Now let’s look at the United Arab Emirates. The story is quite different. Modern, streamlined, and welcoming. These people have decided that they are building a future with endless possibilities. It is as if they have taken their direction from Herzl- “if you will it; it is no dream.” They are building the biggest, the boldest, the best. They welcome innovation. The accomplishments of this country, founded in 1971 are staggering, but what is most impressive is the way in which we Israelis are greeted and treated. I am not exaggerating (much) when I say it’s like a family reunion. People are happy to see us, anxious to accommodate us, interested in hearing whatever we can share with them. They have a culture of acceptance and kindness. What’s more, the people are respectful, quiet, relaxed. Work gets done, but one doesn’t feel a sense of panic or frenzy.

Our welcome to the country included a very long walk in the airport which is probably size of a small Israeli yishuv. We walked and walked. Then we walked some more. Oh yes, and then we walked some more.

At that time everyone entering The Emirates had to have had a negative Covid test within 72 hours of boarding the plane and then was tested again at the airport. The efficiency of the process was remarkable. They had perhaps 20 people at desks, scanning passports, making labels, and sending us off to be tested by a cadre of at least 20 different people in cubicles lining a long wide hall. The entire process took less than 5 minutes. Results were texted to us the next day.

There were so many highlights of our tour that it is impossible to share them all, but here are a sprinkling… The Dubai Mall, home to over 1700 stores, countless restaurants, the largest suspended aquarium in the world, and of course, adjacent to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.  In the picture on the right below is a model of what will be the tallest structure in the world, now under construction in Dubai.

Below are some buildings we saw from the front of our hotel and in the right-hand photo, one can see in the distance the Dubai Frame- a structure that provides a view of Dubai from 150 meters in the air.

Below is a view of the Jumeira Mosque.

Here is an example of the attention to detail one finds here- with decorations even on highway overpasses.

We were fascinated by the twisted building below left.

The sand in the desert here has at least two tones and it in itself is beautiful. Our ride across the sand dunes was breathtaking in every sense of the word.

And no trip to Dubai is complete without at least one photo with the Burj Khalifa

Here we are at the Global Village, a wonderful place to walk and enjoy the sights of many nations!

And the Miracle Garden!!! It is a taste of paradise!

Seeing Dubai from the Dubai Frame is a real treat. There we also see their vision for the future. It looks very very bright.

You don’t have to believe me. Come see for yourself. We have a very few more spaces on our tour leaving February 9. There’s still time to sign up. Come join us!!

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The landscapes in India are breathtaking- from the foothills of the Himalayas in the north to the rich farmland of Punjab, to the rugged desert climate of Rajasthan, to the exquisite backwaters of Kerala. There are palaces and fortresses of unbelievable beauty. But all of this is just the background to India. Because India is its people- their love of life, their kindness, their smiles, their caring, their gentleness. The women in their modest clothing are almost regal- whether they are dressed in gold and diamonds for an extravagant wedding or whether they are working in the fields or carrying filled baskets on their heads.

But mostly it’s their kindness, their devotion, their caring. They live happily among roaming cows and bulls and buffalo, monkeys, dogs, peacocks. And just as we see when we visit the Galapagos, the animals are for the most part calm and quiet because they are not threatened.

The people we work with in India have become like our family. They are warm and friendly and accepting of us. They are respectful of our religious needs, helping us without having to be asked.

So as I sit here for – how many weeks has it been?- in my living room and think about what I miss most, my first answer is, of course, my children, grandchildren, and extended family- and my second answer is my family in India.

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In addition to the fort, there is a magnificent white Cenotaph, a building dedicated to the memory of one of the Maharajas. Indians are traditionally cremated and their ashes spread in the water of a river- so there are no actual tombs in this memorial area. There are some exceptions to the rule of being cremated- chiefly little children, very pious people, and those with communicable diseases. There is a very interesting article on it here:

Jodhpur has a number of famous products. Among them are fine textiles and spices. Some of the finest Masala spices are mixed and sold in Jodhpur. You can read about the spice girls of India here.

Mehrangarh Fort

Detail of the Fort

An inner courtyard

A Miniature painting

This type of painting was called a miniature not because of its size, but because of the fineness of its detail. This is an art form that is Rajasthani.

