E and J at lunch
Pool time was important to keep a balance in the trip for E and J ( and email and blog time for me)
Lunch in the hotel after a long outing
Much of the trip has been spent driving, fighting the traffic. Always lots to see.
From the car in Old City, Hyderabad
From the car- a market famous for selling bracelets to be warn at weddings; Charminar in the background.
nefs (let me know if anyone gets that)
Old Hyderabad from the car
Keith, the 52nd Nizam of Hyderabad
Woman's clothing at Chowmahalla Palace
Wedding car at Chowmahalla Palace
E getting the better of J, for once.
Two Princesses at Chowmahalla Palace
Armed and dangerous at Chowmahalla Palace.
Chowmahalla Palace
Two Princesses, with the throne in the background at Chowmahalla Palace
Wanted to delete this picture- but I think it gives a nice flavor of the museum at Chowmahalla Palace
E and J read this letter from one of the Nizam's to a friend
They are supposed to be leaning on their swords.
Chowmahalla Palace; fantastic painted murals
Where did this come from?
Dakshinchitra in Chennai; E playing with fingers; J melting; Satish- assigned to keep an eye on us by friend of Najeeb's
Dakshinachitra
Drumming and music at Dakshinachitra
Once again; J melting
Temple at Mamallapuram- 1300 years old
Temple at Mamallapuram- 1300 years old with Bay of Bengal in the background
Pool at the hotel in Chennai- with cool waterfall
Dr. Pramod and once of his assistants- after lunch in Chennai
Our driver for the few days we were in Chennai on the left and Satish- our guide and handler for a couple trips.
Fantastic Kerala food with Dr. Pramod. J looking for pizza.
Train station in Chennai from the car.
again
J waiting at the platform- not sure she was enjoying the heat, noise and general chaos.
In the middle Ravi- he made all the arrangements for the trip for which we are grateful; In the door is the fellow in charge of our train car (one of the 1,200,000 Indian Railway employees); Driver on left.
Train
Our room in Hyderabad. We were beat after the overnight train ride.
J in her bunk bed on the train.
On the boat to view the giant stone Buddha.
At the giant stone Buddha.
E from Charminar, Hyderabad.
View of Old Town from Charminar.
Giant stone Buddha in the lake near Lumbini Park.
Giant Stone Buddha.
Pensive girls with our guide at Charminar.
View of Old Hyderabad from Charminar.
Mecca Masjid mosque from Charminar.
J enjoying the details of Mughal architechture at Charminar.
Inside Charminar.
Repair work at Charminar.
the shiny finish coat is made from eggs
E J and our guide
Charminar.
Abdul, our great driver, guide and friend for 3 days in Hyderabad, in front of Mecca Masjid.
Graves of the Nizams at the mosque.
J made sure she wore socks on the day we visited the mosque
View from the front of the mosque.
If you sit on this large black marble table it means you will return to Hyderabad someday (Enshalla, and I mean that).
Ok....there is a small brick made from soil from Mecca (hence the name of the mosque)
J and E at the mosque with Charminar in the backgound
In front of Charminar.
views from the car
Osmania hospital.
Main judicial building
Would you buy a used pearl from this man?
The Seven Tombs
The Seven Tombs; J starting to fade after a long morning at Golconda Fort.
J at the Seven Tombs
Golconda Fort in the distance from the Seven Tombs. Wanted to delete this one-but makes the point that this is the highest spot in Hyderabad.
I think you can see 5 of the 7!
Golconda Fort
Golconda Fort; our guide.
Golconda Fort; acoustic marvels at the fort- sounds travel to specific spots so clapping is a big part of the tour; Hindu temple in the background
View from Golconda Fort
Golconda Fort; again, armed and dangerous
Hindu Temple near to top of Golconda Fort
Hindu temple at the top of Golconda Fort (not originally a site of the Hindu religion!- or perhaps it was before the Mughals came?)
Golconda Fort; our guide was in a hurry to make the Friday sermon at the mosque
Golconda Fort; easy E!
Golconda Fort; J hung in for a long, hot tour (but faded later at the Seven Tombs)
Golconda Fort; it is hard to see, but there is some clapping going on.
Cyberabad!
Cyberabad! "Yes, how may I help you?" "I can't get Windows to open" "Which wwersion are you using?"
Cyberabad! round building is Microsoft; the first big deal in Cyberabad.
Camels near Golconda Fort and Cyberabad
Princess J at the pool in Hyderabad.
Bye to the pool!
Unloading the bags at Hyderabad aiport.
Abdul was a wonderful guide- a sweet, thoughtful man and we enjoyed our time with him.
E working on her latest post on the plane.
DOTS = directly observed TB therapy?
