TravelStream™ news feed for member thomasgillam on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/thomasgillam en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:16:36 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258726982/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258726982/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258726982/tpod.html Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:16:36 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Hampi, Karnataka, India

We hired a tuk-tuk to cover the ground over the corse of one day to view these old ruins. It is around 100 degree F here and that made bicylcing the gound impossible. As it was I got pretty sunburned as we moved from site to site. I will only focus on the best shots of the most important features here.WE visited the Kings palacxe there, which had its own water system. We visited the Queen's quarters with tall surounding walls. There was a museum near the Elephant Garage. We visited and I took a few snapshots of the various god figures. Now, I am not an authority on Hindu religion. So I took the photos to show you some of the god figures. They are usually accompanied by an icon, or physical detail. For example, Shiva is always accompanied by a trident. Ganesha is always an Elephant body, the water goddess always has a water jug. We took the 5:50 AM train back down the coast to Old Goa (8 hours).  Next post will be from the old Portugese colony. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258187844/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258187844/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258187844/tpod.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:40:20 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra, India

Flying the friendly skies over Mumbai:We had an early up to catch the Jet Airlines flight from Aurangabad to Mumbai. Once we entered the airport at 6:30 AM we found that our 8:30 AM plane was not at the airport yet. It was still in Mumbai. The official line was that there was some "congestion" in Mumbai International and the plane would fly up to meet us soon and we could board. We were going to be at least one hour late. We sat in the main airport waiting area and began watching the local TV news station in Hindi. We soon noticed that the whole waiting area was filling up with Muslims dressed in simple white robes. They each carried a simple black hand bag, and little else. Many of the women were veiled, either in all white of all black robes. It was certainly some sort of group effort. I took a few photos on the sly to record the event. Then I noticed one gentleman's bag and it had a sign on the side that told the story. He was the Haj coordinator for the Aurangabad area. I got a local paper and it had an article on how India Airlines had provided 6 or more flights from Aurangabad directly to Jedda, Saudi Arabia for Muslim Haj Pilgrims for the Ramadan celebrations. This was apparently one of those flights. The place was packed and the lines for customs was moving very slowly for these folks, as Aurangabad is not an International Airport and the whole customs set up was a new temp set up operation. Muslims are required to make at least one trip to their holy land during their lives., I watched as many of these people prepared to fly, many I believe, for the first time. They were excited and scared at the same time. It was fun to watch them prepare for their journeyOur attention was diverted back to the television as weather shows showed the familiar Hurricane symbol. You know the one, it looks like a saw blade.  Over here they call them Cyclones. The storm was moving north up the coast toward Mumbai. We watched and could not understand the Hindi. There were symbols showing the number 400 on the screen. I questioned a local as to the meaning of the number 400. "400 Kilometer winds? I queried." No he said, "Distance!" The storm was 400 KM south and west of Mumbai and heading straight toward it. I did a quick calculation. We were about 200 KM east of Mumbai and waiting for our plane to arrive. We were going to be flying toward the storm , some time from now...I determined that the sooner we fly the better, as the storm was closing on the city. The reports on TV cited Government buildings being shut down, schools closed, and lots of shots of reporters in raincoats on the coast watching the waves and wind build. You know the routine.After the Haji Pilgrims boarded and departed, our plane arrived and we boarded without incident one hour behind schedule. We have plenty of time, I assured Barbara, who by now was getting nervous. (Barb loves to travel, and HATES to fly.)After take off the pilot came on the intercom and explained that there was more congestion than normal at the Mumbai Airport, due to the fact that only one of two runways was currently in use. I opened my newspaper again and saw why. The previous evening (a Tuesday) a Kingfisher airliner tried to land on what they called the shortened runway. The surface was wet from the storms rainfall. The plane hydroplaned upon landing and skidded off the runway and into the mud. Planes need 15% more runway when it is wet as they have less friction and less traction on the surface. The newspaper reported that the runways are shortened on Tuesdays to perform work . The whole layout is two runways in the form of a giant ' X". One lane is totally disabled to to repair work to be completed in Jan. The