort; in the old days. trips to the loo used to be a community affair (this room didn't even have any ventilation!)

The Mubarak Mahal at the City Palace was built for receiving foreign guests; you won't find anything resembling a supermarket or big box retailers in Jaipur, just mom and pop operations

Jantar Mahar is a collection of 19 architectural astronomical instruments built by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh II, and completed in 1734; it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Amber Fort Ganesh Gate, named after the Hindu god, is the entry into the private palaces of maharajas; above it is where ladies of the royal family used to watch functions held in the Diwan-i-Aam through latticed marble windows called jâlîs

Jaipur is known as the Pink City, due to the dominant color scheme of its buildings; these days the color is a little darker but all of the buildings in the heart of the city are painted identically

Our tour guide took us on a walking tour through part of the city; he's a native and seems unfazed by the trash, sewage, poverty and continued use of the caste system

We stayed in the former Bissau Palace which still belongs to the royal family that originally had it built; the royal families lost their power but retained their property when India gained independence

This theater in Jaipur is famous for showing the latest Bollywood movies; there are few tourists so locals would stare at us (some may have never seen white people before)

Independence Palace, aka Reunification Palace, was the workplace of the president of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War; it was also the site of the end of the war during the fall of Saigon in April 1975

The Ben Thanh Market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Ho Chi Minh City and an important symbol of the city; the market is popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles and souvenirs

The post office was supposedly built by Gustave Eiffel between 1886 and 1891; painted on the walls of its grand concourse are fascinating historic maps of South Vietnam

With more than 10 million people, Ho Chi Minh is Vietnam's largest city; everyone seems to have a motorcycle or scooter making it difficult for pedestrians to get around safely

A statue of Ho Chi Minh with city hall in the background; the beautiful structure was built in 1902-1908 in a French colonial style for the then city of Saigon

The opera house, built in 1897, is one of the city's most recognizable buildings; it captures the flamboyance of France's belle epoque with a grand colonial edifice and sweeping staircase

The Jade Emperor Pagoda was built by the Chinese in 1909; President Obama visited the pagoda when he came to Ho Chi Minh City in May 2016

Built between 1877 and 1883, the brick, neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral has 40 meter high square towers tipped with iron spires; scaffolding covered both sides of the church although I saw no work underway

I just loved Book Street which is a pedestrianized, tree-lined street next to the post office; it's lined with bookstores but most sold books only in Vietnamese

The state banqueting hall at Independence Palace; the last state dinner held here was on April 1, 1975

Our group stopped here for lunch; you could choose which food stall to order from and then we all sat together to enjoy our different dishes

The post office had an impressive tiled floor and copious green-painted wrought iron; it still serves as the main post office of the city

The Jade Emperor Pagoda is one of the most atmospheric temples in the city; the exquisite woodcarvings and the pungent smell of incense made the pagoda feel very authentic

The highlight of my week on Maamigili was coming face to face with this whale shark!; even after seeing me, the shark stayed just below the surface passing so close that I was able to just reach out and touch him

The powderblue surgeonfish was one of my favorites here due to its distinctive and atypical coloration; the other tourists on the island I met were all from Germany and Italy

I tackled the long swim out to where it looked like the reef was from Maamigili; in reality, there really isn't a reef on the lagoon side but the boring swim was brightened by this turtle

There are probably no more than 20 tourists on the island at any one time; the locals are almost all Muslim and I found them generally unfriendly except for some of the small kids

The first currency used in the Maldives was cowrie shells; in the 13th century, cowrie shells were brought to Africa from the Maldives by Arab merchants with millions of them found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs

In this area of the Maldives, there is very little coral that is alive; there is plenty of coral debris but even along the reef there is not much color except from the tropical fish

One of my excursions was searching for manta rays; we saw a couple but they were juvenile and much smaller than other mantas I've seen

Male Oriental garden lizard; the only reason to visit Maamigili is to see whale sharks since there's not even a decent beach on the island

In addition to finding whale sharks, we saw dolphins and turtles; Maamigili has only a few small guesthouses, 3 restaurants, 1 ATM but does have the only airport in the Ari Atoll

Pincushion sea star; Maamigili is a 30 minute flight from Male and within an easy speedboat ride of some of the most upscale resorts in the Maldives

Noisy fruit bats were common on this island of 2300 people; the streets are all sand-packed with most people getting around on foot, by bicycle or scooter

While walking around the island I saw this small stingray; unfortunately, Maamigili is not an attractive island with a runway on one long side, harbors on both short sides and a litter-filled sandy shore on the other long side

The first day out looking for whale sharks we saw this one; underwater I had a much better view than my photo suggests

The India Gate is the most famous landmark in Delhi, built in 1931, to honor more than 70000 soldiers killed in World War I; drivers will honk constantly even when in bumper to bumper traffic (as if that will help!)

