Travel Letters

Jaipur, Amber Fort: "It Keeps Getting Better"

Amber

Rajasthan,

India

February 23, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

It just keeps getting better!

"The magnificent delicate-pink, fort palace of Amber (pronounced Amer), a beautiful, ethereal example of Rajput architecture, rises from a rocky mountainside about 11km north of Jaipur." [*]

As Adit and I drive into Amber, the walls and the towers, more golden than pink, sit high and imposing on the mountains to my left.

Jaipur: "The Pink City"

Jaipur, Rajasthan

India

February 23, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

Noise and dust pierce the senses. Construction cranes pierce the sky. Jaipur is crowded. Jaipur is "developing."

My gracious hosts at the Govind Niwas Guest House, Admiral and Mrs. Madhvendra Singh recall earlier days when in the evening they would relax on their veranda or in the spacious garden in front of their home

Now, the avenue is just too busy. My friends are resigned to the inevitable yet they continue to enjoy the beauty of their city.

How many travelers have I met who focus only on Jaipur, dusty and "developing?" Like my hosts, I seek out Jaipur, pink and attractive and "developed."

Nawalgarh: "The Haveli and Mundan Sanskar"

Nawalgarh

Shekhawati region

Rajasthan

India

February 20, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

"Jan, why India?" "Why now?" Perhaps you are asking these questions. The obvious answers are: "India is close to Thailand." And, "There's no time like the present." True. Very true.

The real truth is that my friends in Mumbai, Paawan and Sushma, invited me to an auspicious family celebration.

Bharatpur, Deeg: "Birding at The Bagh"

Bharatpur, Rajasthan

India

February 17, 2007

 

Dear Friends and Fellow Bird Watchers,

One chilly, shivering evening last week at the open-air rooftop restaurant of my hotel, the Hotel Sri Nanak Continental (don't let the name fool you), smack in the middle of the incessantly beeping - beeping - honking - honking - beeping - honking - beeping - beeping - beeping and barking! automotive parts supply shop district of New Delhi, I met Penny and John, travelers from England who were pleased to sell me their guidebook Special Places To Stay - India.

My next destination is Bharatpur, just west of Agra. My first "special" choice, The Laxmi Vilas Palace, is fully booked. So here I am at The Bagh.

The guidebook reports:

New Delhi Part 2: "Happy Where I Am"

New Delhi

India

February 12, 2007

 

Each morning my driver Suresh and I agree on an itinerary.

Suresh negotiates his way through the traffic to a stop at Lakshmi Naravan, an unusual Hindu temple . . . unusual for its tones of yellow and red- brown. Another stop at Rajghat, a beautiful park with a simple square platform of black marble that marks the spot where Mahatma Gandhi was cremated following his assassination in 1948. A host of schoolchildren smile and wave to me.

Medellín: "A Unique Travel Adventure"

Medellín
Antioquia Department
Republic of Colombia
November 18, 2008,

Dear Family and Friends,

Now here's a unique travel adventure:

My Avianca flight from Cartegena to Medellín left on time at 08:00. Ten minutes into the flight the pilot made an announcement. Since my Spanish is improving day by day, little by little, poco a poco, I understood the pilot to say that the airplane had a technical problem and we had to return to Cartegena. We made a sweeping 180 degree turn and in a few minutes we were on the ground.

The gate agent estimated that our waiting time would be about an hour, mas or menos (more or less). "Mas or menos" I figured out is the Spanish equivalent of the Arabic "Inshallah."

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