Many more rickshaws in Old Delhi than Chennai or Hyderabad
Missing the heavy traffic of Chennai and Hyderabad, we immediately left New Delhi for the crowded streets of Old Delhi.
inside the Jami Masjid- largest mosque in India
J and E at Jami Masjid- largest- with our guide; J of course wore socks
Jami Masjid- largest mosque in India
View of the Red Fort from Jami Masjid
New Delhi from Old Delhi (top of the minaret)
We climbed to the top of the other minaret--picture taken there- a tad scary
from the top of the minaret- mosque in foreground- Red Fort in background
base of the minaret (did I mentioned we climbed it)
Julia is grumpy. [E just wrote that when I got up to help J with something]
PLEASE DON'T MAKE US POSE AGAIN
traffic around the mosque was brutal
pepsi generation
inside the Red Fort
Diwan-i-Khas at the Red Fort
the pool at the Red Fort (sans H20)
Diwan-i-Aam at the Red Fort
Had enough of the Red Fort?
security line to get in the Red Fort- busy on a Saturday- separate lines for men and woman (as at airport)
wall and moat at Red Fort; Jami Masjid in the backgrond
J could not be happier that we stopped at India Gate
Rajpath, just beyond India Gate; Republic day parade held here Jan 26
Pool at the hotel in Delhi- water really cold
outside our hotel window- preparation for the pre-wedding party;Orchestra in area of red carpet---- they promised the loud music would be over by 10 or 10:30................
modern travel in the digital age- J video confrencing with Sophie via Skype; nice writing on the leg!
E and J Skyping with Maria and Sophie
entrance to Taj
first of many pics with E and J at Taj
While I was about to take a picture, two American ladies wearing Saris walked up to E and J and asked them how they like India
mosque at Taj Mahal on the left in the background; there is an identical fake mosque on the other side just for symmetry
The inlay and carved marble of Taj Mahal is a marvel.
We went on a Sunday- it was very busy and there was a crunch to get inside
looking out from the main Taj building towards the gate
gate from the inside, and our guide
squirrels, that looked like chipmunks (for the biologists in the family)
did I get any pictures of E and J in from of the Taj?
shop that sells marble inlay tables in Agra, using the secret glue formula from the Taj that only they have (so they say). he is scolding his employee on the left for putting the book on the table as I was taking a picture. Tables were nice. they had a great bathroom and gave us diet cokes. we bought something.
Agra fort; we thought more spectacular than the Red Fort in Delhi.
Agra Fort; Taj in background.
entrance to Agra Fort
Agra fort had spectacular details
Taj from fort.
monkey at the fort
did we take any pictures of the Taj from the fort? Smoke bottom right is from a funeral.
inside the fort
entrance to the fort- if the bad guys made it this far the defenders could roll rocks at them
soldiers on horseback outside the fort
outside the fort- ready to go home
policeman on bicycles outside the fort
J's picture of E in the car on the long, long ride back from the Taj Mahal.
Next to last day- driving to see sights in Delhi
Emeline found spiritual enlightenment in India.
Julia not so much.
Home of the President (Prime Minister has the real power but a smaller home- and visited our hotel for a lunch meeting today- lots of security)
Originally built to house the British Viceroy.
govenrnment building in Delhi
View down the Rajpath looking at India Gate in the background
We took a walk in Lodi Garden for a period of contemplation
Further contemplation at Lodi Garden.
E, look out for anyone damaging trees.
We got lost in Lodi Garden, but found our way to Gate 3 after a long struggle.
Schoolboys at Humayun's Tomb. They came up to E and asked to trade Indian coins for American- she did not have any.
no coins?
Part of the complex at Humayun's Tomb.
Gate into Humayun's Tomb.
Humayun's Tomb- precursor to Taj Mahal.
Looking towards the gate.
Schoolgirls at Humayun's Tomb; Do E and J get school credit? These girls came up to E and starting talking to her, which she enjoyed.
J and E at dinner in the restaurant on top of the hotel, wearning pearl necklaces from Hyderabad.
E at the Nehru mansion/memorial/library/museum.
E with a guard at Nehru museum- he agreed to the picture
Nehru mansion
E addressing the Indian people from the raised stage on the lawn.
School girls at the Nehru museum
Front of the museum
Roadside fruit and veggie stands on the way to Dr. Saxena's house in Nodia.
Nodia must be prosperous- lots of shopping malls.
Lunch with the Saxena family.
J and Mrs. Saxena
Large picture albums in the living room.
Dr. Saxena and albumins
A few of the 6000 plants
A few more
On the roof
The Saxena's and their car
House and car
Buddhist temple on the way home
Dr. Saxena drops us off at the hotel
