Josh's Nothern India trip

The fire ceremony and and early morning boat ride in the ancient holy city of Varanasi. This may be the longest continuously inhabited city in the world. They have done this ceremony every night for thousands of years. Many pilgrims come here to dip in the Ganges. Including yours truly. We also saw the first Buddhist center where the Buddha made his first sermon. Got in late to Amritsar after a couple flights tonight. Gallery

We've got to get the ratings up on this channel because surveys are showing people are tiring of architecture shots. Today we offer some racy r-rated content and some action driving videos! The Khajuraho Hindu temples are very interesting. I'd seen photos of temples like this but didn't know what the carvings were like. These temples feature carvings from the Karma Sutra to depict a kind of worldly desire phase before reaching higher enlightenment phases. This all looks pretty good but I think one would have to wear some kind of full body exposure suit in this day and age to participate in this kind of thing at a group level. I ran into some Osho followers performing a ritual. Maybe they had it right all along. Next stop was an active Jain Temple. To me this looks like kind of a combination of Hinduism and Buddhism which I think I could really get behind. The monks roam around the country in groups nude. They say "no dress and no address". They look really happy. ...

Took the train from Agra and then car to Khajuraho, passing through Orchha to see a beautiful Hindu temple complex. I think this style of architecture has a comfortable and relaxed feeling and a more modest scale than the Mughal architecture. It was nice to get out of the Big cities. The train ride was relaxing and smooth. Gallery Correction on the photo description from today: this is actually a palace complex and a memorial structure complex.

Today was an amazing day of Mughal Islamic style architecture in Agra. Starting in the early morning with the Taj Mahal and then the Fort and another mausoleum along the river known as the baby Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal really is all that it is made up to be. Such a giant white monument rising from the flat landscape is almost unreal. Equally impressive is the detail on the marble building. Finished the day with a camel ride. Gallery

Today we drove from Jaipur to Agra stopping outside at the small Royal town of Fatehpur Sikri. This features a major Palace complex from the emperor Akbar the Great. Also a massive gate and tomb complex. From Google: Fatehpur Sikri is a small city in northern India, just west of Agra, founded by a 16th-century Mughal emperor. Red sandstone buildings cluster at its center. Buland Darwaza gate is the entrance to Jama Masjid mosque. Nearby is the marble Tomb of Salim Chishti. Diwan-E-Khas hall has a carved central pillar. Jodha Bais Palace is a mix of Hindu and Mughal styles, next to the 5-story Panch Mahal that overlooks the site. Gallery

Jaipur, capital of Rajasthan - Land of Kings. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Gallery

It was about a 5-hour drive from Delhi to Jaipur with some pretty gritty freeway driving. We stopped at my driver Krishna's country home along the way and had lunch with his wife. This was a really friendly gesture. We had a yogurt based dish with bread for lunch. After lunch I sampled a medicinal leaf from a tree in his backyard. Long herds of cattle and goats were sometimes seen on the side of the road and we passed a monkey feeding area. When we approached Jaipur I had this strange feeling that I was no longer in exactly the same country anymore. Things look different from architecture to clothing to colors and styles. There are camels on the side of the road as well as decorated horses and carts. The surrounding hills are rocky and arid. The sarees women wear here have bolder colors and I would say the color hues are darker on everything in general. The people even look a little different. This is a strange surreal sensation of being in a place that is based on another place bu...

Another mind-blowing day in Delhi. Here is the breakdown: Kutab Minnar Lotus Temple Chattarpur Temple Hanuman mandir Swaminarayan Kutab Minnar is an Islamic site with an amazing tall stone tower. The lotus Temple is interesting in that it represents a relatively new religion coming from Iran that aims to bring the world together. The other two sites are major Hindu temple complexes. Chattarpur Temple Hanuman mandir is interesting in that it features a whole set of different architectures from different areas of India. Swaminarayan is a gigantic temple complex with amazing intricate marble carving work inside. I got blessed in at some point in all this and have an orange spot on my forehead. Not sure if I should watch this off! Gallery

Today was a really amazing day in Delhi. We went to the giant mausoleum that resembles the Taj mahal, and drove by many government buildings including the Modi house and the president's house. We visited a Sikh Temple and the largest mosque in India. The highlight of the day was walking through the crowded streets of Old Delhi and seeing the huge array of products and foods for sale. Some of the traffic was pretty intense with the tuk tuks. Glad I wasn't doing the driving! Gallery 3/4/24, 6:26 AM - Isha Arora: Did you go to chandni chowk and jama masjid In old Delhi ? 3/4/24, 6:56 AM - Josh Painter: Yes, both. The mosque was amazing, such a huge space inside. I liked the water in the center. The market area was really incredible, so dense with tiny shops. 3/4/24, 7:00 AM - Josh Painter: I'm really enjoying just watching TV in the hotel room as well. It is hard to take my eyes off of all these interesting shows. There is a kind of epic series that comes on at 8:00 with Shiva...