Live, Terry/Ohio, India to Signapore, Silver Moon Rising, Pix’s!

[TLCOhio]

On 4/22/2024 at 4:00 PM, highplanesdrifters said:

I'm going to go out on a limb a say I speak for all the lurkers and future lurkers.  Keep em coming! 😃    Elephant experience looks amazing.

 

Appreciate these great comments and follow-ups. YES, the elephant experience was both "up close and personal", plus amazing and very warmingly-connected to these awesome creatures.  With just my wife and I, it was so much easier to experience compared to be in a group of 15-25 people.  Or, an even larger group.  

 

From inside Jaipur, we shift our focus to the City Palace, a royal residence and former administrative headquarters for the rulers of the Jaipur State, Rajasthan.  

 

Construction started around 1727 at the time of the establishment of the city of Jaipur under the reign of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II.  He moved his court to Jaipur from Amber. Jaipur remained the capital of the kingdom until 1949—when it became the capital of the present-day Indian state of Rajasthan—with the City Palace functioning as the ceremonial and administrative seat of the Maharaja of Jaipur.  

 

When India gained freedom from the British rule in 1947, most of the various Maharaja rulers and families around the country lost out, those in Jaipur managed to maintain property, power and position.  This City Palace gives an interesting sampling for those past "days of prestige" and their adjustment to more modern times.  The palace complex has many buildings, various courtyards, galleries and offices of the Museum Trust.  We toured the museum and saw much around this location.  Many visuals below and more to come from Jaipur, the easy to love city with so much history and artistic style. 

 

Maharaja Ram Singh sided with the British in the Uprising of 1857, establishing himself with the Imperial rulers. Much of Jaipur, including the City Palace, are stucco painted the color pink and since that time the city has been called the "Pink City".The change in the color style was to honor the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) on his visit.  Now that color has become a trademark of the Jaipur.

 

Just a little mix of history and style??  For those who have visited Jaipur, feel free to share what you loved most there, suggested for others as "must see", etc.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio   

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 251,299 views.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1172051-livesilver-cloud-norway-coastfjords-july-1-16-reports/

 

Here are a couple initial views of the various structures as we entered Jaipur's famed and popular City Palace.:

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During our time at the Jaipur City Palace, there was a little parade/ceremony.  Not sure what and why, but things looked cute and interesting.  Jaipur is colorful!!!  Right?:

 

 

 

Inside the City Palace Museum, our skilled guide provided more background as to the past rulers of this region of India.:

 

Here are more samplings of the various buildings in the City Palace.  This includes for the use of the pink color and the various, unique stylings.:

 

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

Here is more from our exploring at the City Palace in Jaipur.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio   

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 250,088 views.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

 

Designed in the style of a Mughal audience hall, the Diwan-e-Aam, the Sabha Niwas, is the receiving hall within the City Palace. It has multiple cusped arches supported by marble columns with a painted plaster ceiling.  Look regal and royal?   Nice rug like you have at home?  On the walls of this hall and nearby are large format paintings of the past Maharajas of Jaipur.:

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Although posted earlier at the start of this live/blog, this visual is worth repeating as a part of the City Palace coverage.  Here is my wife with a couple of the uniformed personnel at this historic site.:

 

Here are more of the varied architectural and artistic wonders to be seen and experienced at the Jaipur City Palace.:

 

 

 

At the City Palace, we caught this "entertainment" segment with these colorful puppets, exciting music, etc.  First is a still picture of the puppets.  Second is an action video with drum sounds, etc.  Click on the video in the middle to start and listen to the fun!:

 

 

[TLCOhio]

To continue sharing how much and why we super loved Jaipur, this Nov. 29, 2018. summary from the New York Times Travel Section details much.  It is linked at:  

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/travel/what-to-do-in-jaipur.html

 

The headline is "36 Hours in Jaipur" with this sub-headline: "In India’s Pink City, the streets are filled with palaces, temples and, sometimes, cows. Eat like royalty, shop for jewelry and find a weekend’s worth of bliss amid the commotion."    

 

Here are some of their reporting highlights:  "Nearly 300 years ago, an enlightened maharajah with a penchant for jewels and an eye for architecture built a planned city amid the arid hills of northwest India. Called Jaipur after the city’s founder, Jai Singh II, it arose on a grid of urban sectors not just for royal palaces, but for the workshops of artisans recruited to establish a new commercial hub. These days, gem cutters, jewelry designers and garment-makers are still flourishing in one of India’s most popular tourist and shopping destinations. This is a city where the royals, to this day, occupy a wing of the City Palace, and where mid-rise towers and a new subway system are muscling in on a proud past. Street markets are awash in color and handicrafts, and Hindu temples can be found nearly every 100 yards. Though the streets seethe with beeping and belching traffic, tourists and dung-dropping cows, you can find bliss amid the commotion.  Jaipur is known as the Pink City, built with sandstone and blushed with paint in 1876 to welcome the Prince of Wales."

