INDIA, JAIPUR: CITY TOUR

  December 29, 2025

We don't usually believe in quitting while the sun is still shining, so we ended the day with a city tour of Jaipur, led by a new guide booked through Audley Travel. His day job is teaching high school, and he was great!

Jaipur, by the way, is the capital and largest city in the northwestern state of Rajasthan. With a population of over three million, it is also the 10th largest city in the entire country. It is known as the "Pink City" due to the dominant pink color of the buildings in the old city. Along with Delhi and Agra, it is part of what is known as the "Golden Triangle" tourist circuit.

Jaipur appears in popular western culture. Paul McCartney wrote a song entitled "Riding into Jaipur" that is mostly Indian-themed sitar music with just a few words: "Riding into Jaipur, Riding through the night, Riding with my baby, Oh what a delight."  The city is also the setting for the 2011 movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its 2015 sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

We began at the Hawa Mahal, or "Palace of Winds," built in 1799 from red and pink sandstone by the grandson of the founder of the city. The palace has 953 windows. The iconic view that we saw is actually the BACK of the palace!

It's always good to start off with a snack (or two), and our guide waited in line for this fried something  (I can't remember what), served to us on a used page from a child's workbook, and then another treat served on a leaf. 

INDONESIA - SUMATRA, MEDAN: MAIMOON PALACE, GUNUNG TIMUR BUDDHIST TEMPLE, AND CABE HIJO

 July 1, 2023

After a 17-hour flight to Singapore, a 15-hour time change, and a full day on our feet, we really needed sleep, but we got up at 4:30 AM, pulled ourselves together and called a car, and made our way to the airport for a 7:00 AM flight to the city of Medan, located on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. The flight itself was just 1 hour 5 minutes.

Arrival was complicated. We got in line at Passport control, only to be sent back to buy a 30-day "Visa on Arrival." In all our correspondence with the travel company and research online, this was not mentioned. The price was $35/person, and of course they required cash (no credit), and we had yet to visit an ATM in Indonesia to get some cash, so we had to dig out US dollars. 

We presented our VOA at Passport Control, after which we had to fill out and print a customs report, then go through customs, then have our carry-on luggage x-rayed. We think that was the most steps we have ever had to take on entry to a foreign country.

I had checked a bag, so we made a bathroom stop (apparently women are identified by their shopping bags here?) and then waited for my suitcase, hoping it wasn't one of the suitcases dangling artistically from the ceiling. I was happy to see it come rolling out on the conveyor belt.

ASHGABAT, TURKMENISTAN: MONUMENTS TO INDEPENDENCE, A WEDDING, AND A MONUMENT TO EGO

Many countries have a Monument to Independence, but Turkmenistan's, which commemorates their independence from Russia on October 27, 1991, is just as unique as you would expect it to be in a country full of unusual, mind-blowing monuments. Like many other monuments in Ashgabat, the tower is 91 meters (299 feet) tall in honor of the year of independence. Inside there are exhibition halls depicting the history of the region--which we did not have time to see.

Supposedly the architectural style was inspired by traditional Turkmen yurts and traditional female headgear. The spire also looks like the minaret of a mosque. On the other hand, I've read that the monument is sometimes referred to by visitors as "The Plunger," and I think it looks like an alien's helmet:

We were very fortunate when we were there to see a large gathering of real live people!!!! This was by far the largest group of locals we saw during our time in Ashgabat. They were celebrating the wedding of the couple in the center of the photo:

It was fun to see the guests wearing their beautiful traditional clothing, which is similar in style to what we saw them wearing in the street (when we saw anyone), but perhaps a little more ornate:

The car (white, of course, like everything else in the city) was all gussied up for the special occasion as well:

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN: PANFILOV PARK WAR MEMORIAL AND THE SILK ROAD EXPRESS TRAIN

A large park surrounds the Ascension Eastern Orthodox Cathedral, and in that park is a war memorial that honors both the Bolshevik Revolution (1917-1920) and World War II (1941-1945).

The memorial is a long, stone-paved mall bordered by dense foliage and containing several interesting works of art.

This is the entrance on one end of the park. On the other side of this brick wall . . .

. . . is a giant relief of fifteen World War II soldiers (one for each Soviet republic) who seem to be bursting out of the wall. The inscription on the base translates to something like, "Great Russia will never turn back; Moscow is behind us!"