other / of the X is fully open during the week, except for Tuesday when they work on the middle of the X , thereby shortening their only runway by 1/2! They had had three major incidents in the last three weeks (All on the Tuesdays), ALL ON THE SHORT RUNWAY.. I explained this to Barbara and reassured her that this was a Wednesday. "Not to worry!. No Problem" I explained confidently, as we began our decent to approach for landing. Then the pilot came on the intercom again.... "Apparently we have been waived off our approach, as there is another airliner reporting an emergency. We will land after he has completed his landing. " He seemed calm and comfortable with this turn in events. " Not our problem" , I said to Barbara.We took a very long and low flight over Mumbai, the ocean, and the port area. We could see the slums, buildings, and ships in the harbor. As we again approached the shoreline the pilot once again brought us some news. The plane that had gone before us, had had a problem. It had blown a tire upon landing. The fire crews and emergency vehicles would take a while to remove the aircraft from the runway. (The only available runway!) . The pilot added that the "good news" was that we had 2 hours of fuel left in the tanks so "Nothing to worry about" Nervous laughter filled the coach. The clock kept running and Cyclone Phyan kept closing. Well, this news pretty much ripped it for Barbie. I tried to reassure her. What do you say? "Gee, the emergency vehicles are all warmed up, they are right out there and ready to go!" The ride was getting a bit bumpier as the winds from Cyclone Phyan picked up. I was still trying to calculate distance and time. We were now in the air delayed once again, now over two hours behind. I did not know the speed of the storm over the ground. Fortunately the disabled plane was removed from the runway and we were able to make our "Final Approach". As we neared the ground I could see lots of water on the runway. I think the design is an old one. There is a lot of water on the surface, and it did not appear to drain well. It looked like inches of water on the surface.  The pilot came in very fast. Everyone was absolutely quiet on board. When the plane touched down, a huge spray enveloped the rear one half of the plane. It was spectacular!  Barb was simultaneously thrilled and exhausted by the hours of stress. We went to the hotel Residency by cab and found the best room of our trip.The whole town was prepping for the arrival of Phyan. People were closing their shops early and bustling home as fast as they could. We took an early dinner, and were surprised to find beef on the menu! WOW, we had beef steaks stuffed with cream cheese mushrooms and onions. We went to our hotel room with the flat screen TV and watched the storm unfold. We were lucky, and Mumbai was lucky.  The storm missed the city and ran up the coast fizzling out. Unfortunately for 68 missing fisherman, the storm was very real.  The next day was clear and the air was absolutely clean. My breathing continued to improve. We walked around the old city. The architecture resembles old British buildings. I shot several pictures as we walked down to the Gate of India and the Taj Palace Hotel. We visited the hotel which was the site of the terrorist attack known here as 26/11 as it happened on the 26th on November last year. Preparations were underway for the one year anniversary of the horrific events that occurred here. About 10 terrorists from Pakistan attacked this hotel and one other, in addition attacked a Chabad House here in Mumbai, killing many, many innocent people in the process. There is now a shrine/memorial in the main lobby of the Taj Palace to those who lost their lives here during the attack which lasted for several days. One art object, the tree of life, survived unscathed on the fifth floor which was totally destroyed. The tree is now part of the memorial in the main lobby. We spent the last part of our second day in Mumbai at the Prince of Wales Museum. It had some fine art objects and was small but worth the visit, Get the Audio guide if you go there. Each evening we found ourselves going back to the same neighborhood restaurant, the Mocambo,  for some variation of a steak dinner. (Hey, we didn't know if we would see beef again!)The next morning we got up at 3:30 AM and left the hotel. In the street, we awoke a cab driver sleeping in his cab, and 15 minutes later we were at the Victoria Train Station in Mumbai. The travel guide says that 2 million people a day go through here. As we entered at 4 AM I believe it. There were hundreds of folks sleeping on the floor. I took a few shots as I toted by bags toward platform number 4.  I got a paper and read how a train had derailed here yesterday, and there were more accidents in other places in the country. We got on our Shatabdi Express 2nd class Chair car and headed south to the south western coast of India. As we rolled along the country side became more and more tropical. Palms andf Bamboo everywhere. No lack of water here. We got off the train in Madagon, near the old colonial Portugeuese enclave of Goa. We hire a quick cab and in 40 minutres we were sitting on the beach under the palm trees in Palolem. We had managed to "thread the needle between plane and train crashes, and were now sitting comfortably on the India coast of the Arabian Sea.  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258718792/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258718792/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258718792/tpod.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:21:28 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Hampi, Karnataka, India

