Arrived in Istanbul

The “European” part of my travels are over, well sort of, I am in Istanbul now and technically this part of Turkey is the European side.

So confusing. How do I even categorize this post? Europe, Asia, and Middle East? Is Turkey considered part of Middle East? I only ask this publicly because those are the questions I asked when I was visiting. I am not exactly a complete idiot so I figure there are other average people who don’t know this for sure as well. Turkey technically straddles both Europe and Asia but it is also considered part of the Middle East. That is the quick explanation in case you were wondering.

I have had Turkey on my travel list for a little while but for some reason I always ended up going elsewhere on trips.

I decided that this sabbatical was a perfect time to finally visit.

My start and ending is in Istanbul. For the first part of the stay I decided to stay in the sultanahmet part of town. It is where many of the tourist and historic areas are located. This part of the trip is 5 nights.

My first impressions is I find Istanbul challenging. I am not used to the male attention (yes I am dressed conservatively … at least initially but then when I realized men treated me the same no matter what I wore I started wearing shorts out for comfort to sight see … but not in mosques). Also vendors, and carpet salesmen in particular, are very pushy. I experienced pushiness in India but I never had a salesperson physically grab me and pull me into their store in India. This scenario happened in Istanbul.

What was also similar to India was the male attention. I had men catcall me, stare at my chest, and pretty much 80% of my waiters asked me on a date in some form or another. All I did was be nice and make small talk; nothing to invite the attention. It is a cultural shock since back home I get about zero male attention these days.

Despite the unwanted male advances, I did like my time sightseeing around town. Even though I sometimes wanted a late start, the days were better when I woke up early to go out sightseeing and then back to my hotel for an afternoon siesta. It is hot and a mid-day break in the AC is nice.

Also for people not familiar with cities that are predominately Islamic, you will hear the call to prayer multiple times a day (5 I think) and some are early in the morning. They can be pretty loud so don’t be startled when it happens.

My first meal in Turkey, some sort of lamb stew, and yes this waiter did ask me out.

I take it easy my first day and try to get my bearings in a the nearby area. I’ll post later about some of cool things I see.

India: That night we stayed in a palace…..

That night we stayed in a palace…..

We had one more night before heading home so I asked our travel company to suggest where to stay that would be on the way to the airport. They suggested a night in a palace and recommended two. I researched the reviews and decided Samode Palace was the place for us.

We came to find out that it was not really close by to the airport; it was actually a 3 hour drive; but it didn’t matter. We got to stay in a palace.

Upon arrival I received my second blessing and a necklace.

The price was definitely not economy but that is what we expected for our last night. We were pleased to find that they upgraded us to the honeymoon suite.

We arrived to find the large canopy bed. The room was over a walkway into a courtyard so we had two different views to choose from.

Long corridor with seating area.

Our room had two private balconies.

Beautiful tub and bathroom – everything very clean!

We enjoyed looking at the historical photos on the wall of our room.

One of the views from our window.

Right outside our room we noticed a little temple. It was closed when we arrived but later we came back to find it open.

There was also a lovely seating area outside our room.

After placing our bags down we wanted to explore the nearby village. We started on our walk. Almost within minutes we notice a gentleman following us. He wanted to be our guide and help us. We politely declined. We saw some older buildings along the way. We desired to go into the shops to browse but we were constantly bombarded by people wanted to “help” us and following us around. Kids crowded around us asking for candy – I guess most tourists come prepared with candy gifts. We just had over a week of people constantly asking for money and we had enough. We walked back to the hotel.

This sad donkey and cat were the only two things that didn’t beg us for money in Samode Village. It makes me kind of sad that the tourists cannot sustain some sort of market in the village and they feel the need to beg. I had money to spend but I cannot take the constant harassment.

After whining about our first world problems we returned to the luxury of our palace and explored the grounds.

Beautiful vistas from the Jacuzzi.