 

Here is how they summarized the Hawa Mahal, or Palace of Winds:  "The five-story facade of protruding bays with lattice stonework and 365 windows is said to have been built as a screen for the women of the royal court so they could watch unobserved the parades of soldiers and elephants below. It’s a steep climb to the top, where it’s only one room deep, but the view and being ensconced in cupolas mimicking Krishna’s crown are worth it."

 

While we only drove past the Palace of the Winds, not going inside and/or climbing up, it is an amazing sight and site.  Love this below visual view that was posted earlier.  
 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!  Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture.  This posting is now at 112,709 views.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

 

Here is my five-star, super wonderful view of Jaipur's Palace of the Winds.  The structure was built in 1799 by the Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, grandson of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of the city.  Love the amazing colors and architecture style?:

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On the way back into Jaipur after visiting Amer, this large lake has a nice "pleasure palace" located in this scenic setting.:

 

After touring Jaipur's City Palace, we experienced several craft-related visits and tours.  This included my wife getting involved in the art of printing designs on fabric.  These three visual show part of the process with the cut wood designs and then the final results.:

 

 

 

Yes, they have carpet stores in India and Jaipur.  Lots of nice options, but at home we already have various nice, oriental-style carpets, including two purchased in Istanbul in 2006.  Plus, down-sizing is in our future and we did not need more "stuff".  But, good looking!!:

 

Here are a few more for the various crafts and skills of Jaipur.  This includes two from a location where stones are ground, polished, etc., into nice jewelry, etc.  The staffs were nice and friendly, even though we were not purchasing.  Just looking, enjoying and learning!!  The NY Times profile noted: "Jaipur is a global center for cutting and polishing precious and semiprecious gems.":

 

 

 

[TLCOhio]

From Conde Nast's March 2022 Travel+Leisure magazine, they had this headline:   "India's Iconic 'Pink City' Continuously Voted One of the Best in the World".  

 

They detailed: "Jaipur is a destination filled with beautiful palaces, a rich history, and luxury hotels.   Jaipur is continuously named one of the best cities in the world by Travel + Leisure readers. A city of sprawling palaces, it's also home to ornate architectural masterpieces and sweeping views of lush green hills and idyllic lakes. It is the first planned city in India and has earned UNESCO World Heritage status for setting an exceptional example of indigenous city planning. And its streets feel a little more manageable than the congested labyrinths of New Delhi and Mumbai, especially for first-time visitors to India."

 

Great and nice summary.  Below are more visual to prove why we loved Jaipur so very much.  Questions?  Reactions?

 

In doing my various posting on Cruise Critic, i noticed this morning that I just hit the level of 26,000 total posts. Appreciate those who have followed along, offered encouragement, comments and added their insights and experiences.  Keep it coming!!  Don't be shy with any and all questions. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados on the Silver Cloud for 26 days. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.).  Now at 75,085 views:

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Here is a sampling of various sights, activities, buildings, etc., as we moved around colorful Jaipur.:

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As we went to dinner in Jaipur, here was a wedding event space next door to our dining location.  Colorful and interesting??  Second is a visual of a performer in the courtyard of our dining location.:

 

 

These two sunset visuals merit repeating.  First is the Albert Hall Museum with its sampling of the Rajasthan's royal past and heritage.  This museum was built during the late 19th century.  Across the street is a statue of a past Rajasthan ruler on a horse.  Love sunset visuals that work well with the dramatic lighting.:

 

[TLCOhio]

Here is the link to that March 2022 Travel+Leisure guide mentioned for Jaipur and its many options, historic background, etc.:  

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-guide/jaipur-india

 

Of importance, they also shared: "Jaipur is only 167 miles from New Delhi, but it is an entirely different world. Instead of a complicated labyrinth of roads, the city is built on a street grid that makes it easier to navigate than Delhi or Mumbai. Jaipur is a place to explore the palaces of pre-colonial India, dive deep into Indian history, and relax in world class hotels."

 

Also as what was shared earlier was more on the "pleasure palace".  It is Jal Mahal . . . "a majestic palace rising from the center of Man Sagar Lake. This palace seems to float on top of the glassy water, but a close look shows it's partially submerged. Just one of its five stories is now visible."  The building isn't accessible, but you can catch a glimpse of its former glory from shore side.

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Athens & Greece: Visuals, details from two visits in a city and nearby with great history, culture and architecture.  Now at 64,639 views.

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