Post #208 22 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Jodhpur in Rajasthan State, India. We were there for two nights, 28 & 29 February 2020.

Jodhpur is also known as "The Blue City" because people of the Brahmin caste traditionally painted their houses blue. From what I could see (admittedly from a distance), perhaps 10% of the houses are blue.

We had a good look at the two principal tourist sites in Jodhpur: spectacular Mehrangarh Fort and huge Umaid Bhawan Palace.

It was only 180km from Pushkar to Jodhpur, but it took most of the day because we took some back roads to see the countryside; but even when we went back to the highway road-work slowed things down.  Since Jaipur the countryside has become dryer - not much agriculture.  There are some low hills, but mainly flat dry, poor soil, little vegetation. Lots of cows in the villages - many looked undernourished. Also many speed bumps, even on minor roads?

We noticed this bush when we left Jaipur - it is everywhere here.  Diwan said that it is a weed, has thorns, and only goats and camels can eat it.  We saw it often in Rajasthan.  Wonder what it's called?  It seems to grow in rough, dry soil, usually between 2 - 3 meters high. Stringy. It reminded me a little of blackberries in Australia - they take over the landscape - although not as thick.

A house we passed. Woman carrying a huge bundle on her head.

A small country hotel along the highway.

Most, if not all the highways seemed to be toll roads.

We stopped at the "Midway Restaurant" for lunch. It called itself a "glambing resort" - there were a number of tents set up where travellers could stay overnight.

We stayed in the Ummed Hotel on the outskirts of Jodhpur. It was a grand place (a bit like a palace), huge grounds, nice swimming pool.

The front entrance of the Ummed Hotel.

With the doorman of the Ummed Hotel.  Rajasthan is famous for its colourful turbans.

The foyer of the Ummed Hotel, with beautiful painted ceiling.

A TV shoot in the inner courtyard of the Ummed Hotel - perhaps a promotional video for the hotel?

Colourful saris of the women in the video shoot.

I had a swim in the big swimming pool at the back of the Ummed Hotel.  

You could even hire a horse to ride in the gardens of the Ummed Hotel - Vera declined!

Our first stop the next morning was the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort and Museum, built in 1459. Probably the most impressive fort we saw in India.  The Fort was built on a rocky outcrop 130m high, and the walls soar another 36m.  Impregnable - it was was not captured in its long history. 

We stopped at a lookout on the drive up to the Fort.

Some of the houses in the city.

Another photo of rooftops in Jodhpur. A few tinges of blue here and there.

It was interesting to see a pigsty.  We had only seen pigs once before. Chicken is the most popular meat - pork is rare. Diwan said pigs are raised only by the "Untouchable" caste. Of course Moslems don't eat pork, and Hindus don't eat beef (although beef is consumed in parts of southern India).

The Fort is located within large Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park, a national park.

Before reaching the Fort we stopped at the Jaswant Thada, a memorial to Maharaja Jaswant Singh built in 1899. It has some beautiful carved marble lattice screens and portraits of Rathore rulers going back to the 13th century. Then to the Fort itself ...

One of the impressive gates of Mehrangarh Fort.

Impressive - how did they ever build such a structure all those centuries ago???

The view of part of Jodhpur City from the battlements.

This part of the Fort housed a very good museum.

This boy became the Maharaja at an early age.

The Museum had an interesting collection of palanquins.

One of the beautiful royal palanquins.

Maharaja Takhat Singh (1843-73). He had 30 wives and many concubines (no wonder he died young!).

A school group outside the Fort.

After lunch we visited Umaid Bhawan Palace on the other side of the city from the Fort. Designed by British architect Henry Lanchester, construction took 15 years 1929-42.  The Palace is huge, comprising 365 rooms. Today it is divided into three parts: living quarters for the descendents of the royal family (current occupant is Gaj Singh); a luxury hotel; and a museum. We had a look at the Maharaja's collection of classic cars, and then went through the museum.

The former royal audience hall.

Another specatular room, now part of the Palace museum.

A fine collection of swords.

A poster of an exhibition of Jodhpur artifacts which toured the USA.

We were about to leave the Palace grounds at the end of our visit when the gates were suddenly closed.  Later we found out that we were caught up in a mock terrorist attack.  After about 30 minutes this group of soldiers arrived, and then 10 minutes later a group of armed policemen.  They "stormed" the Palace to rescue the hostages and capture the terrorists.

Waiting during the mock attack, with other visitors.

The cafe was working, and this group of Sikh students from the Punjab bought drinks and ice-creams. We were in situ for about an hour.  Diwan told that guards that we had a flight to catch, but they wouldn't let us out before the "all clear" was given.

From the Palace Diwan took us to (yet another) shop.

Huge collection of artifacts, but we were taken straight down to the carpet & textiles room, as that is where the big money is.

Mr Jain, aka 'Super Spruiker', presented his textiles and carpets to the group. He was a real professional!

In the end Vera & I bought a lovely silk carpet, and a Kenzo doona cover; mementos of our visit to India.