One of the pools

The Sish Mahal (room of mirrors)

We noticed early in the day that they were setting up for some sort of event.

We took a peak out our window and it was some sort of party. We got to see some fireworks.

The next morning came and it was time to start another long car ride. As always there is so much to see.

The jeep ahead of us has so many people in it. Some are even hanging out the back. Can’t be very safe with these bumpy roads.

Creepy dolls staring out the window at you at the tollbooth.

We stopped at a rest stop and I get my last Thums up and some yummy cashew chicken. It could have been frozen and mass produced for all I know. I still enjoyed it. I still haven’t gotten Indian food in the US that tasted like the food I had there.

And so is the end of my adventure. I want to go back and hope to get the opportunity to do so. India is such a large country with a treasure trove of culture. I have only hit the tip of the iceberg with this adventure. Maybe again some day India!

Jaipur: Pink City

Nadivalya yantra

During our visit to the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan we got to see one of the finest astronomical observatories from the Mughal period, the Jantar Mantar. Built by Sawai Jai Singh (a Rajput king), it was modeled after one in New Delhi.

The site is full of large equipment used to measure the solar system, time, astrological signs, and also used to determine times for wedding dates.

Jai Prakash Yantra

My astrological sign

Hubby next to his sign

Observation deck of the samrat yantra

sundial

Also that day we stopped by the City Palace. It was a palace for royals but now serves as a museum. It has a pretty impressive armory which unfortunately I have no pictures of.
It is at the City Palace where you will get the idea of why Jaipur is also named the Pink City.

Some work going on for a private event

Love the detail on this balcony

Our tour guide told us that the maharaja would bring a couple of these vases full of Ganges water with him when he traveled. It is hard to see the size from the picture but imagine it is tall as a human. Quite a bit of heavy luggage for his international trips!

Complex designs in the arch.

It will only take a couple hours of your day to visit the City Palace. I recommend you at it to your list.

India: Adventures in Jaipur

Jaipur is a very lively city in India. On the must see list of Jaipur is Hawa Mahal or Palace of the Winds. It looks interesting from the outside but we were told there is not much to see inside. We stopped briefly to take a picture of the building that was used for women of the court to get some air and see the street below; while being shielded from the outside.

Camels

One of the infamous emporiums they try to trap tourists in

Donkey

Orange Man

Street Vendor

Huts on the side of the road

Random palace ruins

Chicken

Street Vendor

Colorful truck

Jaipur: Palace City

One more must see in Jaipur is Amber Fort and Palace. The most popular way to get up the hill is by elephant. Otherwise you will walk up the incline to the palace yourself while dodging elephant poop.
Our tour included the elephant ride and we waited in this long line for our turn.
In retrospect the whole experience made me uncomfortable. They told us that the elephants only go up the hill maximum of 3 times a day (thus why you can only catch a ride until 11:00 am), but my gut feeling is that it isn’t a great life for the elephants. The ride was awkward and uncomfortable and I emotionally felt bad about it the whole time. Between all that and the time we wasted in line for the ride I wish we would have just walked up the hill.

Oh course while we were in line we were harrassed to buy everything.

These cheaply made umbrellas were popular to block the sun during the elephant ride. It does make a charming photo opportunity.

Elephants on the incline.

Getting on. The elephants are decorated in paints.

Great views on the top.

Once up top it was worth the wait. The palace is beautiful.

Turkish Baths

Turkish Bath

Seesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors)
Most impressive is the mirror decor in the palace of mirrors. Little pieces of mirrors glisten with the natural light. It is almost majestic. Quite a sight to see with your eyes but not as easy to capture the intensity with the camera.

Even we are part of the decor….

From the terraces you have views that are fit for a king.

Overlooking the nearby gardens.

And gardens within the fort.

One can see Jaigarh Fort off in the distance.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped for a photo opportunity with this palace in the water. I am not sure one is able to visit the palace but it is nice to look at from afar. It was a nice end to our sightseeing day.