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Varanasi is one of the most sacred pilgrimage places for Hindus of all denominations. More than 1,000,000 pilgrims visit the city each year. Hindus believe that bathing in Ganga remits sins and that ...more

dying in Kashi ensures release of a person's soul from the cycle of its transmigrations.
The culture of Varanasi is closely associated with the River Ganga (Ganges) and the river's religious importance. The city has been a cultural and religious centre in northern India for several thousand years. Many prominent Indian philosophers, poets, writers, and musicians resided or reside in Varanasi. People often refer to Varanasi as "the city of temples", "the holy city of India", "the religious capital of India", "the city of lights", "the city of learning" and the "culture capital of India".
Varanasi has nearly 100 ghats along the holy river. Most of the ghats are bathing ghats, while others are used as cremation sites. Many ghats are associated with legends or mythologies.
Varanasi is one of the holiest places in Buddhism too, being one of the four pilgrimage sites said to have been designated by Gautama Buddha himself.

Varanasi, also commonly known as Benares and Kashi, is a city situated on the west bank of the River Ganga (Ganges) in the state of Uttar Pradesh, regarded as holy by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and ...more

Senthoo. It is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.
Mark Twain wrote: "Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together."[

This medieval city of 1.8 million sits on the banks of the Yamuna River in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Agra achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal emperors from 1526 to 1658. Today it is ...more

reknowned for two things: marble and the Taj Mahal. But I found other things going on too. I also visited Agra Fort and Akbar's Tomb, Sikandra.
Agra is part of the well-travelled tourist "golden triangle" of New Dehli-Agra-Jaipur.

The one and only !

Pushkar (home of the famous camel fair) is a holy city for Hindus so it is full of pilgrims and Brahmin Sahdus (holy men). There are also plenty of young Western travelers there to 'discover ...more

themselves'.
I really quite liked Pushkar, it was a cool little town --- nice and small, so I wandered out into the countryside a couple of times and some of the fields of flowers out there looked to me a bit like southern France.

The Hotel Pearl Palace in Jaipur must be the standard by which all other budget accommodation in India is measured. It has ranked as the #1 hotel in Jaipur by popularity on TripAdvisor.com for the ...more

past 5 years, and rightfully so. The attention to detail in this funky place is impeccable thanks to congenial owner Mr. Singh. The enthusiastic staff are well trained and the varied rooms are all spotlessly clean and are very reasonably priced. The hotel, which is located on a peaceful residential street overlooking a picturesque abandoned fort, also has one of Jaipur’s most delightful restaurants, The Peacock, on its rooftop. All in all, I couldn’t imagine staying anywhere else while in Jaipur (…unless it happened to be Mr. Singh’s brand new hotel The Pearl Palace Heritage which should be opening before the end of the year).

Jaipur (City of Victory), the ‘pink city’ and capital of Rajasthan, has numerous impressive historical monuments and other splendours from its majestic past. Jaipur was founded by Maharaja Jai Sin ...more

Singh II who loved mathematics and science and was a keen student of ancient astronomy. A brilliant Brahmin scholar from Bengal helped him design the city and work began in 1727. The layout of the avenues was based on grid of squares representing the ancient Hindu map of the universe. The Old City with its bazaars, palaces and havelis is well worth visiting. It was first painted a mock-sandstone hue to welcome the Prince of Wales in 1876. Jaipur’s most famous building the honeycombed Hawa Mahal (‘Palace of the Winds’), built to allow the women of the royal court to watch processions below, forms part of the east wall of the City Palace complex.

The ‘Golden City’ of Jaisalmer has a breathtaking magical sand castle-like fort, glorious havelis (traditional mansions), and it is possible to take camel safaris out through desert dunes. No pla ...more

place in India better evokes ancient desert splendour and exotic trade routes. Ninety-nine bastions encircle the narrow streets of the fort, which is still inhabited. Elaborately carved houses, splendid temples, and a beautiful palace are all carved out of the same warm-yellow sandstone. Spreading from the fort is the old city and the Gadi Sagar oasis. And all around lie the scrub, dunes, wind turbines, small villages and romantic desolation of the Thar Desert.

My home for 3 days in Jaisalmer in far western Rajasthan. Located on a very quiet road less than 1km south of the fort. I stayed in the purple room (#9) on the third floor next to a private terrace ...more

and facing the fort. The rooftop restaurant, where I enjoyed quite a few coffee lassis, afforded excellent views of Jaisalmer, the surrounding Thar desert, and (added bonus for me) the frequent take off and landings of Mig-29's by the Border Patrol (as it's only 125km to Pakistan). The owner Mr. Om Kewalia, aka 'Mr. Fifu' is an excellent host who, along with his brother Jeetu and an additional staff of seven, ensures that his guests are as comfortable as possible at all times.

