Jamie Harter: Blog

2019 Dhora Lodge and Jaisalmer

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 19:08:02 GMT

From Udaipur we drove to Dhora Lodge stopping at a beautiful Jain temple along the way. The temple is entirely carved marble and the detail is amazing. Dora Lodge is a very nice tented camp in the desert. Many of the tented camps around Jaisalmer are crowded, loud with music and DJ's, and directly off a major highway. We prefer the desert to be quiet, clean, and peaceful. Dhora Lodge has all of that. Dhora Lodge is relatively new and owned by a nice young couple. The was the only part of our trip when we went on organized excursions. However, there were not many people at the camp so our "group" was just the two of us which was perfect. The highlight was a day trip during which we visited a school - they get a glass of milk for breakfast and for lunch a chapati and some lentils. Plus they walk for miles each way. Two women make 300 chapatis every day. We stopped to visit a local metalsmith. We had lunch with a farm family and participated in their opium ritual. At the end of the day we went to the nearby dunes for sunset. The lodge also has a nightly dance performance which was very good. Then we went to Jaisalmer, a pleasant desert town which was the last stop before heading home. We had a great time in India and would like to go back sometime, perhaps in the south to see a different part of the country. We have not yet been to a worse country for pollution or a better country for food! The people were uniformly very nice to us and very receptive to photography.

This is a link to the photos from Dhora Lodge and Jaisalmer: 2019 Dhora Lodge and Jaisalmer

2019 Udaipur India

Mon, 06 Jan 2020 19:51:49 GMT

From Jaipur we moved along to Udaipur which is much different and very pleasant. Udaipur is a hilly area with multiple lakes. We stayed in a very nice Indian hotel on a quiet peninsula with an outdoor waterfront restaurant that had great food for dinner. The air was much cleaner and the climate was like Spring. Many of my photos are from the market which is very crowded and photogenic. The people, as everywhere, were kind and open to photos. I went twice, the first time with Sue and the second time by myself, not realizing that an overnight rain turns the market grounds into a slurry of animal feces and mud. I did a lot of hopscotch as I worked my way around. Otherwise, wandering around the narrow streets in Udaipur is much less chaotic than in the other cities we visited and makes for a nice morning walk.

This is a link to the photos from Udaipur: 2019 Udaipur

2019 Jaipur India

Thu, 26 Dec 2019 19:56:15 GMT

We spent a week in Jaipur during Diwali. Diwali is the festival of lights, or as Wikipedia explains it: "Diwali symbolizes the spiritual "victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance." It is a nice time to be in Jaipur because the downtown area is very festive and the decorations and people are photogenic.

During Diwali one of the many customs is to set off fireworks, or "crackers" as they say. The custom is unlike our 4th of July with an organized fireworks display. Instead, everyone in the city of 3.1 million people buys an arsenal of fireworks, each sufficient for a small town Independence Day celebration. After dark, the fireworks are set off with gusto. We started watching from the rooftop of the Hilton hotel which gives a great panorama view. Photos are difficult because the fireworks are random in time and place. But worse is that as the night progresses the air quality deteriorates rapidly. It was so bad that we had to abandon the rooftop and seek cover indoors. Even then the air was so bad we could taste the fireworks which continued exploding through the night. The display started out spectacularly but concluded in a post-apocalyptic disaster area. The next day we ventured out only briefly, wearing surgical masks which is not weird but is now a custom in Asian cities.

The main tourist attractions that are photogenic include the Hawa Mahal, the City Palace, the Amber Fort, the step well, various temples, and the street scenes downtown.

As everywhere in India, the people were wonderful and the food delicious.

