Shadow Shot Sunday 2 - Shadowy Mumbai Street Scene - April 22, 2012

I am participating in Shadow Shot Sunday 2 -

aim that camera at the shadows in your life and join in the fun!!

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India - February 9, 2012

A week in Jaipur was not nearly enough.  There were two friends there,
I did not even get to see.  Sadly, as I am over the halfway mark of my
India stay so, as much as I would like to do so, I don't think I'll get
to return to Jaipur this visit.


In Gujarat, India, Uttarayan or Makar Sankrati is a festival that heralds
the end of winter, with the  move of the sun to the northern hemisphere.
Additionally, in Amedabad, on January 14 every year, kite flying day is
held.  It is no small event as there have been over 40 countries
participating in this festival.  The rest of India, also, happily
joins in the fun and Jaipur, clearly, was no exception.  Everywhere
one looked, kites had met their demise in trees, overhangs, wires,
and the like!  I am sure the flyers must have been extremely
disappointed when their creations ceased to soar in the winds.

Jaipur apartment building

Garlic and ginger for sale

Small roadside stores

Mosque

Beautiful arches

Old town buildings

Entering old town, Jaipur

Old town street

Rubble here and there about town

There are shrines and temples throughout Jaipur

Elephants walking in traffic

My first night in Jaipur, I asked my wonderful taxi driver, Lala, where I

might go for typical Rajasthani food.  He suggested a restaurant called 

Chokhi Dhani, which had also been recommended to me by my seat

mate on my Air India flight to Jaipur.  It was an interesting experience,

offering a view of life in a Rajasthani village as well as food.  I 

arrived at 6PM and was able to see some of the entertainment and

performances before it really got too dark to enjoy them.  The

resort is not really geared to those with mobility handicaps which 

made it a bit hard for me.  I use a walker and the sandy areas were

almost impassable.  Some of the options are also not easy for 

those with mobility problems.  After dark, I had difficulty navigating

through sand and rocky ground.  I felt a sense of relief when I was

finally taken to the dining hall for my dinner - a large Rajashathani

thali.  I enjoyed the food but it is a long evening out!

These young ladies greeted us at the entrance to Chokhi Dani

Before my trip to India, I lost about ten pounds &,

though I haven't weighed, I think I lost five more during my

four day illness with "motion" - all my pants are hanging on me!

Drummer playing as we entered

Entrance candles

Warm soup to welcome us

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Rajasthan is famous for its colorful turbans...it is not

unusual to see men wearing them in hot pink,

purple, turquoise, etc.

My first days in Jaipur were just wonderful.  I was especially fortunate to have

taxi driver, Lala, drive me from the airport the day I arrived and he took me

so many wonderful places throughout my visit to Jaipur.  No wonder I fell in

love with this "Pink City" of India.

My First Day in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India - The Umaid Mahal Hotel - January 31, 2012

My driver arrived to take me to the Santa Cruz domestic airport in Mumbai
at 5:30AM.  I was scheduled to head to Jaipur on an Air India flight at 8AM.
It was actually 11:38AM by the time we were actually airborne.  It's a good
thing I really like airports!

On board, a really nice young man sat next to me, a Jaipur native.  He and
I chatted throughout the entire flight of one hour and forty minutes.  What
a delight he was!  In addition, we were served an excellent vegetarian meal
( at no extra charge ).  Why has this kind of service disappeared on U.S.
carriers!!

I took a taxi to my hotel, the Umaid Mahal.  The driver, Lala, has become a
good friend as I hired him for the rest of that evening and all day yesterday as
well.  He will continue to show me about this wonderful Jaipur every day
until the start of the forensic conference.  I will transfer to the conference hotel
tomorrow as my friend and colleague, Virginia Lynch, arrives late the night
of the 1st.

My first Jaipur pictures are of the Umaid Mahal Hotel, the lovely heritage
property where I spent three days.  I can't even begin to say how much I loved
it.

Hotel exterior

Entrance door

Stone elephants flanking the door

Beautiful archways throughout the hotel

Sitting in the hallway outside my hotel room

Hallway elephant

Hallway outside my room

My hotel room

Twin bedded room

Sitting area in my room

The beautiful trim that is everywhere in the hotel

Lord Ganesha, at the end of my hallway

Bar area lounge

Hotel bar

Dining room with screen

Some of the wonderful dining room staff...the buffet breakfast

every morning was excellent...with Indian and Western selections.

Hotel staff saying goodbye to me....waiter and two room stewards

The wonderful man who always greeted - and helped me - whenever

I would come and go from the hotel.

I have so many more pictures to post of Jaipur but my Tata Photon wifi connection,

for some reason, does not seem up to the task of uploading my photos!!!  It has 

taken me two hours to get these on the blog....so, I'll have to be doing more

frequent posts so you can see what I am enjoying in Rajasthan.  It is a delightful

place in India and I pray I will be back someday.

Mumbai Thoughts and Scenes - December 16, 2011

Well, it is amazing at how fast time is flying here in India. I am well into my
second week already and I am a bit behind on my list of things I want to
accomplish. However, I guess I really don't need a fixed agenda. My main
purpose in being here is to reconnect with Indian friends that are special to
me and I have certainly been working on that. I had a really wonderful
surprise, shortly after I got to Mumbai, when a Royal Caribbean friend, I
hadn't seen in almost a decade, with business in Mumbai, from his home
in another part of India, came over to see me. I cannot believe I didn't get
a picture!