Jodhpur is dominated by the huge fortress of Mehrangarh, the finest fort in Rajasthan which towers over the town from its perch on a rocky ridge. The ‘Majestic Fort’, dating from 1459, is an awe ...more

awesome red sandstone structure with 36m high walls and a delicate palace peering over the top, The enchanting palace is still run by the maharaja of Jodhpur. The audio-tour, with its mix of history, information and royal reminiscing, was terrific. I also visited the nearby white-marble memorial of Jaswant Thada, the cremation ground of former rulers, another peaceful spot away from the hubbub of the city, with great views back to the superb fort.

I visited Jodhpur for three days, including the annual Hindu full-moon festival of Holi. I stayed at Jee Ri Haveli.
Rajasthan's second largest city is a hive of hectic activity. The colourful bazaars ...more

and narrow lanes are often frequented by equally colourful tribal people from surrounding areas. Traditionally, blue indicates the homes of high-caste Brahmins, and Jodhpur is at its bluest in the old city which is surrounded by a 10km-long 16th-century wall which has 101 bastions and 7 gates..

A late afternoon visit to Jodhpur’s Sardar Market the day before Holi festival. The clock tower is an old city landmark, surrounded by the chaotic and vibrant market. The lines of red sandstone s ...more

shops are an impressive example of 19th- century town planning and a wonderful place to ramble. The narrow alleys of the old city’s commercial heart bustle with commerce, tiny hole-in-the-wall outlets and medieval bazaars selling vegetables, spices, sweets, silver and handicrafts.

The exceptionally beautiful Ranakpur complex is tucked away in a remote valley of the Aravalli range 60km north of Udaipur. It is one of the largest and most important Jain temples in India. Built in ...more

1439, this huge, superbly crafted and well-kept marble temple has 29 halls supported by 1444 pillars, no two alike.

On this day I embarked on an adventurous 10 hour journey by taxi through mountains and across desert from Udaipur to Jodhpur. 85km north of Udaipur is Kumbhalgarh, the 2nd most important fort in the ...more

Mewar region. It's a secluded place built in the 15th century and due to its inaccessible location on top of the Aravalli range, it was only taken once in its history. It was here that rulers of the Mewar dynasty retreated during times of danger. The massive walls of the fort stretch for 36km and enclose many temples, palaces and gardens.

Towering over the old city and Lake Pichola is an impressive complex of several palaces that is a blend of Rajput and Mughal influences. Half of it is still occupied by the Maharaja of Udaipur and his ...more

family.

An afternoon at the spice market in Udaipur with my friend, and rickshaw driver, Billu. Afterwards I was invited for dinner at his family's home that evening.

The whitewashed 18th century Lake Palace sits in the middle of glimmering placid Lake Pichola --- it is the symbol of Udaipur. It covers all of Jagniwas Island and was formerly a royal summer palace. ...more

Today it is the ultimate in luxury hotels, made even more famous as a set in the James Bond movie Octopussy. The other island in the lake, Jagmandir, has a palace that may have provided the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan with inspiration for the Taj Mahal after he stayed here in 1623. The surrounding lake remains quite shallow and can actually dry up in severe droughts, as it did in 2004. Without significant rain for the past two years, once again its shoreline is quickly receeding and there are presently many parts where cattle graze and boys play cricket.

Udaipur is perhaps the most romantic city in Rajasthan, or even India, with its Rajput love of superbly crafted elegance. Udaipur is full of palaces, temples and havelis ranging from the modest to the ...more

extravagant. It is also a heritage centre for the performing arts, painting and crafts. In the old city, on the eastern edge of Lake Pichola, a whimsical world awaits in its jumble of tangled streets. And on a distant mountain range to the west sits the neglected but majestic Monsoon Palace.
Here are some day-to-day scenes from around town.

These photos of the Old City of Udaipur, Lake Pichola, and the hilltop Monsoon Palace to the west, were all taken from my balcony at Dream Heaven Guesthouse, or from the rooftop restaurant right above ...more

me.

My home in Udaipur Rajasthan for seven relaxing days.
Room 15, 'The Blue Room', as I call it --- 600 Rs/night ($15)
The brothers who own the place are named Deep & Dilip.
...more

The dogs (aged 5 months) are Jee & James.

India has some excellent new discount airlines, such as IndiGo, Spicejet, Kingfisher Red, GoAir, JetLite, Deccan, and Paramount.
Some of the airfares are extraordinarily cheap ie. the base fare from ...more

Goa to Mumbai was one rupee (...that's 2 cents) and with the fuel surcharge and all other taxes the ticket still cost less than $35CDN !!!
But that doesn't mean that they cut corners. The fleet is new as are many of the airports, and the cabin crews are young, attractive and courteous. The pilot of the Airbus 320 I flew to Udaipur was (gasp) a woman.
Unlike Canada's national airline, the emphasis in India is on top notch customer service --- meals, headsets, pillows, and smiles included !

