Jaipur Palace & Environs

If you are traveling to India for the first time, you must visit Rajasthan first. It clearly sets the tone and backdrop of history with its regal palaces filled with artifacts, mosaic windows and patterned golden walls, decorative door designs, and of course, the opulent Oberoi Hotels. The richness of what this region has to offer lays before you the past and present of this magnificent country, and you take it with you whilst touring Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Udaipur. I was so fortunate to have been given an impromptu invitation to a true Hindu wedding when traveling back from a tour of the city to Samode Bagh resort. When our Jeep passed by a large football sized field, the glaring lights and loudspeakers pulsing out dance music I asked him to stop. I went to the opening of the gate at the top of the hill and was quickly ushered into the festivities of a wedding taking place with what must have been more than 1,000 guests and a city-block long gourmet foods filled buffet table whilst taking in a "boy-band" of Indian dancers and singers performing on a stage. The bride, sitting with her harem of women friends, mother and aunts, grandmothers and such, was covered in henna from head to toe and an elaborate traditional red wedding gown. I was stunned at how forlorn she looked [it must have been an arranged marriage], and yet how joyous the guests and the families were. Their warmth and hospitality to a complete stranger was outrageous; but, then I heard some of them speaking and found out they thought I was some Hollywood film star!  Who could that have been I wonder?

The Palace of Winds. HAWA MAHAL, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India.  The structure was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, the grandson of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, who was the founder of Jaipur.

A Fascination With Doors and Entryways in India Always Catches my Eye! Jodhpur, India.

The Gorgeous Salmon-Pink Coloured Arches of Hawa Mahal Palace, Jaipur.

Haha Mahal Palace Entrance Interior Courtyard. Jaipur, India

Golden Doors, Golden Walls, Golden Palaces of Raj’s. Jodhpur, India.

HAWA MAHAL - Palace of the Winds and Environs, Jaipur

Rajasthan, India

Wonders await you in Rajasthan. Most vividly, the brilliant colours of the women's sari's, the facades of historic landmarks, the textures of ancient frescoes, and the hand craftsmanship of home décor and soft textiles. I was completely smitten with the terra cotta colors and body-wrapping pashminas, the enormous decorative jewels adorning elegant women, the effervescence and warmth of the people I met. Travel in India travels with you as the thread of what weaves the country together is tightly woven.

A Terrace View from Rambagh Palace Hotel, Jodhpur, India

Ancient Hand-Painted Decor Remains for Centuries. Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

A Golden Throne Fit For a Raj. The Columns and Stained Glass Artistry of Mehrangarh Fort City Palace, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, INDIA.

If I travelled to India fifty times, I would never be able to capture the nuances, the sights and smells, the historical remnants of the past, nor the modernisation of its contemporary life. The journey to the countryside to visit Jain Temples, famous Mehrangrah Palace with its unbelievably overpowering interiors for the Raj in residence, the humble yet gentrified tent-style hotels nestled inside a lush forest and protected by quiet streams, nocturnal monkeys, and foods delivered in fragrant and modest style with a central dining area for its guests, was more than I had ever experienced, and it leaves me desiring to return to capture even more of what I felt I was becoming accustomed to and falling in love with - the charm of its inhabitants, the hospitality of its fabulous hotel staff, the artisanal craftsmanship in woven tapestries, pajminas and delicate hand-created textiles, radiant jewellery and earthenware.