I've been so warmly greeted by folks I met in this village fourteen years ago
when I spent a week before heading on to Bangkok and a southeast Asian
cruise. I have been moved to tears, really. There is so much laughter and
talk as people stop by after work and dinner and we sit up late into the
night. Conversation goes back and forth from English into Hindi ( sometimes,
folks forget I am limited by not speaking any of the other Indian languages ) -
I just smile and feel so happy, just to be with everyone.

For all practical purposes, by American standards, life seems difficult here.
My friend, Lorna, won't let me do a thing which, I'm sure, adds to her work
load. She is up at 7AM, preparing chai, seeing her two sons off, one to work
for Jet India, the other to school. Though I normally don't eat breakfast,
she won't head to work herself without leaving something for me for
breakfast, no ifs, ands or buts. She also leaves something prepared for
lunch. If I ate all she fixed, my pre-trip fifteen pound weight loss would be
all for naught.

There is a servant lady that comes in morning and night to do major cleaning
and to wash clothes ( by hand ) and hang them on the terrace upstairs.

My friend, Santos, who is F & B manager at a small hotel not far from home,
normally works the evening shift and leaves about 1PM, returning by midnight.
Food is ready and waiting when he arrives. He and the oldest boy, Nick,
travel by motorbike. There is no car. Thankfully, Mumbai passed a helmet
law but, as far as I can see, most of the population chooses to ignore it.

Traffic here is terrifying. Nothing in the U.S., in my opinion, even the likes of
Los Angeles or New York, can compare. Mumbai doesn't seem to know
what traffic lanes are. People don't signal at all and five rows of traffic try to
occupy one lane, especially fearful if you are riding in an open auto rickshaw.

There are so many religions and many holidays to celebrate all of them. For
the most part, it seems that there is religious tolerance and people get along
quite well. I hear there is a great deal of corruption ( from my friends who are
Indian ) and, often, bribery is uitlized to get things done ( in business, govern-
ment, etc ). Yet, it is such an enchanting country, where such honor is given
to one's elders, Bollywood outdoes Hollywood in sheer number of films
produced and the colors of saris and beautiful attire rival that of the glories
of nature.

I'm afraid my time here will go much too fast and I will shed many tears as I
say goodbye to India. I can't bear to think about it now.

Out shopping with my "nephews", Nick and Jake Santos

There auto rickshaws, which are open on each side, are one of the main means 

of transport.  They get so close to each other, you can reach out and touch the

people in the one next to you.  I always feel like I should have on a helmet and

pads when I'm riding in them!!!

This might be a better way to go...above the traffic a bit!

Here's a better side view of the auto rickshaw.

The little girl in yellow, oblivious of traffic, was doing a happy dance in the street

People carry such heavy loads

Home in Sahar Village, near the international airport, Mumbai

The sky seen through lazy palm fronds

Coconuts and curry sandwiches....yummy.

Spraying for mosquitoes is a necessary evil.

While 85 - 90% of malaria fatalities occur in sub-Saharan Africa, it is endemic

in a broad band around the equator.  Sadly, one million deaths occur annually. 

I was quick to follow CDC guidelines for anti-malaria drugs, which I began a

week before departure and will continue for a month after I return home.  My

Indian friends sleep under mosquito nets and CDC recommends the ones that

are pretreated with an insecticide.  Regardless, I looked like I had the measles

after the first few days until my friend bought, Odomos, a nicely rose 

scented mosquito repellant.

Apartment building along the road into downtown Mumbai

Some things are the same the world over!

Difficult decisions

Fondue!

Paradise

Out to see the Gateway of India

City of Lights

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link

Though it presented major engineering challenges, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link.

opened all eight lanes of its spans in March of 2010.  It links Bandra and the

western suburbs of Mumbai with Worli, curtting that travel time from about

an hour to fifteen minutes.  

Whirling by the lights of the city

Psychedelic lights of a Victoria carriage near the Gateway of India

The day of the Victoria carriage in Mumbai is drawing to a close, after 130 

years. Animal rights activists have deplored the conditions of the facilities 

where horses are stabled and legislation has been passed to eliminate this 

symbol of Mumbai.Tourists will have to find some other way to see the area 

around the Gateway

The lunar eclipse from the harbor at the Gateway of India

Some of my wonderful Indian family with the Gateway of India in the background

The Gateway of India, an example of  both Hindu and Muslim architecture,

was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and and Queen Mary

to Bombay, in December 1911. It seems fitting that the last British troops

leaving India exited through this gateway, as well - in a ceremony on

on February 28, 1948.

The Taj Palace Hotel at the Harbor in Mumbai has received many famous

guest including the Beatles and the Obamas.  It was the scene of the 2008

terrorist attacks that killed at least 167 people.

Having a drink at the Harbor Bar in the Taj Palace

With sisters, Lorna Santos and Alma D'Souza, at the Taj Harbor Bar

Good things to eat