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This juvenile Vermilion Flycatcher was on the fence that separates the golf course and the park behind the nature center. It was fairly easy to find and out in the open allowing for optimum photographs. At a distance, it looked somewhat like a Say's Phoebe minus the rufous toned belly.
Additional photos and information about this sighting can be viewed here: ocbirds.com/?p=2057
eBird Rarity checklist: ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S23620577
Photo taken at Mile Square Regional Park, Fountain Valley, CA on May 24, 2015
©Anthony Gliozzo 2015
Credit to "https://1dayreview.com/ "
Must Credit to: 'https://1dayreview.com/' the original site and not Flickr.
Copy Link Address: 1dayreview.com
pictionid58254976 - catalogapollo 9 lunar module checklist - titlearray - filenameimg12917.jpg--Checklist that was onboard Apollo 9 for the Lunar Module Activation. Used and signed by crew members James McDivitt, David Scott, Rusty Schweickart.-- Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
CHECKLIST chega em Goiânia ...
Repórter Moacir Cunha. Um convite a retomar antigos hábitos, com descontração e um toque de romantismo francês. Foi assim o lançamento da coleção Checklist Momentos, para o verão 2012. No primeiro dia de portas abertas, a loja atraiu público de 300 pessoas, que conferiram o encanto discreto das peças expostas. A loja funciona no piso 2 do Goiânia Shopping e traz, ainda, a linha de alfaiataria, uma aposta da grife carioca, agora disponível aos goianos. Tons naturais e o bucólico nas cores encantam pela leveza das peças, feitas para o cotidiano. Celebrar os pequenos eventos da vida, eis a proposta da coleção. Fale com Elisa ... checklistgoiania@gmail.com
eBird Checklist: ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S28490991
Larus glaucoides
Estatuto em Portugal: Acidental (in Guia de Aves de Portugal e da Europa – Assírio & Alvim)
ID
Pt: Gaivota-polar
Local: Matosinhos beach, Matosinhos, Portugal
Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus hendersoni
Short-billed Dowitcher I found at Wenas Lake while I was cleaning up trash there.
Long & Short of it, it's likely Denny Granstrand falsified his checklist from August 12th at Wenas Lake in order to claim credit for my rare bird find. Here's an explanation:
[Edit 8/25: This morning on NPR's Weekend Edition, Ray Brown of Talkin' Birds suggested "Plirding": picking up (plastic) trash while you bird. Here's a link to that segment:
www.npr.org/2018/08/25/641835453/talkin-birds-the-damage-... ]
[Edit 1/2019: If Denny shared any photos on August 12th or 13th of a possible Short-billed Dowitcher at Wenas Lake, please let me know. Barring that, it seems he's lying about his claimed sighting of it on the 12th, in order to falsely claim credit for my find.]
I found this juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher at Wenas Lake on August 14th as I was doing trash cleanup. (Short-billed Dowitchers are rare here.) I took photos and continued with my cleanup. In my excitement, I sent off a phone photo of the image on the LCD of my camera that was of the wrong birdie -- the butt of a Killdeer in flight. Oops. Jeff caught my error immediately. He's good. He always calls it as he sees it. (To be clear, I did take and share photos of he Short-billed Dowitcher that day, but sending off the butt shot by mistake was just funny.) I phoned and emailed other birdwatcher friends, since I am blocked by Denny Granstrand from sharing my finds on BirdYak. BirdYak (a.k.a. BragYak) is Yakima County's bird listserve on Yahoo!, but Denny has control of it, and he censors discussion of birding ethics -- something I, and the American Birding Association think are a critical part of bird watching. He acts as though the ABA Code of Birding Ethics should not apply to him. Still, Denny publishes his friends' abuse of me on BragYak -- quite the gem he is.
The next day, August 15th, I did more trash cleanup and took more photos of the dowitchers. I sent a few photos to 3 duly-respected bird experts, asking them for identification help. They all responded helpfully. I learned something from each of them. All agreed it was a juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher -- rare in Washington away from the coast. Mike Roper took me back out to the lake, and we enjoyed great views of the shorebirds all around us. At one point the Short-billed Dowitcher flew, by itself, right around us, calling loudly as it did. I pointed its call to Mike and pointed out the bird to him as it flew, then showed him where it landed. Their call is a great way to distinguish them with certainty from similar looking Long-billed Dowitchers. Mike took some very nice photos. I also took more photos, adding to a couple thousand from earlier.
