Jaipur, the "pink city," is a few hours west of Delhi. It's the main city of Rajasthan but not the most charming.
 The children all across India were energetic and exhuberant. Pull out a digital camera and you are an instant hero. These boys were hanging around a nearby bakery. |
 The morning vegetable market in Jaipur was as abundant as it seems from the photo. |
 Some kind of Hindu shring mounted on the back of a rickshaw. Not an uncommon sight anywhere in India. |
 Several types of transportation are represented in the photo: bike, motorbike, camel, auto (motorized) rickshaw, leg power, etc. |
 A Charlie Brown nightmare. Look closely and you'll see tree has gobbled up a couple dozen kites. A kite festival had just concluded in Jaipur when I arrived. |
 Just a part of the City Palace complex in the old town. |
 When the local prince (Maharaja Madho Singh II went to England for the coronation of the prince of Wales in the early 1920s, he carried large silver urns of hiw own local drinking water from the Ganges; he had heard that it was quite unsafe to drink the water over there! |
 Two local sisters near a temple. |
 The Maharaja Jai Singh was quite a fan of astronomy, and began building this observatory, the "Jantar Mantar" in 1728. At the time it was one of the most advanced in the world, and looks quite impressive even today. |
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Jodhpur, the "blue city," is a few hours on south of Jaipur. I found it much more laid back (relatively) and the fortress provides amazing views, especially of the prince's new palace on a nearby hill.
 The Meherangarh (Majestic Fort) of Jodhpur towers over the rest of the city. One would need a very wide angled lens to get a photo to do it justice.
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 The back side of Jodhpur. Not really sure why they call it the blue city. |
 The view from the southern ramparts. OK, people paint their houses blue because it is the color of the highest caste, the Brahmins. Everybody wants to be a Brahmin. |
 Just in case you missed it, the city is very blue. |
 The sun falling over the prince's new palace, where one can stay if one has $700 dollars a night for a suite. Apparantly there are several folks who can afford it. |
 A window inside the Jodhpur palace. |
 A cannon in one of the palace display rooms. It was really a dog of a weapon. |
 One of the prince's receiving rooms, where visitors would come to make their case about whatever troubled them. Nearby the court's women would listen through clandestined portals. |
 A royal mausoleum, just downhill from the fort, the Jaswant Thada is a memorial to the local maharaja. There are several cenotaphs, or chhatris (tombs). |
 When in India... Henna is typically applied to women at wedding times, but is often used for other ceremonies, or just for fun. Of course it's often used as a way to part tourists from their rupees as well. The artist is pictured with her handiwork. |
 Have camera, will travel. |
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Udaipur, the "lake palace city," is in the south of Rajasthan and is famous for the romantic setting of the two lake palaces. Indians say this is one of their most romantic cities.
 The Lake Palace Hotel on Jagniwas Island, made famous in one of the James Bond movies.
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 When I first saw this house I thought surely it must have been built by perhaps a high government official or some industrialist, and I said as much. However, I was corrected by one Narendra Singh, who submitted this note:
"The house at Udaipur belongs neither to a high officer or industrialist. The owner, Mr. Udai Bhan Singh, was a Professor of Management with the Univesity (deceased 25 January 2010). A really brave person, a well read and articulate speaker, and a man of various interests. Guns and their knowledge were his passion. Whoever met him once, could not forget him, such were his style and manners. What a great human being, widely respected for his immense practical knowledge and an illustrious person of the Rajput community, that we have lost. "
I am glad to have the record straight. In the background high on the mountain is the largely abandoned Monsoon Palace, the Sajjan Garh. |
 Scenes like this are often found painted on the walls and doors of local homes. |
 School girls hang out on the rooftop of their school during recess. |
 Sunset over Udaipur. |
| Jaisalmer is the desert city, located in the far west of Rajasthan near the border of Pakistan.
 The imposing Jaisalmer Fort, started in 1156, containing about one-quarter of the old city's population. It is kind of like India's version of Jerusalem.
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 The Rajmajal, or maharaja's palace inside the fort. |
 Souvenir wallah inside the old city. |
 Souvenir market. |
 Chilis and limes are hung from houses, cars, bicycles and anywhere else that needs a bit of luck. |
 Another good luck charm. |
 Jaisalmer cement mixer. Look closely at how it works. |
 Tailors. The guy in back is working on my backpack cover. |
 Local girl. The basket is for caryring manure, used for fuel. |
 The ubiquitous Ganesh, one of the favorites in the Hindu pantheon. |
 A local woman carrying laundry. |
 The two main methods of transport in Rajasthan. One spits, the other smokes. |
 Once you get out of the tourist areas the locals are friendly and curious. |
 A confab of Rajput men. Probably talking about cricket. |