This is a link to my photos from Jaipur, India: https://jamieharter.zenfolio.com/p1017691985?customize=1

Bhutan and Agra

Sun, 22 Dec 2019 17:37:46 GMT

After getting settled in Delhi, we flew to Paro, Bhutan. Bhutan is an odd little country that seems to be getting more popular with tourists. However, it is an expensive place to go. It is a Buddhist country with strict rules for tourists. You can't just show up at the airport. You must arrange a tour with a government approved travel agency which will provide lodging, a private guide, and a driver. And you must pre-pay the trip by wire transfer of funds to the Bank of Bhutan. We went as a group of two and opted for some very nice accommodations. Bhutan has some spectacular hotels on the high end. Our guide and driver were excellent and very thoughtful. Bhutan has one highway that stretches from the more populated west to the east. It is two lanes at the maximum and officially considered "paved" meaning that most of it is no longer dirt.

Bhutan is almost the opposite of India. India has 1.3 billion people compared to 650,000 in Bhutan. India if horribly polluted and Bhutan is clean. India is an industrialized country with great economic potential whereas Bhutan is an agrarian economy probably not much changed for centuries. India is a religious melting (boiling?) pot and Bhutan is a Buddhist monolith. India has some of the best food on earth and Bhutan some of the worst.

Rajasthan, the part of India where we traveled, was for the most part a bleak dusty, trashy landscape. Bhutan is a verdant paradise. There are very few 2 hour plane rides that could transport someone between more contrasting places. We really enjoyed Bhutan. The people are very open and kind, always helpful. The mountain landscape is beautiful. The air is clean and the rivers are beautiful and untouched.

Our Bhutan itinerary was the "cultural tour" meaning that we visited temples and forts, temples and forts, and temples and forts. All interesting and photogenic although photography inside the temples is forbidden. What we enjoyed more were side trips to schools, factories, and artisans seeing how people really lived. Archery is the national sport of Bhutan and we happened upon the national finals tournament which was impressive.

After Bhutan we returned to Delhi and took the two hour train ride to Agra. Indian trains are another world. Everyone should experience an Indian train. Once is sufficient! Agra is home of the Taj Majal. The Taj Majal is spectacular. Much larger in person than in photos and also hard to photograph. It is especially hard to photograph the Taj Mahal without people in the photos. The Taj Mahal has ~ 7 million visitors per year. That is about 20,000 per day and it is only open for about 12 hours. You can imagine the lines that file into the few entry gates. We were there before sunrise and it was still crowded. Ideally, the sun shines because the morning glow on the marble buildings is impressive. Although the Taj Mahal is enormous, it is intricately carved and the detail work and craftsmanship is stunning.

Here is a link to Bhutan photos: https://jamieharter.zenfolio.com/p1006553315

Here is a link to Agra photos: https://jamieharter.zenfolio.com/p918871042

2019 Update, India, Bhutan

Sat, 21 Dec 2019 00:48:37 GMT

I will be posting a lot of photos soon from our trip to India and Bhutan In October-November. It was a great trip! At the advice of an excellent photographer, I will start adding captions to photos so there is at least a little information for context. Note that the captions are not visible when in the slide show mode but are visible in the standard gallery viewing mode.

During our India trip we started in Delhi and spent a few days to adjust to jet lag. Our time in Old Delhi was definitely the most memorable. Old Delhi is hard to describe but I will try. Old Delhi is like Times Square on New Years Eve but twice as crowded and 90 degrees. Add roaming cows and many stray dogs. Then let in the traffic including push carts, bicycles, tuk tuks, and motorbikes. Narrow the streets into an un-navigable maze. Then throw trash everywhere and set it on fire. Remarkably, nobody seems anxious or in a hurry. The people are extremely nice. The food is outstanding. Old Delhi is a dizzying, disorienting place that is repellent and attractive. We went twice, just wandering around, taking photos, and eating food. It is especially alive at night.

In subsequent posts and galleries, I will post photos from the other main areas we visited in India: Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, and the Jaisalmer area (Dora Lodge). I also have a number of photos from Bhutan.

2019 was an active year of travel with photos from Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Denmark, Sweden, Colombia, India, Bhutan.

2020 will be less active with just one big trip planned so far: Portugal.

Thanks for looking at my photos. This is a link to the Old Delhi gallery: https://jamieharter.zenfolio.com/p973767412