The Colors of India

Hello everyone. I'd like to take a moment to personally thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I spent the better part of 20 hrs editing these photos during down time, train rides in Sri Lanka, and long airport layovers. I'm now in Ireland amongst my people but I loved the photographic opportunities which India presented. So many colors, unique landmarks, interesting people, and festivals. I don't know if I've ever enjoyed taking photographs in any other country as much as I did in India. So while this sexy child molester-esque mustache no longer exists, the memories of the time we shared in India linger on. Hope you enjoy the photos.

VARANASI

This is where we started our trip. After an evening arrival and a mind boggling cab ride through insane crowds in getting to our hostel, we awoke the following morning and did a sunrise boat cruise down the Ganges River.

These men in the lower right corner are actually placing a dead body atop a pile of wood in order to burn it to ashes. This is the area of the river where, each day, handfuls of bodies are burned to ashes. 

You would see people praying everywhere as the Ganges is the holiest river in the world.

I personally wouldn't be placing my hand in my mouth after dipping it into those waters.

Throughout the length of the river which we toured, you would have these amazing colorful murals as a background to people bathing, praying, washing clothes, playing games, etc. It was really a neat contrast.

Indeed it does

Thousands of people bathe in these waters each day.

Playing some badminton

Drying laundry

Fabric slapping on rocks was the most common way of cleaning clothes.

This goat looks perplexed at the large monkey staring at him.

I love the irony.

A man praying in the sun with a big bull on the steps above. The animals and people walked and lived as one in just about every city we visited.

Small garbage pile

These push carts were everywhere. The way the man is dressed and that the wheel on his cart is essentially taped together speaks to the hard living that many people endure in India.

NEW DELHI

Hanging chili peppers outside of your business is done to bring good luck.

Various Gods

Coconuts were just one of the many things sold on the street.

Cock sold matches, fireworks, and many other products.

A colorful oasis down a back alley in the crazy city of Delhi

RED FORT

Mother and child

I loved the symmetry in all of the forts. Was frustrating trying to get photos just right though.

TAJ MAHAL

It's a picture I'm sure thousands have taken before me, but it's till one of my favorite photos I've ever taken.

MADHOGARH

We slept inside an old fort in this town. This woman greeted us at the entrance to our fortress sleeping quarters for the evening.

We went on a handful of village walks during our guided tour. It was a great way to see local living. This goat doesn't exactly look enthused at how it's being used as a play thing.

The children always wanted, "One photo. One photo." 

An actual bandwagon

Love this photo. Gives an idea as to the poverty and difficult living facing so many of the people in these villages.

Keeping an eye on the proceedings

I tried to capture the faces of as many people as possible. The features say so much about their way of life.

I don't know how people can sit in such deep levels of squatting, but this was a pretty common way of sitting for everyone.

Rape

Tractors and delivery trucks of all types were individually decorated and always made for interesting sightseeing out of  our car windows as we passed so many of these vehicles.

Sunset view from atop our fort home

AMBER FORT

These elephants were unfortunately being used to transport lazy tourists from the lake to the fort, but they were very prettily painted.

JAIPUR

This was one of the many ancient pieces of man made equipment found at the Jantar Mantar Observatory. It's a UNESCO site which contained dozens of pieces of astronomical equipment intended to chart celestial bodies, tell time, etc. 

This picture was in fact taken slightly after 2:30pm.

Jaipur is known as the pink city. Every building in the old town is pink, or this shade of pink which is now used in the upkeep of all the buildings since the dye used to create pink paint is too expensive to produce in mass quantity. This building is the Hawa Mahal.

BUNDI

Bundi Palace

Would a burger joint in India be known by any other name?

Bundi Palace. It's a gorgeous palace which doesn't have any upkeep done to it because no one wants to claim ownership of it. Would be too much cost involved in its upkeep.

The view looking down upon the town of Bundi. The color blue is used on the most of the houses as it repels mosquitoes. 

An elephant fighting a bull. If you look at the head region of the animals, they share eyes and the tusks of the elephant are the horns of the bull.

Even the sun has a mustache in India

I didn't look inside the trash can to see if there was actually any garbage in there, but clearly there is a ton just outside the can.

The Sukh Mahal. Rudyard Kipling stayed here for a few days.

Kings and their families are buried in each of these temples

More village life

An old hunting lodge served as our rooftop dining room for a tasty dinner.

BIJAPUR

A woman picking water chestnuts from the lake.

Egret

Beautiful sunrise

UDAIPUR

Sunset cruise on Pichola Lake

Lake Palace made famous in James Bond: Octopussy.

Udaipur shoreline

Traditional music and dance night

Marionettes

The sights during the Muslim holy festival of Muharram.

Power line craziness in every city.

Very common street food. Fold up the newspaper into a cone shape and then fill it with the grain substance and chopped up veggies. Looked tasty but never experienced it.

Men would walk down the street with this food on one end of the stick with a huge weight as a counter balance on the other end.

The brightly colored women sitting along the sidewalk

Chillin' while eating popcorn

The crowds just outside our hotel

Children were playing drums and other instruments while huge religious floats were being paraded down the street.

Colorful and illuminated floats

The morning after on those streets which were so crowded the night before

PUSHKAR CAMEL FAIR

The camels so ornately decorated.

Smiling for the camera

Taking a break from eating

Sitting in a heap of sugar cane

Sooo fashionable

Selling colorful strands of fabric.

This man was 1 of the 11 who beat me and the other tourists in our tug-of-war battle.

There was a huge dirt field  in the middle of the stadium where all of the events of the fair were taking place. All tourists who wished could just walk right up to all of the performers and take close-up shots. It was like I was a member of the press. It was a thrill.

KERALA

Still India. Going from the craziness of the Camel Fair to the beaches and backwaters of Kerala was a welcome relief.

Those are actual fishing boats the locals use to go out into the ocean to catch their fish.

This is an old railroad track which went into the ocean. I can only guess it was constructed as a way of transporting goods onto awaiting ships. I overexposed the image a bit to make it look like the tracks go forever.

An example of a houseboat, similar to the one on which we slept, among the scenery of Kerala backwaters.

Another example of a fishing vessel

Hope you found these photos interesting. I know it was alot to scroll through, but India deserves it. Such a unique place. My friend Beth put an interesting perspective on India which really rings true. To paraphrase, she said that she loved her 3 months in India which forever gave her the travel bug, but that she spent half of the time wishing she was anywhere else but India. It really does have that effect on you. It's a train wreck in so many respects, but you just can't take your eyes away from it. There's an adventure around every corner and it was certainly never boring. If you never get to India, try to make it a point to travel abroad at a time when another local culture is celebrating a unique festival. It will be a much more memorable experience than just your ordinary vacation.

Upcoming blog posts will summarize our time in Sri Lanka which turned out to be the most beautiful country we have visited on our trip. A stunning place which would make a great vacation destination for just about anyone. Ireland is our home away from home for the next few weeks before we head to Scotland, Wales, and England for the Christmas holidays. Time to go eat my traditional Irish breakfast. Cheers.