Jaipur

I apologize for this being over a week late. After 22 hours of flight time not including lay overs and time changes, I have been exhausted. I have finally gotten over jet lag and back to my California life and schedule. A huge and heartfelt thank you to Marie for rescuing Duff and I from the San Francisco airport on Sunday. It is good to bring my boy home. More to come on my overall thoughts of India.

On our last full day in India, we traveled to Jaipur and back. The trip back is where it gets tricky. We will save the best for last...

We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to catch the first train from Delhi to Jaipur. I was truly shocked when we got to the station because it was almost like a step back in time.

The views from the entire trip..

I had never seen anything like that before. It isn't the greatest picture but I don't think a great picture still would not have done it justice.

Shots from the past...

Best seats in the house?

Those eyes... do you see them?

The boys are back in town.

We finally made it to Jaipur.

Stairway to heaven...

The age of technology is truly making us more dumb... When is the last time something this brilliant and beautiful was created in the 21st century?

I rest my case.

Dad, the snake charmer... Apparently this was on the bucket list. One more off the list.

Hand carved.

Getting my Mendhi. 

Castle on the Lake.

And then you make it to the real castle...

There was a moving being shot inside. Alana didn't understand why Bollywood was shooting without her since she is their newest star.

Of course I shot a few of the ceilings and columns..

And of the locals...

There is poverty everywhere you look in India and then you see this...

Another off the bucket list... Riding an elephant. I won't even begin to describe how big of idiots Alana and I acted to make this happen. I distinctly remember saying, "I will give this elephant all my rupies to let Dad ride."

Elephant parking lot...

One for the frame and wall.

No worries, we took a ride too.

The day in Jaipur was wonderful. The ride home... not so much. We took a car ride home expecting something similar to the ride to and from Agra. We were mistaken. This was 6 hours of hell on wheels. At one point Dr. Kramer said, "I wouldn't even drive an ATV on these roads." I have never truly feared my life until that car ride. All I could think is that I had drug my Dad and sister to the other side of the road and put their lives in danger on a stupid need to visit the Golden Triangle. Thankfully, we made it back to Delhi AFTER we all almost pooped our pants, cried a little, and clenched the seat we were sitting in a little too hard.

Jaipur, you were fun but, that may be a one time deal. It was..... one for the books.

Thoughts on India overall another time.

The only rule? Don't hit the car in front of you.

Today was spent taking the grand tour of Old and New Delhi. Thanks to Anoop's wife, Kavita, we literally got the grand tour. A few quick facts about Delhi, India:

There are 17 million people in Delhi.

7.5 million cars.

80,000 tuk tuks.

60% of the population is Hindu, 30% Muslim, 7% Sikh, and 3% Christian.

2% divorce rate.

And you need four things to drive in India:

    1. A good brake.

    2. A good horn.

    3. A good mind.

    4. And good luck.

    The last is the most important.

For the light readers, just stop now. I took right under 800 pictures today. So here we go....

The first stop was Jami Masjid.

 The required wardrobe was.... interesting. They made the best of it.

The obsession with ceilings continues..

I have always been very interested in people and culture. It is also turning in to a photography interest as well.

We took a rickshaw through Chandni Chowk.

Visited the spice and tea shop.

Visited... no experienced the place where Ghandi was cremated. His last words were "Oh god."

Then did what Alana does best. Shop. "I love to shop. I love to buy things."

Humayun's Tomb

Buildings that I can't remember their names... 

Qutb Minar

Shots of a different life...

Do you ever wonder what your life would have been if you had been born in a different country? To different parents? Different circumstances? Another life in another world.