After the 6.5 hour train ride we left the train at Hospet. Our tuk-tTuk driver took us the 14 KM drive to Hampi and recomended a small guesthouse. The cost was IR 450, or about 9 US. The room was clean, bug tight, and had hot water. No A/c, but had nets over the double beds.First day we explored the area. The setting here is spectacular. Set along a lazy river with banks covered in huge granite bolders. We walked along the ghats and took some photos of theis beautiful sewtting. Reminds us a bit of Sodona with 13-15th century temples strewn around for miles. We watched the morning Puja bathing. then took a ferry across the river toexplore the other side. It is quieter, but the ferry limits yoiur movement somewhat. Last ferry at 6 PM. We decided to walk the 4 KM trail (old road from 13 th century down stream to view some other ruins. It was a beautiful walk, niuce light that evening. The next morning we were again at the Ghats to view the morning baths, when a mahot brought his elephant in for a wash. Even elephants must bathe, I guess. It was fun watching this animal and the mahot interact. They seemed to work well together. Those of you with broadband connections can see some of the action in the videos I posted. I will post my next bit on the ruins in Hampi. It will focus on the ruins that remain spreadout over 14 sq kilometers here. That's all for now, enjoy the pics.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258286138/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258286138/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1258286138/tpod.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:30:11 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Goa, Goa, India

We have slowed down for a while. It is nice here. Following the cyclone things settled down. It is warm and humid. Temp in the 90s. We are actually in Palolem, 45 minutes by cab south of old Goa. This is prettey touristed, but it has a real funky feeling. Lots of clapboard shacks for rent. All the locals are building shacks to rent during the upcoming "high " Season (Dec 1 to new years. Lots of Europeans here. Lazy warm days, lots of seafood. They do serve beef in some restrurants. We rented a concrete bungalow room place for $10-12 US. Has a bathroom and a bedroom. Not bug proof. Bars on the windows, open eaves. It does have a good bug net over the bed. During the last two nights we have had major tropical rainstorms. HUGE douwnpours. Floor of our shack is wet, but bed remains dry (So to speak) . The room is now a big humidifier. We spend our days wandering the beach, meeting interesting travelers, and eating seafood and watching the sun go down. We met one character here, who was born Polish, now wanders around India as a sort of Western Sadhu. Loaded with Tatoos.Selfv admintted former gang member, has been shot once, imprisoned a few times, friendly and interesting. Calls himself "Chua" , which means mouse in Hindi.  I'll post some picsI. We will pull out of here in the morning and cab it north to Magaro, where we have a train ticket into the mountains of Karnataka State to the  old Ruins of Hampi. We will explore the ruins a few days before heading back to Goa proper, the old colony of Portugal, to meet friends from San Francisco.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257849255/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257849255/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257849255/tpod.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:35:14 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

We moved for Fardapur back to Arungabad. This is the location of the Ellora Caves. These caves, unlike to totally Buddhist caves at Ajanta, are a mix of Jain, Hindu and Buddhist Caverns. The Ellora group of 34 Caves is from a later period. The Buddhist Group of 12 caves is from 600-800 AD, the Hindu group or 17 caves is from 600-800 AD, and the Jain group of 5 caves is from 800-1000 AD. While the Ajanta caves are famous for their paintings on stucco, the Ellora group is famous for its detailed sculpture. For over 5 centuries monks from various religious orders carved temples here to their Gods into a 2 Kilometer long basalt escarpment. The coexistence of several religious orders at one site suggests a long period of religious tolerance. The most spectacular of the whole lot in Ellora is the Kailasa Temple. It was built King Krishna I in 760 AD. It was built to represent Mount Kailasa , home of the Hindu God Shiva in the Himalaya. They actually cut three 7 story deep grooves into the solid rock in the form of a "U". These grooves left a solid rock standing one block wide and one block deep and 7 stories high. Just like cutting piece of cake out from the main square cake. They then began to carve, with hand tools, on this huge block, from the top down, to "release" a temple. They created a seven story high temple from the solid rock.  It is a must see. In the process of carving this temple out of solid rock, the removed over 200,000 tons of rock.   It is fabulous!. It has rooms, stairways, ornaments, and anterooms. The carving is extraordinary. Enjoy the pics of Ellora Caves.My breathing is improving, things seem to be going very well. We leave tomorrow for a flight to Mumbai. What could go wrong there?  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257849111/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257849111/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257849111/tpod.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 01:18:20 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India

