DFW_CK

I see the beautiful "girls of India"!

SFO777

Basically a slab of plywood with metal bars strapped on the back of an elephant, who sways from side to side as the climbs the road. Not a lot of support and cushion as you just try to hold on.

Just posted Mumbai and Elephanta Island on SFO777.com

offerendum

OK, don´t sound great

Dieuwer

Couple years ago I did a "jungle tour" on the back of an elephant in Thailand. Just one hour, but I was happy to get down on the ground. The swaggering and bumping gets real old real fast.

canolakid

Truly appreciate the wonderful photography- thanks for sharing!

The interior building photos with the vibrant colours are particularly noteworthy.

Bretteee

Is it very hot there? Humid?

I think your wife is very smart not to ride on an elephant. A month ago in Thailand a British tourist was thrown off one and died. They are badly treated there apparently in some places. Don't know about India.

I would have thought there would have been more tourists.

It looks fantastic. I really want t go.

How is your tum tum doing? I hear some people have some problems.

HMPS

SFO777 Truly spectacular photos. You have a very good eye for composition. Brings back a lot f Jaipur memories.

You are lucky and got off without damage to your wallet in the silver shop. Good thing you did not go into gold ( 22 carat) jewelry store. You would have been forced to cut the budget for the next trip !

Wish you had more time in Mumbai, would have taken you to right shops. No commissions either !

Speedmarque

Great trip report as always SFO777 with fantastic commentary and photos! Thank you!

SFO777

Thanks Dieuwer. I agree. We did bareback elephant riding in Thailand and it was actually much easier and more enjoyable than the plywood slab saddle.

Thanks so much canolakid.

Thanks Bretteee. Outside of smokey/smoggy Delhi, the weather was great. Not too hot or humid at all. Not sure what the deal is with India and the elephants. Last year, the government caved under pressure from animal rights groups and banned elephant polo. Yet it's OK for elephants to schlepp people up hill to the fort five time a day?? Seems way tougher than lame polo.

Thank you very much HMPS. I really appreciate it. Yeah, I'm happy to have escaped with just the pashmina purchase.

Thanks Speedmarque for your kind comments.

daftboy

What a wonderful report - really exceptional photography showing off the places you visited at their best I think. As always, feel like I am there. And you have experienced the elephant so I don't think I need to do that...!

farbster

This continues to be excellent. It seems that India is so colorful and full of interesting things, that taking a bad picture would be impossible!

You had one pic of the electrical wiring and it reminded me of one of the crazy quotes from Prince Philip from 1999. This is from a newspaper online...

"The Duke of Edinburgh apologised yesterday after the Indian community became the latest group to be offended by one of his ill-judged, off-the-cuff remarks. During a walkabout at an Edinburgh electronics factory, Prince Philip remarked that a fusebox bursting with wires looked "as if it was put in by an Indian". His remark prompted immediate condemnation."

GUWonder

The trip report is rich and wonderful in its images and details.

The Quwwat-ul-Islam, however, is not the first mosque in India. Rather the first mosque in India was constructed a few centuries earlier than that one in North India and was down somewhere along coastal South India. Muslim Arab sailors came to South India in the 700s (i.e, the eighth century AD) with some settling there for trading purposes and some even marrying locally. Mosques were present in India soon thereafter, although some such mosques were just converted buildings or temporary constructs.

Traditional Kashmiri carpet making by hand is a dying art form, as the hand-made carpet-making skills die off as the population of relevant craft-persons ages and alternative economic opportunities drive people (including youth and women) out of the business. Finding the right silk-on-wool Kashmiri carpets to bring home has been quite an interesting adventure for me, whether done at higher-end hotels in India or show rooms in Kashmir, Delhi and elsewhere. [But prices tend to be all over the place. At least the government cooperative sale venues at least advertise fixed prices.] Much the same goes for other Kashmiri handicrafts of the sort that are so often being sold by Kashmiris at major tourist traffic places. Bargaining still has a role, at least at the non-government co-ops selling such goods.

TOMFORD

That Delhi hotel looks very underwhelming... Quite the stark contrast from the Jaipur palace. This is a good look into India for someone who doesn't want to go there. But I am excited to go there for a friend's wedding, and even more excited to experience the feeling of "get me the f out of here" after staying somewhere like Dehli for a few days. I think the moments before leaving somewhere you don't like is a great feeling, much like the moments you lay in bed right before falling asleep. Not to say that I don't like reality.

Also why does Mrs. SFO wear light colored clothing when flying? Isn't she afraid of her clothes getting dirty?

sgh

@SFO777

At BOM airport, the lounge you were in is the Premium Lounge. Some airlines such as QR, EY, EK use this lounge for their business class pax in addition to the airlines that use this lounge for First Class passengers.

In this lounge, the cordoned-off area offering a la carte dining is for First Class pax only. As such, you were entitled to use that dining area while others in the lounge who were in business class were not.

The a la carte dining area is the only feature that separates First Class passengers from the others using this lounge ( called Premium Lounge).

SFO777

Thank you very much daftboy for your kind comments.

Thanks farbster. Too funny story about Prince Philip.

Thanks very much GU Wonder, and for the additional information. The Kashmiri co-op was really interesting to visit and learn about the history of Kashmiri carpet and pashmina making and the generations of family involvement.

Thanks TOMFORD. Enjoy the wedding trip and make sure you get the f our of Delhi, and visit other parts of India. Didn't realize that Mrs. SFO wears a lot of light colored clothing. I think is just depends on the season and destination.

Thank you sgh for the information about the Premium Lounge. Didn't realize that it was a mixed class lounge. I'll have to remember that for next time... in my next life with my next wife.