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The following morning we drove to Udaipur, our last stop in Rajasthan.  That will be the subject of my next post.

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A quick update on the coronavirus.

Global infections now 335,972 with 14,642 deaths; Australia 1,353 infections and 7 deaths.

The Australian Govt has closed all non-essential premises (only shops, chemists, petrol stations, and medical facilities will stay open).  A second (much bigger) stimulus package of $66 billion has been announced.

India will lock-down for 14 hours to test their preparedness. Looks as if we left just in time.  

Suddenly it's such a different world - what will the 'new normal' look like????

...

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah

Canberra, Australia 

Monday 23 March 2020

(presently in 14 days self-isolation)

Post #207 21 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Pushkar, Rajasthan State, 27 February 2020.

The reason for going to Pushkar was to see the Jagatpita Brahma Mandir
temple. Hinduism has three main gods, and thousands of minor gods.  The three main gods are: Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the preserver; and Shiva, the destroyer.

For some reason there are very few temples dedicated to Brahma, and this one at Pushkar is the most prominent. In contrast there are thousands of temples dedicated to either Vishnu and/or Shiva.

The Brahma Temple dates back to the 14th century. It is made of marble and stone slabs. It has a distinct red pinnacle (called the shikhara) and a hamsa bird motif. The Temple sanctum contains images of a 4-headed Brahma, and his consort Gayatri (the goddess of milk).

This Temple attracts many Hindu pilgrims from all over India.

Photography was prohibited, so I got the pictures of the Temple off the internet.

There are long stairs up to the Brahma Temple.

The main part of the Temple, containing the sanctum

The sanctum contains a 4-headed stature of Lord Brahma.

The Temple is on a hillside overlooking holy Pushkar Lake. The town now surrounds the Lake. Because of pollution the Govt no longer allows ashes from cremations to be thrown into the Lake.

Diwan explaining the significance of Pushkar Lake to us. Many pilgrims bath in the Lake as it is regarded as holy.

In Hinduism cows are regarded as holy animals (provider of milk = life).  There were many cows roaming the streets of Pushkar.

There was a busy street or alley leading up to the Temple, lined by shops and stalls.

Another stall in the market leading up to the Temple.

A cow wondering along the street in Pushkar.

Another cow.

And yet another cow.

We came across this Hindu family feeding cows with fresh grass - a good / holy deed.

The family gave Elaine a handful of grass so that she could feed one of the cows and be blessed.

Darryl and I got talking to this young man who was riding a Royal Enfield motor bike.  They were originally British but the factory is now in India.  He said that he has a farm near Jaipur where he breeds thoroughbred Arab horses. He recently completed a 5,000km ride to the far north of India and back.  He is planning to trade it in for a Harley Davidson bike, as teh Royal Enfield is becoming "too common".

...

The following morning we set off for Jodhpur, the subject of my next post.

We stayed at the Dera Masuda Resort Hotel about 10km from Pushkar, in the countryside.  The rooms were OK, but the food was ordinary.  It is a pity we didn't stay in the center of Pushkar, as it looked like an interesting town.  Apparently quite a few Italian and Israeli tourists come to Pushkar - we saw a number of Israeli restaurants and bars as we drove around.

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Saturday, 21 March 2020

Post #206 21 March 2020

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our stay in Jaipur (aka The Pink City), capital of Rajasthan State, 26 & 27 February 2020.

Map of Rajasthan State.  Our tour visited Jaipur (the State capital), Pushkar, Jodhpur, and Udaipur.

In 1727 Jai Singh transferred his capital from Amber to Jaipur because of population pressures and lack of water in Amber. His architect, Vidhadyar, laid out the city on a grid system, with the Palace in the center. That area is now called the Old City, or the Pink City. 
In 1876 the then-Maharaja ordered all buildings to be painted pink to welcome the Prince of Wales (later King Edward V11) - can you believe painting a whole city for the sake of a two day visit??? 
That tradition continues today - all the residents of the Old City must paint their premises pink (or sometimes a shade of brown).

We arrived at the Sarovar Premier Hotel in Jaipur late on Tuesday 25 February, having driven from Agra that afternoon (see Post #205).

Don't bring guns into the hotel...!  I wonder what this warning referred to - perhaps a previous incident?  The only guns we saw during the tour were with policemen or security guards. 

Wednesday morning 26 February we visited Amber Fort, 11km from Jaipur. A view of Amber Fort from the carpark - impressive - built from yellow and pink sandstone and white marble. This was the ruler's fort/palace from 1592 until 1727 when Jai Singh (1688 - 1744) built his new palace and city at Jaipur.

Snake charmers. We only saw these two during our trip - apparently the govt has banned this activity.

We took Jeeps from the carpark up to the Fort ....

... but riding an Elephant would have been fun.

The Main Courtyard (Jaleb Chowk) of Amber Fort is very large; there are 3 other, smaller, courtyards.

Our group in the Main Courtyard.