200 years before the birth of Christ, a group of Buddhist monks began chipping away  at the Basalt ledge above a river named Tiger, in the hills in central India. 1000 years later, after 50 generations, they stopped. What they left behind has become a UNESCO World Heritage site named the Ajanta Caves.We had flown from Delhi to Aurangabad to view these caves. As soon as we left the plane we hired a car to drive the 100 Km to a small town called Fardapur. Hotel choices here were limited. We managed, after some searching to locate a decent one for around $15 US. The first night we drove out of town to an overlook to view the caves location form high on a ridge above the site. The drive out  was fun. We had hired a Hindustan Motors 1995 Ambassador to  carry us out through the fields of lentil, corn, and sugar cane. Once we arrived at the viewpoint, we were afforded a panoramic view of the site. The caves were carved into a basalt ridge along a broad curve in the Wahore (Tiger) River. I shot a few shots from above , then took a few of the sunset in the mountains of Maharashtra StateAfter Buddhism lost  its influence in India, the sites were lost for hundreds of years. Lost, that is, until a British Officer, named John Smith, while on a tiger hunt, in 1918  was shown them by a local villager. He brought the world's attention back to the site. It has since been protected and remains a spectacular example of early Buddhist art. The carving of the cave structure is fantastic in its own right. But once carved, the Buddhists stuccoed the interior walls and painted beautiful, sensitive images of their lord and his life on the interior walls and ceilings. The long isolation actually helped to preserve the site from vandals over the centuries.The next morning we were up early, (I found a toad in my shower) We again took the old Ambassador taxi, and we were first in line to enter the site, which Barb has wanted to visit for years. We visited caves one and two first, then jumped straight to the end to visit cave number 26, as the early morning sun was penetrating deeper into the cavern. Just  a note about taking photographs in these caves. They allow no camera flashes. They allow no tripods, and there is VERY Little Light in the deeper recesses. I had to bump up the ISO (film speed) and lean against something. I did the best I could. One minute I am in the deep darkness with some tiny little led lights, next I am in the brilliant sunlight. It was a real challenge, I did my best, all hand held in the dark. Enjoy the trip through Ajanta Caves.PS: My respiratory issues did not get better with the better air here. I started Cipro twice a day and will run them for 10 days. It appears to be helping. I can breathe again! 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257844877/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257844877/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257844877/tpod.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:27:36 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Delhi, India

One more train ride back to Delhi again. This time we will receive our last two injections for the vaccinations against Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis. The series will be complete for both and we will have saved about $3500 US. This train ride is a day train, so no need to sleep on board or lock up our bags. As we board I spot a couple of Royal Enfield Motorcycles on the platform. I think tourists come over here and rent them for months at a time, then return them by train to the rental companies. As the train rolls along, I notice out the window all the people living in plastic tarp camps. There are many people along the tracks, especially in the towns. I see lots of small kids, some under 2 years old running around between the tracks. The newspapers lately have been full of articles related to train fatalities. Train/car collisions are common. There was a dramatic train bus collision less than one week ago and two trains crashed a couple of weeks past. 14 million people a day ride the train here. India Railways is the world's second largest employer. China's government must be number 1. As I scan our car this morning, there are only four of us in it. I wonder where the other 13,999,996 people are?  