Yesterday, the 16th, I finished up my trash cleanup there on my third day of it. John Hebert joined me to watch the shorebirds, including the Long-billed and Short-billed with our binoculars and my Zeiss scope. As during my time with Mike the day before, we had very nice views of the birds feeding and resting, discussing the field marks as we watched and afterward, while we consulted The Shorebird Guide, by O'Brien, Crossley & Karlson, noting the field marks that fitted a hendersoni Short-billed Dowitcher. Respected shorebird expert and author Dennis Paulson had reviewed some photos I'd taken the second day, and described them as a being, "a fine juvenile Short-billed Dowitcher, and I would say without much doubt that because of the vivid and broad markings above it is the subspecies hendersoni that breeds in central Canada." John reported the Short-billed Dowitcher (as hendersoni subspecies) on eBird, including a GPS date/time/location stamped photo I took while he was there. John Hebert's checklist generated an immediate Rare Bird Alert on eBird for Yakima County.
So today (the next day) I receive two emails from good bird watching friends, that Denny Granstrand had just posted this on BragYak (BirdYak):
"Hi Yakkers, Last Sunday morning and this morning I photographed a Short-billed Dowitcher at Wenas Lake. Both mornings it was near the northeast section of the lake that is accessed at the entrance just before the campground. Photos can be seen at: (snip). There is very little mud at the lake. Thick vegetation is following the water as it receeds(sic). Here is the shortbird (sic) list from this morning: Killdeer - 19 Baird's Sandpiper - 3 Least Sandpiper - 2 Semipalmatedd (sic) Sandpiper - 1 Western Sandpiper - 6 Short-billed Dowitcher - 1 Solitary Sandpiper - 1 There was also one Great Egret. Denny Granstrand"
Denny made no mention of John Hebert's report, because John Hebert's report gave me credit for finding and sharing the find, and for the photograph.
ebird.org/view/checklist/S47890598
Denny dislikes me a lot. He can't stand to give me credit for my finds, even indirectly. It seems that Denny saw the rare bird alert yesterday, then went out to the lake this morning, took photos, changed his checklist from a week earlier, on the 12th, by adding a Short-billed Dowitcher and two photos that back-dated. PHOTOS HE HAD TAKEN A WEEK LATER. What a lying POS.
ebird.org/view/checklist/S47807319
Originally Denny Granstrand's report on the 12th from 9:35 - 11:30 a.m. included 2 Long-billed Dowitchers, no Short-billed, and no photos, and no mention of a possible Short-billed Dowitcher. He submitted his original checklist as "complete" -- so didn't leave wiggle room for a rarity that he was stashing away for a week. A checklist by Andy Stepniewski that same day, same place and from 10:05 - 12:43 (overlapping time)
ebird.org/view/checklist/S47808225
also identified 2 Long-billed Dowitchers. Andy submitted it as a "complete" checklist. No mention of a third dowitcher. No mention of a possible Short-billed Dowitcher. Perhaps long-time bird listing expert Andy had missed noticing the striking orange markings of this juvenile, despite how much they contrasted with the markings on the Long-billed Dowitcher alongside it? Andy missed Denny's new, extra dowitcher. Tricky D. The last time I checked, Andy had not yet falsified his checklist to be in cahoots with Denny. [Edit: I asked Andy why he would not call out Denny for his lying about this and other sightings. Andy refused to answer directly. Andy said different people bird differently. That's a shameful misdirect to cover for Denny.
Just prior to the 12th, on the 9th and 11th, I was at Wenas Lake bird watching and photographed 3 Long-billed Dowitchers. My photos all have GPS date/time/location embedded in them by my cameras. I often crop for composition, sometimes adjust overall image brightness. I never lie or alter my photographs or substitute photographs from a different time or place. On the 12th, during Denny's & Andy's visit, there certainly could have been a Short-billed Dowitcher, and one or two fewer Long-billed Dowitchers. Birds fly.