Entrance to the Maharaja's living apartments through the fabulous Ganesh Pol gate.

A lovely archway and beautifully tiled walls leading to the Hall of Pleasure. 

Jeeps lined up waiting to take tourists from the Fort down to the carpark. The swastika is a common Hindu symbol.

Diwan offering trinkets from local sellers.

We had lunch in the Green Pigeon restaurant. A man played music on a mandolin-like instrument (he is sitting cross-legged on the right of the photo), while his young son entertained the diners with folk dancing. It was good to see some local culture rather than just ancient monuments.

A specialist guide showed us around Jantar Mantar, the extensive Observatory built by Jai Singh in 1728 (unfortunately the guide's English was difficult to understand, but we got the gist). Jai Singh was fascinated by astronomy and horoscopes. The instruments were precision-built and still work today.

We visited the City Palace, originally built by Jai Singh, and extended by future rulers. 

The Inner Courtyard of the Palace has four gateways/doors each dedicated to a season. This Indian girl is in front of the Peacock Gate which depicts autumn. 

Another lovely courtyard in the Palace.

A room in the Palace was set aside for local handicrafts.  Here we watched an artist do miniature painting. 

Vera bought some pashmina scarves.

From the Palace we visited Tribal Arts Cooperative.

A lady making carpet on a traditional loom. This establishment specialises in using camel wool and yak wool. 

They wash the carpets - the last step in the process.

Driving back to the hotel, we passed Hawal Mahal, built in 1799 by Maharaja Prapat Singh to for the ladies of the royal household. They could sit in the windows and watch the life of the city below. 

The Central Museum looked spectacular all lit up at night. This grand old building, originally called Albert Hall, was designed by Sir Swinton Jacob and combines elements of English and North Indian architecture.

The following morning, Thursday 27 February, Diwan came to our hotel - here he is paying for his autorickshaw ride. He took us for a walk around a wholesale fresh fruit & vegetable market which was just behind the Hotel Sarovar Premier, before we set off for our next destination, Pushkar.  The following photos were taken in the Wholesale Market.

Diwan said that big cities have supermarkets, but most Indians still like to buy their daily requirements at markets such as this one. The don't like refrigerated/frozen veges - much prefer fresh.  This place was a hive of activity.

Story on the front page of The Times of India described the aftermath of the Hindu - Moslem clashes in northeast Delhi on the previous two days. The death toll had reached 27 - but the final count was much higher at 53, with more than 200 injured and many buildings damaged.

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After visiting the wholesale fruit and vegetable market we set off for our next destination, Pushkar.  That will be the subject of my next post.

...

The coronavirus

It is exactly a month since we left Sydney on Saturday 22 February 2020 for the start of our Indian holiday.  But hasn't the world changed in that short time???

The Australian stock market hit its peak on 21 February 2020 and the coronavirus (CV19) was basically restricted to China, with very little impact on other countries - it was "page 3" news here.  But now, just a month later, CV19 is 'front page' news, all day, every day.

Stock markets around the world have crashed - the Aussie stock market is down more than 30%!

Europe has become the epicenter of the pandemic. Today China reported no new infections (hurrah!), while Italy reported 427 deaths in one day for a total of nearly 4,000! No one really knows the situation in the USA - the numbers are still relatively small (18,000 infections, 272 deaths) but rising rapidly.

Here is an abbreviated timeline for CV19:

16 December 2019: first patient with new virus admitted to Wuhan Central Hospital, Hubei Province, China.
31 December: 27 cases in Wuhan; traced to wet market, which is closed down; China informs the WHO of a new mystery virus.
13 January 2020: first case outside China - in Thailand.
20 January: First case in South Korea. China advises the virus can spread between humans.
21 January: CDC in US confirms first case there.
23 January: Wuhan, a city of 15 million, locked down (but many people had already left Wuhan to celebrate Chinese New Year 25/1 with their families).
24 January: Lock-down extended to cities around Wuhan.
12 March: WHO declares a pandemic.
14 March: President Trump declares a national emergency in the USA.

The WHO said that it took 3 months to reach 100,000 CV19 infections, but only another 12 days to reach 200,000. It is accelerating.

When we arrived back in Australia on Monday 16 March there were 183,198 infected cases worldwide, with 7,165 deaths.  Today, just 5 days later, the figures are 265,495 infected and 11,147 deaths.  In Australia the numbers have jumped from 438 with 5 deaths, to over 800 with 7 deaths.

Dire economic forecasts of recession or worse. Governments have announced stimulus packages - pumping money to underpin their economies. Most countries have closed their borders.

"Social distancing" and "Self-isolation" are new words, suddenly in everyday use.

How quickly things can/have changed.  Incredible - if you told me a four weeks ago that the world would be on the edge of a medical and economic precipice no one would have believed it.

Playboy announced today the end of it's printed version, after 66 years.  Bunnings announced no sausage sizzles until further notice.

And there is still a long way to go ...

...

Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Vera & Alex Olah
Canberra, Australia
Saturday, 21 March 2020