We will overnight in Delhi, we booked it that way to insure we could locate the vaccines. I hate the air here. It is hard to breathe, but we will get a chance to see the biggest mosque in India. We visited Jama Masjid, built between 1644 and 1658. It is the largest Mosque in India. Barb had to put additional coverings on as she had small bits of exposed flesh. She kept telling me that I had to wear a scarf and kept putting a hanky on my head. But I soon realized that I needed nothing additional. Only the women needed the additional coverings. It figures. When in Rome...We visited the Mosque, and inhaled as much as I could stand of the toxic air. I was hacking and wheezing by the time we left. I held out in the hotel until we awoke at 3:00 AM to catch our ride to the airport. As we drove out through the haze in the early morning,  I saw many homeless on the sidewalks. Some were actually burning trash and plastic to make morning tea. The driver ran a very red light. I cautioned him. He looked at me condescendingly and said "At night we do not stop for red lights!" We then drove through 5 more very red lights on the way to the domestic airport.I snapped a few grainy shots on the way out of town. By now I was really having a hard time breathing. The blue Grey fugue that passes for air here again reminded me of the end of days flix Soilent Green starring Charelton Heston and the great Edgar G Robinson. I could just visualize them out there running around trying to figure out what was in the green biscuit.We had had no breakfast as the hotel kitchen was not open at 3:30 AM. When we reached the airport we checked in passed the security checks, and had about 30 minutes to spare. As we approached our gate for boarding, we looked up. There on the mezzanine was a familiar and friendly face. What luck!,  we said. Imagine meeting him here! We ran up the stairs and sat right down to eat a four piece crispy chicken box under the friendly face of Col Sanders. We then boarded our Jet Lite flight that was taking us to Aurungabad in the state of Maharastra.  
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257837000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257837000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257837000/tpod.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:20:12 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Amer, Rajasthan, India

We visited this fortress  on our last stop in Rajastan. It sits outside of Jaipur near the small city it once protected, Amer. This fortress is in terrific shape, and it's walls can be seen for miles away snaking up and down the surrounding hillsides. It is made from a golden sandstone, hence the name Amber Fortress. The Amber fort sits below another fortress the Nahargarth or Tiger Fort. The Upper fortress is now a military base. After nearly a month of visiting crumbled fortresses all over the desert state of Rajasthan, we are becoming familiar with their layout. This one is no different, except that it is quite a bit bigger and in much better shape than most we have seen. There are a limited number of entries, all requiring passage through a series of heavily fortified gates and wall systems. Upon entry, this fort has a huge plaza for army and elephant brigades to assemble. Further to the interior there are splendid door and entries, wonderful meeting/reception areas for formal meeting with officials. Then even further to the interior, more personal reception/meeting rooms, sensual gardens and pools, pleasure palaces, and finally even further into the interior you arrive at the Harem. The Harem was surrounded by walls within the walls. There were guard stations at six location where the eunuchs would stand guard over the Maharajah's wives and concubines. The eunuchs were obtained by using hermaphrodites or simply by castrating captives or persons given as gifts to the Maharajah. There were of course, more screens to prevent anyone from seeing the faces of the women. The area here is called zanana, or veil. This practice came from contact with the Muslim world. The Mugul emperor were MuslimOne thing that made this fortress a bit unique was the fact that there were escape tunnels from the Harem out under ground to the ridge and upper fortress above. We choose to walk up to the fortress. Many other tourists choose to ride elephants to and from their visit to the Amber Fort. Fee for the elephant ride was $10 US. Enjoy your tour of the fortress, 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257834324/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257834324/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257834324/tpod.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:08:52 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

We next visited the City Palace in Jaipur. It is still the residence of his Highness the Maharaja of Jaipur. His section is off limits, otherwise I would have stopped by for s spot of tea. The sitting Maharaja is a Polo chum of Prince Charles of England. We walked throught the busy Jaipur streets to the palace. Portions of it are now a museum. The flag is now five colors, representing one additional color after the Jaipur government conquered the Kabul Afganistan kingdom many years ago. They now wave 5 colored flags. In addition, when the Maharaja is in town, they wave one additional miniture flag above the state flag to signify that the His Higjhness the Maharaja of Jaipur is in town. Once inside, we viewed the various courtyards, and saw two emese silver jugs. These were produced by an early Maharaja in oder to carry water from the river Ganges to England and back, when the Raja was to view the coronation of King Charles the 7th (i believe). Each jug required 14,000 silver coins for the metal, and two years to produce. They each carried 900 gallons of water. There was apparently a wheeled structure under them to facilitate moving them from around on theire trip from India to England and back!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257828398/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257828398/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/thomasgillam/4/1257828398/tpod.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:24:22 -0500 Namaste, INDIA!