But not so long ago Denny had misidentified an accipiter, publishing his captioned photo in the Yakima Audubon Society's newsletter -- Calliope Crier -- in an online Adobe Acrobat file. Falconer Mike Roper and White-headed Woodpecker Biologist Jeff Kozma both sent Denny messages noting his apparent error. Instead of just saying oops, and correcting it, Denny removed the photo from the Adobe Acrobat file, replaced it with a very similar composition image -- this one of the correct species, and re-uploaded his altered file. Denny then sent an email back to Mike & Jeff:
"Hi Guys, I looked at the COHA photo in the Oct. Crier again. I checked the raptor book and compared photos. I really think the photo in the Crier is of a COHA. If you have time, please take another look: yakimaaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/10/Octo... Thanks, Denny"
Denny had altered the file, then lied to pull the wool over their eyes in his vain attempt to cover up his simple mistake. He just couldn't bring himself to simply admit he was wrong. That's exactly as Andy Stepniewski had described Denny to me a few years ago when we were discussing a bird that Denny had misidentified -- Denny is unwilling to admit when he's wrong. Andy is right. That's rather sad, especially since Denny described himself to the audience at a YVAS monthly meeting as a self-taught expert. Jeff wasn't tricked. Neither was I. I saved copies of both files.
It sure seems likely that Denny (a.k.a. Deny) Granstrand (a.k.a. grandstander) took photos this morning (Friday, August 17, 2018) of the Short-billed and Long-billed Dowitchers, then used those photos from today, adding them to his checklist from the 12th. Poof. Time travel. ... like a rug. Falsifying eBird data intentionally.
He has proven to me too many times that he cannot be trusted to be truthful or ethical.
As Yakima Audubon Society Board Member and Christmas Bird Count Coordinator for the Yakima count, Denny told me places to go for my route. When I scouted one, I found a bunch of No Trespassing signs, old and new. It was clear they wanted no trespassing, and had wanted no trespassing for a long time. I went to Denny and asked from whom I could get permission. He tried to get me to instead just trespass. I refused, despite his argument that that's how they always had done it, and despite him trying to temp me with the prospect of finding Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches there. I used the photo I'd taken of those No Trespassing signs and made it the contact image for Denny. Denny also described how he counted a pond outside of the Christmas Bird Count circle. When I created an online Google map of the count circle that included Denny's special extra-limital pond, Denny asked me to hide it. He wanted me to falsify the data. I did not.
Again, maybe this time Denny is actually telling the truth. I've edited checklists, both for birds I'd at first forgotten I'd seen, and for ones where I realized my initial identification was incorrect, or was rare and I didn't have enough good evidence to prove. When someone helps me with an identification or corrects my error, I note it in the eBird species description, so it can help others who might face similar challenges.
I have no doubt Denny could have made a simple, honest mistake of omission. It's a shame we'll probably never know. It's a shame he won't give due credit. He has lied enough to me and about me that I will always doubt his honesty. I doubt he'll ever change. He will probably always try to censor my discussion of bird watching ethics. Even if I were to get dementia, I doubt I'd ever decide that ethics aren't for me. I've no interest in joining the Trespasshole club.
If Denny proves he is telling the truth this time, I will note it here. If you know Denny, can you imagine that he'd keep quiet for 5 days about a Short-billed Dowitcher that he found?
Please always consider the sensitivity of birds, nearby humans, and the environment.
Recently I asked Scott Downes for an apology. He's one of a pair of competitive listers who tricked me into helping them cheat on their Big Day. The other lister, Luke Safford, has also not apologized. In response to my request for his apology, Scott admitted his wrongdoing, but said 'It doesn't matter anyway, because Eric and I beat that record.' Scott's response is Pathetic and inexcusable.
I wish that they and other problem listers would stop their dishonest and disingenuous arguments in defense of their bad and illegal habits. Once you're caught cheating on your Big Day, you're not morally qualified to do another. Leave that competition to decent folks. Perhaps as a state biologist and a preacher, Scott Downes & Luke Safford think they're exempted from ethical constraints while bird listing and while attacking me to try to cover their deeds.
Scott Downes also has never showed the photos he took that day of their claimed (relocated) Tricolored Blackbird. At first he claimed his photos "didn't turn out". At the time of his apology this summer, he changed his story again -- he claimed that he did not even have a camera with him during his invalid Big Day. That flies in the face of what Luke Safford said to me on the phone at Lateral C when they were looking at the claimed Tricolored Blackbird. Luke had phoned me from there. I'd asked him to call me when they'd quizzed me earlier in the day. I wanted to know so I could bring my wife down to see it if it had stuck around. Luke said that as we were speaking Scott was photographing the purported Tricolored Blackbird.