Built starting in 1562, the tomb of Humayun (the second Mughal emperor) is considered a prototype for the Taj Mahal; it is estimated that 49% of locals live in slums while almost 22% of the people do open defecation

Swaminarayan Akshardham is the world's largest comprehensive Hindu temple (it measures 356 ft long, 316 ft wide and 141 ft high); we had to check our backpacks and no phones or cameras were allowed on the grounds

We searched for 2 days to find a place to catch the Delhi Hop On, Hop Off bus with no success; we never saw a single bus but had hoped to use the service to more easily navigate the crazy traffic here

My sense of personal space did not mesh with the habits of Indians as they insisted on squeezing up against me; this was the norm no matter where we were so wearing backpacks on the front was safer

With an estimated 2016 population of more than 35 million people, Delhi is the world's second-largest urban area; the air pollution is horrendous and there is trash everywhere

Qutub Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a 73 m tapering tower of five stories that was begun in 1192; the mosque complex is one of the earliest that survives in the Indian subcontinent

The Iron Pillar of Delhi is 24 ft high, weighs 13000 lbs and was constructed in 402 AD; it has attracted the attention of materials scientists because of its high resistance to corrosion

The Lotus Temple is open for prayers and meditation by people who follow any religion; the lotus symbolizes 4 religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Jainism

The Parliament House, conceived in the Imperial style, has an open verandah and 144 columns; being driven around Delhi seems like a near death experience and it's best to just not watch

This was as close to the official residence of the President of India as we could get; with 340 rooms covering 5 acres on an estate of 330 acres, it is one of the largest residences of any head of state in the world

When Humayun died in 1556, his wife was so distraught over her husband's death that she dedicated her life thenceforth to a sole purpose: the construction of the most magnificent mausoleum in the Empire

I mistakenly thought most Indians would speak English but that was definitely not the case; even when locals could speak some English it was extremely difficult to understand them

The Red Fort was plundered of its artwork and jewels during Nadir Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire in 1747; most of the fort's precious marble structures were subsequently destroyed by the British following the Revolt of 1857

The Pearl Mosque (1659) at the Red Fort is a small, three-domed structure carved in white marble, with a three-arched screen leading down to the courtyard; it is no longer open to the public

The Hall of Public Audience at the Red Fort, built completely of marble, had a platform for the emperor's throne; we paid a little extra to get the helpful audioguide here

The residence of the sultan's main wife at the Red Fort; the Fort has an area of 255 acres enclosed by 1.5 miles of defensive walls,punctuated by turrets and bastions and varying in height from 59 ft on the river side to 108 ft on the city side

The Hall of Private Audience at the Red Fort is built completely of marble; this is where the emperor received special visitors; stray dogs were everywhere in Delhi

We stayed at a modern hotel near Indira Gandhi Intl Airport (48 million passengers per year); the subway was clean and inexpensive but stops were not always near tourist sights

This structure (1842) at the Red Fort stands in the middle of a pre-existing water tank; made out of red sandstone, which was cheaper than white marble, it originally had a red sandstone bridge, which was probably lost after the Indian Rebellion of 1857

The Red Fort was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (who also built the Taj Mahal) as his ruling palace in 1648; it is in the center of Delhi and a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Security is tight everywhere in Delhi with metal detectors and pat downs required at sights, metro stations and hotels; the Red Fort was the scene of a terrorist attack in 2000 that killed 3 people

Qutub Minar served as the pit stop of the second leg of the second series of The Amazing Race Australia; on December 4, 1981, the staircase lighting failed with between 300 and 430 visitors stampeding towards the exit, and 47 were killed