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Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Hawa Mahal is known as the Palace of the Winds. It was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawaj Pratap. It has survived the centuries to become a major tourist attraction in this capital city of Rajasthan State. It is essentially a small palace without the fortress. There are still guarded entry gates, and high walls to enclose the Maharaja wives and girlfriends. Inside there are various plazas and pool areas. It bis in fact, your basic Maharaja's pleasure palace, built to allow his wives to view the activities of the bustling pink city below. As in other palaces we have seen, as you penetrate further into the structure, the more secluded you become. The women's quarters were all screened off from view, as no male was to see the face of a Maharani except the Maharaja himself. All the windows had screens carved from sandstone or wood. From their roof top terraces and rooms below, the women could view the goings on in the street below without being seen by outsiders. From the top of the Hawa Mahal you can see Nahargarth fortress overlooking the city, the nearby City Palace, and a minaret called Iswari Minar Swarga. Also next to the palace is Jantar Mantar, a park of astrological structures built in 1728 by Jai Singh to observe the heavens.  The guides always talk about how the women had it so good here in the harem zanana/ enclave.  " They could spend their day painting, dancing, listening to music, and bathing in pools scented with the petals of sweet smelling flowers."........But, they could not go outside into the real world. On very rare occasions they could exit the harem, they would be covered head to toe in robes, then placed in closed or covered palanquins. I have read where several of these Maharani's held large estates, and one in the 19th century actually owned a steamship. She became very wealthy operating the steamship line from inside the palace. In my view most of these women were virtual prisoners.I have read a bit in the travel guides and in the newspapers here and have a few observations regarding the current state of women in India, I have noticed that there are very few women who drive cars in India, I have been here over two months and have seen none. Occasionally I will see a young woman operating a motorcycle. None are seen behind the wheel of a car. One male driver I met, explained it to me this way. " Driving a car is very difficult."As I read the Lonely Planet and Rough Guide and peruse the papers, I have become aware of the disturbing plight of widows in this country, and thought I would lay some of it out here.As you know there was a Hindu tradition here called Sati, where the women widows were expected to jump unto the funeral pyre of their dead husbands following his death. This old tradition has survived here, although in a modified form. The practice is now called "Wife Burning." When a wife's husband dies, she can and sometimes is forced from the family unit. (The family unit here is the Husband, his wife, and his parents. ) In many cases the widows are simply expelled from the family, and in some cases the widows are actually burned alive. The problem of widow rejection is so bad here that there is a city near Varanasi called Virindavan that has thousands of white robed widows (they are expected to never wear color again and to mourn and pray for their deceased spouse for the rest of their natural lives) They are all beggars now, and the government is trying to cope with the ever increasing numbers of women showing up there, but they are struggling against the tide of overpopulation and tradition.Enough of my rant, enjoy the photos of Hawa Mahal.
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