My guess is his photos that day showed that their claimed Tricolored Blackbird was not a Tricolored Blackbird -- if so, ironic since they'd cheated on their Big Day to "get" it. Scott volunteered that he would remove the Tricolored Blackbird from his list. I doubt he has. I also doubt that he has contacted Washington Birder (the Knittles) to finally acknowledge his & Luke's cheating & remove their illegitimate Big Day from the records. I think that Scott Downes' & Luke Safford's names should stay on the Big Day record books, with a zero quantity, and with the explanation that they were disqualified due to cheating.
To Yakima County's problem listers: Don't cheat on your Big Days. Stop pishing and using playback on rare and sensitive birds and in heavily birded areas. Give others credit for their finds. Don't lie and intentionally mislead to cover your misdeeds, misidentifications, and illegal birding practices. Slipping in a different photo when you screwed-up, inserting a photo you took on a later date to your eBird checklist, trying to get me to trespass for your Yakima CBC, blocking links to American Birding Association articles about birding ethics, hiding your trespassing, lying about your apology, using my Dad's death to take a stab at me -- shame on you.
Since bird listing is dominated by white males, it's sadly unsurprising that abusive behavior by them is accepted by their ranks.
Please Follow this Code and Distribute and Teach it to Others ABA Code of Birding Ethics.
[Edited 8/24 to remove Denny's nickname, Grandstander, and replace it with his proper last name, Granstrand. I don't recall who first told me his nickname is Grandstander.]
left to right
blank big brother paris globby, testshot flocked sweater globby, first testshot, thrashout first release green, worker globby- most workers in japan wear these white gloves so that and the black boots and navy pants were the inspirations behind this gargamel release, SDCC globby, new year globby, big brother paris, rainy day crystal.
J.L. and Barbara Hammond - Lord Shaftesbury
Pelican Books A48, 1939
Cover Design: Edward Young
"Latest Penguins & Pelicans - January 1939 - March 1939"
Just a record shot of this Pelagic Cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus pelagicus), Shithoushan, Taiwan
Ebird checklist:
ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S27420051
The pelagic cormorant (Phalacrocorax pelagicus), also known as Baird's cormorant, is a small member of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae. Analogous to other smallish cormorants, it is also called the pelagic shag occasionally. This seabird lives along the coasts of the northern Pacific; during winter it can also be found in the open ocean. Pelagic cormorants have relatively short wings due to their need for economical movement underwater, and consequently have the highest flight costs of any bird.
Source: Wikipedia
pictionid58258133 - catalogapollo 9 lunar module checklist - titlearray - filenameimg12960.jpg--Checklist that was onboard Apollo 9 for the Lunar Module Activation. Used and signed by crew members James McDivitt, David Scott, Rusty Schweickart.-- Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Credit to "https://1dayreview.com/ "
Must Credit to: 'https://1dayreview.com/' the original site and not Flickr.
Copy Link Address: 1dayreview.com
From the autumn 2016 trip to Vietnam:
If ever there were a good way to finish up a trip, this particular Sunday in October would be it. Before arriving in Hanoi, I honestly had exceptionally low expectations. A bit like Saigon, if you are to go online and try to look up a list of places to visit – basically a tourist’s stock photography checklist, as it may be – you don’t find much that’s appealing. Well…I didn’t, anyway, and as a result, I had pretty low expectations for Hanoi.
The charm and beauty of Hanoi, however, isn’t in any one particular place. It’s in the experience of the entire city. (I’d say the same for Saigon, but multiply that a few times for Hanoi.) On this day in the Old Quarter in particular, I kept finding myself thinking, “Oh, my God, I shouldn’t be this lucky as a photographer…” Today ended up being mostly about people, with a little food and historical locations mixed in.