Qutub Minar; Jonathan and I stood out as two of only a handful of Caucasians in Delhi and were constantly harassed by tuk-tuk drivers, beggars and scam artists

Alāʾ ud-Dīn Khaljī was the second and most powerful ruler of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1296-1316; he set out to build a tower twice as high as Qutub Minar but he died after only 24.5 m was built

The Alai Darwaza, built in 1311, is the main gateway from the southern side of Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque (Delhi's first and grandest); this is the first building in India to employ Islamic architecture principles in its construction and ornamentation

The Lahore Gate of the Red Fort, the main residence of the emperors of the Mughal dynasty for nearly 200 years, until 1856

The tomb of Iza Khan was built 20 years before that of Humayun; the complex is one of the three UNESCO World Heritage SItes in Delhi

India's version of the National Mall with the India Gate where the Washington Monument is and the President's residence where the US Capitol is; we thought the pollution was bad but it gets much worse in the winter

Jonathan is laughing at the thought that he would like visiting India; this pool is on their national mall but behind me are men doing their laundry in it

Raisina Hill houses India's most important government buildings which were constructed by the British in the 1910s after the capital was moved to Delhi from Calcutta; I suspect the British are glad to have left

One of two gateways to the tomb of Humayun; significant restoration work of the complex occurred from 1997-2003 and, when illuminated at night, the monument looks truly magnificent

Every year on Indian Independence Day (15 August), the Prime Minister hoists the Indian tricolor flag at the main gate of the Red Fort and delivers a nationally broadcast speech from its ramparts

Entrance to Qutub Minar is 15 rupees for Indians but 500 rupees for foreigners; the one good thing is that the ticket lines were separate and the foreigner line had no wait

It was incredible to actually see Mt. Everest which is the highest peak on the left side; at 29,029 feet above sea level, the summit of Everest lies on the border of Nepal and China

Built in 1757, Kumari Ghar (House of the Living Goddess) is known for its magnificent carvings; there was a lengthy process involved in selecting the actual living goddess

Jagganath Temple, built in 1563, is widely known for the erotic embellishments carved on the roof struts; it's the oldest structure on Durbar Square

With the smog and haze in Kathmandu, you'd never realize that the Himalayas are so close; 8 of the 10 highest mountains in the world are in Nepal

There were thunderstorms every day we were in Kathmandu including when we visited the Swayambhunath Temple; fortunately, we didn't climb the 365 steps to reach the temple

he Himalayas include over fifty mountains exceeding 7,200 m (23,600 ft) in elevation, including ten of the fourteen 8,000-meter peaks

After seeing Mount Everest, champagne was served to celebrate; everyone on the plane had a window seat and we flew out to Everest and back so both sides of the plane got the same views

We visited the Swayambhunath Temple (aka Monkey Temple) which has been an important center of Buddhist learning for centuries; in Kathmandu we were told not to use water from the tap, trust only bottled water (even the monkeys don't trust the water!)

The Hanumandhoka Palace, dating from the mid 16th century, is spread over 5 acres; the palace complex is a series of 14 courtyards but most of it has been closed due to earthquake damage

The flight to see Mount Everest and the Himalayas cost $200; the flight was about an hour and the cost included pick-up and drop-off at our hotel

This large, tree-like structure was built for a special celebration and was to be wheeled through the city; the Kathmandu valley is home to 5+ million people and stands at 1400 m above sea level

Tbe Mahadev Parvati temple is dedicated to the Hindu gods Shiva and Parvati; located on Durbar Square, tourists have to pay $9 to enter the UNESCO area

The power lines resembled a frizzy Dallas wig having a really bad hair day; the lines went every which way and rather than repair one they just run a new line

Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate, the Himalayan mountain range runs west-northwest to east-southeast in an arc 2,400 km (1,500 mi) long

So many temples in Durbar Square, like the Maju Dega Temple, were destroyed in the 2015 earthquake and still haven't been rebuilt; the city has allocated $500,000 to restore the temple by October 2020

You were supposed to have your wish granted here at the World Peace Pond if your coin landed in the open urn; confusingly, both India and Nepal use the rupee as currency but their values are different

We were given a handy guide so we could follow the Himalayas on our flight and know what we were looking at; if you don't see Mt. Everest you don't have to pay for the flight!