We flew back to Bombay from Goa before Marilyn returned to Afghanistan. We checked in to the retro Sea Green Hotel on Marine Drive and they put us up in the best room, on the top corner, with views ...more

all the way from Nariman Point up to Chowpatty Beach and across to Malabar Hill. We hired a car and driver for M's last day and went sight-seeing and shopping --- with notable stops for the latter at FabIndia, the Bombay Store, and Rythym House for Indian music CDs. We also returned to our favourite Churchgate restaurant Shiv Sagar for a couple more of their special dosas !

Trivandrum, also known as Thiruvananthapuram (a number of places in Kerala have been given Malayalam names to replace their anglicised names), is the capital of Kerala. They have a freely-elected ...more

Communist government which has resulted in equitable distribution of land and income, low infant mortality, and the highest literacy rate (around 95%) in India. The capital is not too too busy and retains some of the ambience characteristic of old Kerala.
We hired a classic Ambassador taxi, with driver, and toured around town for the entire day. We visited the impressive Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple, Kuthiramalika Palace, a temple devoted to the Hindu elephant god Ganesh (where coconut smashing was all the rage), and had a terrific traditional Keralan lunch before heading to the Zoological Gardens.

Monkeys, snakes, deer, leopards, emus, zebra, alligators, rhinoceros, peacocks, elephants, bears, giraffe...
Hmmm, what else ??? Oh yes, those amazing hippopotamus(es) !!!

The little beach resort of Kovalam is located about 25 km south of Trivandrum, Kerela. We stayed for three days at Ocean Sparkle cottage. Years ago Kovalam was a traditional Keralan fishing village ...more

and a hippy hangout. Today it is a poular destination for tourists and still retains much of its charm. Each night you can see the bobbing lights on the horizon as local fishermen row their boats out to sea.
Kovalam consists of two long beaches separated from other smaller beaches by rocky headlands. The main beach is marked at the south end by a prominent lighthouse. Our, almost unpopulated, ‘private’ beach, just below Ocean Sparkle, was less than 5 minutes walk past Lighthouse Beach, but worlds away. We called it Sunset Beach for reasons the photos will make self-evident !

We travelled by train from Alleppy to Trivandrum and later back to Ernakulam (Cochin). I will be taking 4 more overnight train trips across North India in March.

So, who wouldn't want to spend a night in a cottage on a beautiful secluded white sand beach on the Malabar coast ?

Cruising the tranquil backwaters of Kerela in a wooden houseboat --- sheer bliss --- you putter along endlessly intersecting coconut palm-fringed rivers, streams, rice paddy ponds, mangrove swamps and ...more

languid lagoons where you can see the distinct everyday life lived out right on the waterfront. Along the way are small idyllic backwater settlements where people live on narrow spits of reclaimed land only a few meters wide and yet still manage to keep cows, pigs and chickens and cultivate small vegetable gardens.
Our point of departure and return was Alappuzha (aka Alleppey, and pronounced Alappoorra). It is a major depot for houseboat cruises and has a large network of canals passing through it. The motorized houseboats are converted from kettuvallam, or traditional rice barges.

It was such a pleasure to stay with Hassa's sister Kamli in Fort Cochin for four days.
She is a gracious and generous host and her household staff are wonderful. We especially enjoyed Shanna's ...more

delicious cooking, and Ajit's expert driving.
Photo's 42-61 were taken by M.

(Note: the password to open this private folder is Kamli's last name - no caps)

Cochin (aka Kochin, aka Kochi, aka Ernakulum) is a magnificent natural harbour and one of India's largest ports, catering to the vibrant spice trade, and a major naval base. We were fortunate to be ...more

invited to an afternoon luncheon at the Taj Malabar, a five star hotel wonderfully situated overlooking the harbour on Willingdon Island. In fact we ate lunch with the captain of India's only aircraft carrier.

Charming Fort Cochin is a collection of picturesque winding streets, crumbling stone walls, shopfronts and churches. It is pleasantly frozen in time (as new building was banned in 1976). The fine ...more

natural harbour is lined with Chinese fishing nets of teakwood and bamboo which have brought in the daily catch for over 700 years. There is much Portuguese colonial influence to be found and the explorer Vasco da Gama died here in 1524.
We attended an evening of Kathakali, the renowned stage drama of Kerala, in which extravagantly costumed performers dramatise, through skilful movement, gesture and expressions, the traits of various characters in stories based on Indian epics.

Some photos from the first four days of the India trip.

Canterbury---Rochester,Kent---London, Longfield & Bromley---Calgary---World Junior Hockey (Canada vs Kazhakstan)---Christmas 2008---Tara's House---Rick Mercer at CPC---Richmond,Virginia with Paul ...more

O---and more Family Fotos

.....when, if ever, I can find enough spare time.