As I mentioned in the last set of posting, today would start off a bit sad with Junebug leaving for China a day before I would. So, we were checked out of our room by 6:00 in the morning or so. The breakfast at the Art Trendy was wonderful. Buffet with a mix of made-to-order omelets mixed in. Strong work, Art Trendy, strong work…
When June left, I really had nothing to do since it was still six in the morning and I was temporarily homeless as I had to switch hotels. So…I sat around the lobby for about two hours (possibly slightly awkward for the poor girls working there, but oh, well; I had to sit somewhere).
Around 8:00, I finally dragged my old bones out of the hotel and walked the five to ten minutes down the street to the Aquarius, where I politely asked them to hold my non-camera bag until I come back around 1:00 in the afternoon to check in.
After that, I was finally off with my cameras to enjoy an early Sunday morning in the bustling Old Quarter. On the street where the hotel is situated are a number of restaurants where locals were jammed in to enjoy noodles, steamed buns, and the like. It was wonderful to be among that crowd (though someone tried to scold me ever so slightly for taking pictures of people eating).
Since this was right next to St. Joseph’s Cathedral – and it was Sunday morning – I found my way back into the church where we crashed the wedding the afternoon before and realized that I almost got locked into Sunday mass while walking around taking pictures. So…I stayed. I prayed. And my prayer was answered when I realized the side doors and even the back door were open. (Ok…I didn’t really think I was locked in a church, but it did feel like it a little bit.)
Upon exiting the church, a handful of frames under my belt, I walked along the lovely streets photographing shops and people. At Caphe, I piggybacked on someone else’s photo shoot – it looked like they were doing a promo for the place, or possibly just a personal shoot for five women, though I have a feeling it was the former. At any rate, I was quite pleased with that little set and am presenting quite a few of those here, even if they’re a little redundant.
My ultimate goal with this wandering was to find my way to the Hanoi Hilton. Now, I’m not taking about the hotel chain, of course, but rather the prison that U.S. prisoners of war sarcastically called the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War. (This is the prison where Senator John McCain was interred while a POW, and there are one or two pictures to that effect here.)
This prison has a particularly interesting history (and morbid since…well…it’s a prison). It’s about a hundred years old and was founded by the French colonialists around the turn of the 20th century. During the first 50 years of its history, the French imprisoned Vietnamese insurgents and those who wanted independence. In the eyes of the French…renegades (hence the imprisonment). In the eyes of the Vietnamese – especially the current government – patriots and national heroes. If they were truly freedom fighters, then I would probably side with the current government on that one.
The French even had a guillotine installed here and overcrowding was a major problem. There were plenty of escape attempts, and more were successful than you may think, which is a little peculiar.
After the battle of Bien Dien Phu and the ejection of the French from the north (and before the U.S. got involved in the south), the prison changed hands and was under control of Ho Chi Minh. During the Vietnam War, it became one of the main prisons for U.S. POWs, as I alluded to above.
The propaganda claims that the Vietcong were absolutely humane and decent with U.S. prisoners, allowing them to observe their religious rites (Christmas celebrations, etc.), allowed prisoners to smoke and enjoy leisure (board games, basketball, etc.), and claimed they were well-fed.
This is certainly how it’s presented in the prison/museum currently. If you were to go online, though, and try to find a contrary report, you would find that this was all coerced and staged to make it appear as if things were on the up and up. (For anyone curious, per my Vietnamese friends, the general education in Vietnam today is how terrible the French and U.S. were for colonizing and torturing the country and keeping it from its independence.)
So, what’s the truth of what really happened? Who knows? Outside of firsthand accounts, it’s impossible to know for certain and even then, memory can be a tricky thing. I tend to like to say the truth is always somewhere between two opposing viewpoints, no matter what the topic may be.
From an impartial and purely photographic point of view, the prison, currently a museum/memorial, is an interesting place to spend an hour or two. Some of the exhibits seem a bit cheesy, but some are quite tasteful and well done. There’s also an informational video. You’ll have to see this with a bit of imagination (the prison, that is), as at least half of it has been leveled for high rise buildings. At least there’s some tangible piece of it left to visit, including the main gate (Maison Centrale).
After about two hours here at the Hanoi Hilton, I walked over towards the Opera House to get a few daytime shots but, really, to get lunch at El Gaucho. I was looking forward to a proper steak. The prices were astronomical (though justifiable based on what I ate), though I just opted for a steak salad. It was so good I contemplated going back for dinner, but had other plans.