A ceiling in one of the rooms

Inside the palace

The Blue City

Dreamy Landscape

The Cenotaph from the outside

Inside the Cenotaph- note the sun coming through the translucent marble!

There is so much more to see, but we must go on to our next destination…

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What a surprise I had! Our three week tour of India not only filled me with the most magnificent sights and sounds, but introduced me to a culture and people who were so very special that all I could think of was how much I wanted to return.

Being tour guides, we are among the luckiest people in the world… the company that arranged our tour, India Kosher Travel,  was willing to hire us to lead tours to India!

I want to share with you some of the amazing places we visit and sights we see on our tours to India.

Our tour begins in Udaipur, a very beautiful city in the state of Rajasthan, that is blessed with lakes and gardens and a magnificent city palace. It is the former capital of the Mewar Kingdom. Because of the beauty of the city, it has become a favorite resort of the Indian people as well. Some of the most magnificent and extravagant weddings take place there- using the City Palace and an island in Lake Pichola as venues for the wedding- both of which are lavishly decorated for the weddings by hundred of people. These weddings are attended by thousands of guests and the partying goes on for days!

Entering the City Palace

Mural on the wall of the City Palace

On Lake Pichola

Lake Pichola from Maghar Ghat with a view of the Monsoon Palace

Fountain in garden in Udaipur

Next time- traveling to Jodhpur!!!

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Rice fields

Once in YangShuo, we board a boat for a cruise on the Li River which has some of the most beautiful, breathtaking views of anywhere on earth.

Li River

Li River

We return to West Street for some really excellent shopping. Here it is before the tourists arrived.

One of the other places we go when we visit Guilin is Longsheng where we see the rice terraces and two groups who are counted among China’s 55 ethnic minority people.

Here we see one of the Yao women, known for their long hair, demonstrating how she piles her floor-length hair on top of her head!

Come join us on this or one of our other fabulous trips!

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Guilin’s income comes mostly from tourism, and a look at its sights explains why. It is a beautifully landscaped city, named “Forests of Osmanthus” after its city flower, the osmanthus. Osmanthus flowers are used to make perfumes and wines.
One of the most famous places in Guilin is Elephant Trunk Hill.

Elephant Trunk Hill

The Elephant Bridge

Elephants to ride on

Moon and Sun Pagodas

Moon and Sun Pagodas

Inside the Reed Flute Cave

New York skyline inside the cave

Chair lift to Yao Mountain

View at the top

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And an amazing day it was!

We started off at Traduk Temple, an 8th century temple and monastery.  It was finely decorated.  Having been destroyed and refurbished many times over the years, the wall mural is only about 20 years old.

While researching the temple, I found this wonderful video (click on the word “video”) of the restoration showing the traditional Tibetan way of working on such structures.  Tibetans have songs they sing for specific types of work and in this clip, you see them working almost as if they were a chorus line of singers and dancers in a show.  It is not a performance.  It is how they work!

Later we went on to Yumbulagang Palace. It is the first palace built in Tibet, according to legend, in the 2nd century BCE. Tibetan folklore holds that the first Tibetan king Nyatri Tsenpo was seen descending in this valley from a ladder from heaven. Herdsmen told the story and he became the first king. Over time, the palace retained its significance and it became the summer palace of the 33rd king Songtsen Gampo and his wife, the Chinese princess Wencheng.

The palace was high on a hill and the local people took advantage of the opportunity to profit. There were horses that one could ride to the top, guided by the people who owned them. Sadly, never having sat upon a horse, I had no clue as to how to mount one, and so after I almost caused the poor animal to fall on his side, I decided to walk up the mountain. My faithful husband and a few of our travelers walked with me, but most went up by horse. You can probably see them in the distance in the picture above.

The rooms inside serve as places of religious rite and pilgrimage rather than as rooms in which people dwelled. However, we did see some monks having soup, noodles, and yak butter tea in some of the rooms.

Here we are on the mountain with the palace behind us. Our raincoats were bought for us by kind travelers on a former tour who wanted to be able to find us in a crowd.

From the top of the mountain we were able to see the first cultivated field in Tibet. It is called Zortang. It is considered to be a very special field and until this day, there are farmers who will sprinkle soil from Zortang on their own fields to ensure a good harvest.

Here is Zortang

and yes, it is small.

Later in the day we made our way to Lhasa. But that’s a story for another day.

