These Po Mo looking structures were used for accurate time telling. The one in the photos is the largest sum dial in the world. Unfortunately it was cloudy the day we went so shadows were pretty non-existent.

These Po Mo looking structures were used for accurate time telling. The one in the photos is the largest sum dial in the world. Unfortunately it was cloudy the day we went so shadows were pretty non-existent.

Animals. Everywhere. In the streets. In houses. On porches. In trash.

Just like the rest of India, we couldn't tell where we were allowed or not. One second we were on a populated overlook, th next we are climbing around on roofs looking for a ladder down.

We reached this fort via underground passageway from Amber Fort. It felt more military centered and had amazing viewpoints. We spent a lot of time running for shade though (note head scarf).

Three forts are located within 12km of Jaipur. We did them all in one day (which was way too fast) but it was nice seeing how the 3 forts related to each other and imagining the communication between them when they were in use. Amber Fort was the biggest and most beautiful. Tourists pay elephants to take them up. Expensive and the loads those elephants were carrying looked too large… Whole families at a time.

This one room thick building was made for the ladies of the palace to observe street life without being seen, so there are beautiful stone screens at all windows. By this point in the trip we had gotten fed up with requests to take photos of us. Just for a general benchmark. No it will not be “just one” photo!

The forts we have visited continue to amaze me. They are built in layers with dozens of balconies and nooks and passageways. This palace had amazing blue tile. The blue room is a “rain room” intended to teach people of Bikaner what it looks like when it rains… Since it only rains every 6+ years in the desert of Rajasthan.

Beautiful little faces. Most of these were taken because their parents requested it. I sometimes have to hide the camera so that I'm not stuck taking photos all day, but I do love the kids' expressions.

Bikaner was a very charming city after Delhi. Take all the good parts of Delhi: markets, colors, textures, old sites… now leave out: pollution, tourist shops, yelling. That's Bikaner. Camels are the machines behind much of the city.

This temple is in the heart of the Old City of Bikaner and has amazing views of the city. We had to beg to be let up but it was worth it. In India, a little cash and asking for what you want goes a long way.

Our camel ride ended at this small mud hut village where our camel driver, his wife daughter, and son stayed. They made us dinner: roti, aloo, daal, rice, and chai. Very good. I was so sun-sick by this point though, my main dinner was water. The sunset over the dunes was amazing.

This wasn't my fav place. It wasn't very well up kept and the site was pretty sprawling with little shade. If the gardens were alive and the water flowing through the channels, I imagine it could be an alright place to live.

This is on our Camel Desert Safari. We spent about 6 hours on camel back, and it was no Cadillac. The best part was seeing the desert villages and the scrubby farm land nearby. Our camel drivers made us a hot lunch over campfire like it was nothing. Fresh roti and all.

I'm not squimish AT ALL but this temple is up there on grossest things I've ever done. It's an active Hindu temple with thousands of pilgrims coming to worship. You are required to enter bare foot and there is no surface not covered in rat feces or decaying rats or half eaten rat food. The smell… And the rats are not healthy in the slightest. I did see an albino rat which is supposed to be excellent luck so it was a trip well spent and I think I left disease-free.

As much as I love India, Delhi was not my favorite. There are definitely beautiful moments, but overall a very crowded city with not a whole lot of beautiful sights to visit. We enjoyed walking around the old city and markets. We didn't see any other tourists and the local people looked confused about what we were doing snooping in their shops.

We stumbled upon this temple while walking to the big market. We were brought around the temple by a Sikh man who told us about the giving nature of the Sikhs. Everyday all day they have free food for anyone. We watched the prep and the giving of the food. The Sikhs branched off from Hinduism in their rejection of the caste system.

My favorite building in Delhi. The dark red stone on bare feet was pretty miserable and had us running for cover but it really was a beautiful active mosque.

I was interested in seeing new Indian architecture but this Baha'i Faith temple was really not worth the effort. It was a one liner. You see it, you get it. It had a few nice moments but nothing to rave about.