Rajasthan & Punjab - During Diwali

We were in Rajasthan for a couple of weeks and visited the forts and palaces of Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur.

 

At the Hawa Mahal

This looks like a beautiful building from far, but inside it is quite cramped. 

We made friends who took our photo and shared it later. I loved this about India, where anyone would be happy to say hello to you and just have a small chat. 

We also went to Rani Ka Bagh, which was beautiful, but not very popular.

Rani Ka Bagh - 2

We visited Amer Fort the next day and this was a huge huge fort on top of a hill.

Sheesh Mahal in Amer Fort.

Jaipur from the top.

Sun set from the top of Nahargarh Fort.

Frangipani Flower and The Flower & the Sunset;-) 

Next we went to see the Jaigarh Palace in Jaipur.

The singer here could sing songs in about 8-10 Indian languages. 

Mehrangarh Palace in Jodhpur. And someone was caught sneaking out of the window.

Jaswant Thada in Jodhpur

Mehrangarh Palace from our hotel's rooftop. The singers were extremely talented.

Next we went to Udaipur, which was better than Jaipur and Jodhpur both. 

Also, because of the lake in the middle of the city, it seems like there is a charm to the city.

We saw a puppet show, which sadly happens to be dying art form. 

The traditional folk dancers of Rajasthan were brilliant.

This lady was exceptional with 7 pots on her head!

Some of the photos while boating on the lake.

City Palace Udaipur is the biggest palace in Northern India, and I was exhausted while walking through the whole place. 

Frangipani Flower is back!

At the gates of the City Palace, Updaipur. 

We visited Saheliyon Ki Bari, and by this time I knew I was having a heat stroke.I ended up with red patches all over my body & couldn't sleep all night.

Diwali was round the corner and we then made our way to Patiala to see Mamaji and Mamiji. 

With my mum's extended family in Patiala

Mamaji and Mamiji

Fireworks, a drink and roof top bar! That's the way Punjab celebrates Diwali. 

Flowerpot!

We then went to Chandigarh and met my university friends. The monster glass in Monu's hand is appropriate to his size. 

With everyone here. Raman, Gagan and Monu's family were exceptional hosts.

And now a photo with the late arrival of Supreet. His family's hospitality for us will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Trupti and I had a brilliant time in Chandigarh. 

And now, we go on our next adventure to South East Asia. Bags packed and ready to go!

• Things I liked about Rajasthan & Punjab
• brilliant hospitality
• extremely humble people
• they go out of their way to help and support you
• they never say NO
• Things I didn't like about India (not just the North)
• unhygienic country
• poor sanitation
• men peeing on roads
• men spitting paan and gutka on the roads
• coked drains and overflowing gutters
• bad traffic 
• constant honking
• broken roads
• bad air quality
• archaic trains that run at 1960s speed 
• really slow pace of things happening in hospitals (and any office) in general