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As we drove along the road, we saw a cow beauty pageant. Well, of course, not really, but we did see cows adorned in various manners. We thought it interesting and picture-worthy.

Of course, it was only after we all had taken our photos that our local guide explained that many of those who owned the cattle were involved in other labor- whether farming or construction or any of a number of jobs, and that they hired people to tend their cattle while they were at work. The adornments on the cattle were to identify the ownership!

After a short ride, we arrived at the Samye Monastery. It was located in a small town. We saw people approaching the monastery and temple with offerings. Mostly they had either thermoses filled with yak butter or vegetable oil that would be burned in the temple or with grains that were burned outside of the temple.

At the time I photographed them, I didn’t even realize that the woman in the foreground had a parrot on her hand! Notice the aprons in the front of the skirts. This is the dress of the Tibetan women. The skirts all have attached striped aprons. These are for married women only.

Here are some people waiting by the entrance. Notice that one has a stick on which there is a circular attachment. This is a portable prayer wheel. Every time the wheel turns, it is as if the prayers on it have been said.

Here are the offerings being burned… such an unpleasant odor in a place where the air is otherwise so very clear and clean.

Here is a look at the wall surrounding the temple/monastery complex. At the top are miniature stupas! A stupa is a structure in which there are sacred relics, often the ashes of monks. I assume these were for decoration and did not contain any relics.

This is the town just outside Samye Monastery. Notice that although it is far from any large area of population, they took pains to make sure that it has the appearance of a traditional Tibetan town including intricate artwork and attention to detail.

And a taste of home in Samye, Tibet

Next time: the Teletubbies visit the first palace in Tibet. Don’t miss it!

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Jim had never guided a kosher group before and so when my husband started explaining our requirements in terms of being in the kitchen at all times when food was being prepared, using our own utensils, cutting boards, pots, pans, etc. etc., he had a bemused expression. It turned out that his bemused expression was one that we saw a lot both in relation to us and in relation to the other Tibetans and Han Chinese people we encountered throughout the time in Tibet. His light and easy manner, his warmth and bemusement served all of us very well going through the numerous checkpoints, negotiating with the kitchen staff, and helping us deal with hotel reception desks. He was completely with us from very early in the morning until very late at night with never a word of complaint. He was willing to help us in any way we needed him. Having him with us was a wonderful gift.

The first thing he did was to deal with the airport bureaucracy. It finally turned out that our luggage had been put on the next flight which meant that we spent some unexpected time in the airport near Lhasa. That was not altogether unfortunate since we were coming from near sea level in Beijing to an altitude of 3,570 meters (11,710 ft). For us to have some time to just sit and relax as our bodies began to adjust to the altitude was a good thing.

Once we had our luggage, we headed toward Tsetang. On our way, we stopped at the Mindroling Monastery, the first of several monasteries we visited during our time in Tibet. Although there were similarities, each one was unique. One of the first things we saw was this

Yes, a beautifully decorated restroom. Unfortunately, like all of the public restrooms in Tibet, the toilets are Asian toilets and unless one has been squatting from early childhood, one may find them, shall we say, challenging. They also were not always sweet-smelling. Our travelers tried to avoid them whenever possible.

Outside of the monastery, we saw a woman filling water from a communal tap.

The monastery itself was a complex of buildings, as they all are. This one was also undergoing major renovations.

It was a beautiful sun-filled day with the skies so very blue after the smoggy skies of Beijing. Despite the relative lack of oxygen, the air felt very good to breathe!

We left the monastery and drove along a rural two lane road until we arrived in Tsetang, a lovely town with a surprisingly nice hotel.

Tune in to the next episode where we answer the question on everyone’s mind: “What does the well-dressed cow wear when she goes out for a walk?”

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Our tour began in Beijing, a city my husband and I have visited many times and which we really enjoy visiting.  We were lucky enough to arrive as the lotuses outside the Summer Palace were blooming and they were a beautiful greeting for what turned out to be a miraculous tour!

Outside of the Summer Palace

Dragon boat at the Summer Palace

Over the next few days we visited the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. Each place is really amazing and we derived a lot of pleasure from showing these sights to our friends.

Tiananmen Square

Inside the Forbidden City

The Great Wall

The Great Wall

So join us on our adventure, but first, you must get a good night’s sleep because we had to rise long before dawn for our flight to Tibet!

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