With a happy stomach, I went back to finally check in at the Aquarius Hotel and got my workout huffing up six flights of stairs each time I went out. I relaxed here for a few hours until 4:00 when a dear friend of mine came to town to see me.
Ngan and I had an ice cream at Baskin Robbins right in front of St. Joe’s before heading over to the Temple of Literature. This is a temple dedicated to education and, bless my soul, it’s a place where university graduates come for graduation pictures.
On this particular day – a warm, sunny, late Sunday afternoon – it was packed with college students. And it was beautiful to see that many people happy, full of hopes and dreams, and dressed in either cap and gown or traditional Vietnamese clothes. In short…I had a field day shooting for an hour here.
Around 5:00, Ngan had to head back to school, and I went back to my hotel. I had one more meeting. Hoa, who traveled around Thailand & Cambodia with me in May, flew back to see me this evening. She picked me up at 6:00 on her scooter and rode me all around Hanoi by evening.
She started by taking me to Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum (which I consider a lot more photogenic in its setting than the Great Gangster’s Mausoleum on Tiananmen Square). This one, at least, was in a parklike setting. At evening, it’s well-lit and you can find people relaxing in the grass in front of it. During the day, you can visit and there are quite a few buildings behind the mausoleum that you can also see.
After a few minutes here, Hoa took me by West Lake – the largest lake in Hanoi, as I mentioned yesterday – and just drove me around for over an hour, it seemed. My impressions that Hanoi (even out of the Old Quarter) seemed to be a good place to live – though I’d be concerned about the air pollution – and people here seemed to be happy. Also…Vietnamese really love their coffee.
We finally returned to the Old Quarter for dinner at one of the famous restaurants she recommended and she treated me to a wonderful dinner. I can’t recall what we ate (the Vietnamese names of it, anyway), but it was nice.
After dinner, she drove me over towards the Opera House and then, finally, we stopped by Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of the Quarter and walked around the lake. It was getting close to 10:00 by this time, and I wanted to get back to the hotel to get a few hours sleep before waking up for my early flight in the morning. Hoa came to the airport with me to see me off.
If ever there were a great way to finish a great trip, this was it. I absolutely loved Vietnam – honestly, a lot more than I imagined I would, even with every single person I know who’d ever come here saying what a fantastic country this is – and would gladly come back. This seems to be one of the kinds of countries that you would never get tired of or, if you did, it would sure take a long time. With that, I’ll bid goodbye to Vietnam for now with the hopes that I’ll someday return to this land of amazing food, landscapes, and people.
As always, thanks for dropping by and viewing these pictures. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments and I’ll answer as I have time.
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Seen at National Air and Space Museum, Washington, District of Columbia. The aircraft in the back is an American Airlines DC-7.
This mirror, part of an exhibit area on commercial aviation in the US in the 1950s, goes through a number of checklists for an air stewardess before she takes flight. In addition to these daily checks, air stewardesses had to meet strict requirements, including maximum age, marital status (single only), height and weight, beauty ("just below Hollywood actress standards"), and more. Additionally, studying at least two years of nursing and being white were other requirements.
While many Asian airlines (Korean Air is the absolute worst offender) institute similar requirements for its air stewardesses even today (and that is one reason why the overwhelmingly white male business traveler market prefers them), I prefer the more modern approach used in the US and other Western countries, where a person's temperament and on-the-job experience matter more. Today's flight attendants are just as likely to be married, male, and/or a person of color.
I decided to put my own reflection in the mirror for this shot. After all, on more than a few occasions, I entertained the idea of applying for a flight attendant position myself, though given my own temperament, I decided against it in the end every time. Though I still think it could've been a delightful surprise when passengers board a flight and they hear my voice saying "on behalf of all of us at United Airlines, I want to thank you for choosing the Lesbian-Friendly Skies today."
Footnote: a decade later, in 2023, I would finally apply to be a flight attendant for the first and last time, with United. I went through two rounds of interviews but did not make it; I would end up instead with the California state government.
