Amber Fort - Rajasthan, India

Amber Fort (pronounced 'Amer') dates back to the late 16th century when construction of the Fort was started by Raja Man Singh I. However, the Amber Fort took its present form during the reign of Raja Jai Singh I.The marvelous decoration of the Amer Fort is influenced by both the Hindu and Muslim styles of ornamentation, and the intricate carvings and paintings are quite spectacular. The fort is picthed on the side of a mountain, and the elephant ride to the top was a definite highlight!

So, without any further delay, here are some pictures from our day trip to the fort :)

To read more about Amber Fort, you can click here.

Love,

Ladybird x

Alsisar Haveli- Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Hi all! Back in Sydney safely and can now finally get back to blogging so I can share some of my India trip highlights with you :)

Here are some pictures from Jaipur in Rajasthan, India. Jaipur is known as the pink city because of the many pink palaces and historical sites. Pink is also considered to be the colour of welcome and hospitality.

There are few places in the world where one can visit a city and stay in a palace instead of a regular hotel - Jaipur is one of those places, and staying at a heritage haveli made our time in Jaipur very special indeed. It has been special for another reason - see, the royal family in ownership of the haveli is in residence along beside us. But let me explain how this is possible... Before the British arrived in India, the country comprised many princely states, and within those there were princely regions/areas. So for example, where there is the King and Queen of all of Rajasthan, there is also the royal family of specific areas within the state. So anyway, this is how it was before the British arrived. And the royals' income would have come primarily from taxes. But when the British came the royals had to give up their royal powers, but were permitted to hold onto their titles. But to make a living (no more tax income!), many have opened up what would have been private palaces to the tourism trade.

So if you are visiting Jaipur, my recommendation is to skip the big 5 star establishments and head for a heritage hotel like this one - it will make for a very memorable stay. http://www.alsisarhaveli.com/

Private courtyard

Dining hall & restaurant

Swimming pool

After dinner puppet show

Bye for now!

Ladybird x

Groceries in Gujarat, India

It's been a little while since my last post from Singapore and I am at last here in India! India - truly a land of contrasts, and a place where your senses are bound to be overloaded. It is a country that deeply affects its visitors. No matter what kind of person you are, India will leave a strong impression on you - you may love it, you may hate it. For me personally? I love it.

I have been looking forward to blogging about India for a long time but now that I am actually here it is proving to be a little difficult. Internet access is not always readily available, and sometimes photography of food is sometimes not just practical. However.. I will endeavour to share with you what I can.

So I'll start with where we landed - Ahemadabad in the state of Gujarat. Gujarat is in western India and is a vegetarian state of approximately 20 million people. Here we are fortunate enough to be able to stay with family which of course makes for a very homely stay in a place. One thing I love about Gujarat is that as a vegetarian state, one is spoilt for choice when it comes to food. The variety of traditional vegetarian foods available is mind blowing! I also saw so many fruits and vegetables that I had never seen let alone eaten before, so it was quite an adventure.

Most middle class Indian families in Gujarat and Rajastan purchase fruit and vegetables from mobile grocery vendors. These men wheel their carts (or lahri) through the streets calling out to advertise their wares. All you have to do is open your front door and you have a fruit and veg shop right in front of you. Beats going to a supermarket if you ask me! I just had to take a picture of this, and the vendor was only to happy to oblige.. happily posing with his wares :)

As for the quality - no doubt some of the best fruit and veg I have seen and tasted in a long time. The first thing that struck me was that they did not look perfect, and they were a lot smaller than I am used to seeing in Australia. However, this is because they are organically grown. The bananas were sooo tasty, and the tomatoes were good enough to eat whole, the carrots were almost red in colour.. I could go on and on, but alas my soon to expire internet connection prevents me from doing so!


Love,

Ladybird x