Archive for October, 2007
in the pink in the pink city
Days 102-103: Continuing on our whirlwind tour of the Golden Triangle, we made it to Jaipur.
(This looked touch and go for a while when our car sustained a flat tyre just outside a tiny village en route and we were swamped by curious locals. As is usual in situations such as these, conversations about […]
Posted: October 16th, 2007 under India, Rajasthan, Jaipur.
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the astronomical observatory in jaipur
Day 103: Jaipur’s astronomical (and astrological) observatory was a unique “theme park” devoted to measuring various heavenly bodies. Dating to 1728 it houses a collection of large instruments pointing upwards, including what’s claimed to be the largest sundial in the world (accurate to 2 seconds, which is more than can be said of my alarm […]
Posted: October 16th, 2007 under Uncategorized.
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ranthambore tiger hunting
Day 101: While India can’t match Africa for breadth and depth of animal life in the wild, we were given some small hope by our trusty Lonely Planet India that we might be able to eyeball a tiger in Ranthambore National Park, about 3 hours drive south from Jaipur.
Loaded by the local ticket mafia into […]
Posted: October 14th, 2007 under India.
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the taj mahal
Day 100: It’s one of those places that words can’t describe.
I’ll always remember my first glimpse. Walking slowly through the southern archway, the full magnificence of the Taj Mahal came into view.
It’s a monument of great beauty but there is also melancholy here. The Taj is not a palace but a mausoleum. Built out […]
Posted: October 8th, 2007 under India, Taj Mahal, Agra.
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delhi: this is india
Days 93-95: Delhi was our starting point in India, where we met up with Kate’s student exchange pal Andrea. We bided our time here before kicking off on our road trip around Rajasthan, dropping into the Red Fort (above) and the nearby main mosque.
It was here that we started hearing the expression: “This is […]
Posted: October 8th, 2007 under India, New Delhi.
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india “felicitates” its twenty20 champions
Day 93: In Nepal, we had our first taste of the single-minded cricketing obsession of a nation. India’s victory over Pakistan in the Twenty20 World Cup final had sent India into a frenzy of celebration, and on Indian TV it was the only news for at least three days, with English language Indian news channels […]
Posted: October 8th, 2007 under India, Cricket.
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nagarkot hill station outside kathmandu
Day 91-92: As soon as we touched down in Nepal, we headed for the hills, straight to Kathmandu’s hill station of Nagarkot. It was great simply to be able to rug up and enjoy some cool weather for a change. When the clouds parted, there were beautiful views too.
Posted: October 8th, 2007 under Nepal.
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overnight in sharjah
Day 90: Flying out of Iran with Air Arabia (for whom we have nothing but praise) we arrived in Sharjah to be “kidnapped” by an Iranian national who was returning to her home in Dubai. Insisting that her husband should drive us into town, she dropped us off at an Indian restaurant in what must […]
Posted: October 8th, 2007 under Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
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