Last stop in Rajasthan: Udaipur. Rajasthan is known for its palaces, forts, and history. Udaipur is no exception. It doesn’t have a “kingdom” to speak of as Jaipur, Jodhpur, and Jaisalmer did, but there is a City Palace, a museum now, which happens to be the state’s largest with a façade 244 meters long and 30 meters high. The palace was begun by the city’s founder, Maharaja Udai Singh II, and completed by subsequent maharanas. There is a uniformity to the palace and it’s not terribly different from some of the others we’d seen: cupolas, courtyards, balconies, towers. All in all, it’s a nice visit and certainly a “must see” if you have a tourist checklist for this town.
The biggest difference between Udaipur and the previous cities we’d visited is the setting. In southern Rajsasthan, Udaipur (population around half million) is nestled among the Aravalli Hills and is on the eastern shore of Lake Pichola. Now, this lake was always here, but not quite at these dimensions. It was enlarged by Maharana Udai Singh II (city founder) to its current size of 4 km (north-south) by 3 km (east-west) by flooding the village of Picholi. Being manmade (or…man-enlarged), it’s shallow and can dry up completely during severe droughts.
Because of its setting, Udaipur is considered one of the most romantic spots in India and, while I haven’t seen much of India, I can certainly say that I can see how this could/would be a romantic spot. My Udaipur experience began when we arrived via overnight bus around 4:00 in the morning on Friday, October 2.
Udaipur was one of the cities where I was not able to actually reserve a guesthouse, but I did have one in mind (Lal Ghat Guesthouse) and we hopped in a tuktuk and made our way there now. Bless their souls and wonderful Indian hospitality for opening the door before the sun had come up and giving us a comfortable – though like most other places, bare necessities – room. (I’m always pleased and impressed, both in China and India, that hotels allow you to check in very early without charging an extra day.)
Needing a few hours of actual sleep, since the bus sleepers felt more like a sarcophagus than a sleeper, we got a slightly late-morning start to the day. The Lal Ghat Guesthouse is located just north of City Palace and on the shores of Lake Pichola. From our room, if you crane your neck just a little bit, you could see the lake (with some flowers in bloom) and the Lake Palace. More on that later.
For now, the first order of business was to find food. I can’t recall the name of the restaurant, but I enjoyed it so much I ate there a second time on my own. It was a few doors south of the guesthouse and, like the guesthouse, was lakeside and afforded wonderful views. Fortified by a delicious lunch of chicken biriyani and reshmi chicken, we made our way to the City Palace (and Palace Museum) and wandered around there for a while.
It’s a very nice palace, mind you, but I was beginning to become a bit anesthetized to grandiose palaces by this point, having been to Jaipur, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur in the past seven days. Though this is the largest, it didn’t rank as my favorite. (Jaisalmer Fort was my favorite as it’s a living fort, followed by Mehrangarh in Jodhpur, then City Palace here in Udaipur; Jaipur didn’t really have a comparable palace to speak of, though it’s the capital of the state.)
Though I was starting to suffer palace fatigue, I still did enjoy myself quite a bit, though I know I was rushing a little. I was more interested in finding “unique” here, which was only with views of the lake. Other than that, it was standard fare for palace museums with the women’s quarters, various displays, and so on. However, it is a pretty building, and I’m certainly glad to have gone there.
From City Palace, we walked out the south gate to take a boat ride around Lake Pichola. This is where Udaipur comes into play in pop culture. James Bond fans may recognize the scenery around Udaipur and Lake Pichola in particular as the main setting from the movie Octopussy. (It was said to have been an Afghan palace in Octopussy.) You’d also have to be a pretty die hard 007 fan to have seen that movie, I think; it’s usually ranked among the worst of the Bond franchise. But, I digress…
There are really two islands in the middle of Lake Pichola: Jagniwas with its Lake Palace Hotel (Taj Lake Palace) and Jagmandir with its own palace. I’ll start with Jagniwas. It’s not a private island, but you can only go there if you are a guest of the hotel…with rooms that start from 40,000 rupees/night. (I don’t know the high end, but that translates to close to 4,000 RMB or over $600 USD/night for the cheapest available. I’ve seen pictures and, while beautiful, I’m not Daddy Warbucks, and don’t expect I ever will be…so will just settle for their promotional pictures on their website: www.tajhotels.com .)
Jagmandir, on the other hand, is an island you can visit, and we did. The boat left the mooring south of City Palace, went northward to give a close-up view of City Palace from the lake, along with Bagore-ki-Haveli up to the north end before veering south and around Jagniwas and docking at the north end of Jagmandir, 800 meters south of Jagniwas (and roughly in the west central part of the lake).
Jagmandir’s palace was built in 1620 by Maharana Karan Singh, and was expanded by his successor, Maharana Jagat Singh. Not much has changed from those days until recently when it was convereted into a small hotel (nothing like the neighboring Taj Lake Hotel). For the Bond aficionados, the Taj Lake Hotel was the main palace of Octopussy, and I believe Jagmandir’s palace is where Bond stayed in the movie. There was also some filming at the nearby Monsoon Palace, but we didn’t have the time to visit there.
Jagmandir didn’t offer much at all in the way of things to do. Once you get to the island, you’re pretty much limited to wandering around an interior palace courtyard (where you can have very, very overpriced drinks and possibly a bite to eat, though the drink prices kept me from looking further, so I’m not certain). After staying in the courtyard as long as you’d like – and the views from and in the courtyard are lovely, though don’t require too much time or effort – you can walk outside to the boat dock where there is also an outer garden that’s quite pleasing, and affords beautiful views of the wooded Aravalli Hills in the west.
After an hour or two on Jagmandir, we finally took a boat back to the mainland (a whole 10-15 minute ride, tops), and then tooled around the area near City Palace and the guesthouse. We eventually had dinner at a rooftop restaurant down the lane from where we stayed which had a nice view of the lake with its shimmering palaces (well-lit by night) and a bit of a nice view for sunset. The best sunset views, I would say, would have been from the islands, though – especially Jagniwas – as you could have an unobstructed view of the sun setting over the hills with the lake in the foreground. The food at the restaurant, like most every other restaurant we ate at, was spectacular. It was a good way to end the first day in Udaipur.
Saturday morning came along and we didn’t have much planned. I was actually glad to spend the majority of the day alone. After running a few errands, I went to Jagdish Temple. This is an “Indo-Aryan temple..built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1651. The wonderfully carved main structure enshrines a black stone image of Vishnu as Jagannath, Lord of the Universe; there’s a brass image of the Garuda (Vishnu’s man-bird vehicle) in a shrine facing the main structure.” (Per Lonely Planet India.) This is one of the smallest temples I’ve ever been to, though the details were delightful. I was pretty impressed with how intricate the temples were both here and at Jaisalmer.
After a quick half hour at Jagdish Temple, I went back to roaming the streets of Udaipur, eventually finding my intended destination, the Bagore-ki-Haveli. This is a pretty large haveli in the Gangaur Ghat area. It was built by a Mewar prime minister and has 138 carefully restored rooms around courtyards on three levels. These days, it’s kind of a klitschy museum. There are a few rooms that have interesting exhibits of Indian musical instruments (a sitar, obviously, and many others that I don’t recall the names of), and exhibits with turbans – including the world’s biggest turban. (This, by the way, was a bit strange; don’t know why anyone would want such a huge turban. Anyway, it was in a glass case, didn’t photograph terribly well, and none of us are the worse off for that.) The nicest part about this haveli is that, like the guesthouse, it was on the water’s edge, so had a few rather pleasant views.
After finishing up here, I wandered back to the previous day’s restaurant for lunch (and would even eat dinner there on Saturday night; they were probably happy with me…). For either lunch or dinner, I had hariyali murg tikka and cheese naan. Now…I would gladly eat murg tikka (chicken pieces generally made in a tandoor) any day of the week. Hariyali…is a coriander-yogurt-mint marinade. It’s heavenly. I really need to learn how to make that one, though I don’t really have any way to make tandoori chicken.
The afternoon and early evening was spent eating very well and relaxing, and really waiting for the last thing I had planned for Udaipur: Dharohar. This is a cultural event at the Bagore-ki-Haveli that hosts Rajasthani folk dancing, singing, performance, and so on. It’s an hour long and pretty interesting, in addition to being in a nice setting.
Before bidding farewell to Udaipur, I returned for the last time to Lake Pichola to try to get a few pictures of the Lake Palace and Jagmandir by night. A few turned out alright, but not spectacularly.
All told, Rajasthan was an absolutely brilliant way to spend a week, and I was looking forward to the last few days in Uttar Pradesh, beginning with the Taj Mahal in Agra after yet another long overnight train ride across the Indian countryside.