Dancing Queen of Rajasthan

Meet the dancing queen of Rajasthan - the star of the Dharohar dance troupe.  Whilst there were other younger and prettier dancers, she was by far the most confident and skilled dancer of them all.  The audience was held spellbound by her "Water Pot Dance".  She started by balancing two, then four, then six and finally eleven water pots on her head while executing the most elegant dance moves.  At one point, she even tap-danced on a brass tray and glass!  Truly amazing. 

 

Kudos to the dance troupe owner for valuing skill and experience, over beauty and youth.  Well done, sir.

 

It was also entertaining to watch the puppet master executing life-like dance moves with puppets during one segment of the show. The magic tricks were a hit with the kids especially.



 

The Rajasthani dance show is staged at Bagore Ki Haveli, a beautiful 18th century palace built by the Prime Minister of Mewar.  It's located in the heart of Old Udaipur, by the shores of Lake Pichola.  The palace has housed lower-ranked princes, consorts and guests of the royal household.  Today, the haveli is a museum that houses tourists :)

 

 

Udaipur - the city of lakes

The romance and grandeur of Rajasthan has loomed large in my imagination, thanks to the many books by Indian writers I've read over the years.  I've always wanted to visit and couldn't ask for a better gateway to Rajasthan than Udaipur - the City of Lakes.

 

A series of man-made lakes in the middle of the desert is a beautiful setting for the historic seat of the Mewar kingdom, which is proud of its Hindu heritage and title of "Venice of the East".

 

Enjoying views of Udaipur from Lake Pichola

View of Lake Pichola from the City Palace

Lake Palace - which is a luxury hotel today

City Palace - Udaipur

 

The City Palace in Udaipur was built by 22 kings over a period of 350 years.  Most of the architecture is not only stunning, but its displays provide interesting vignettes into the lives of the kings and the their harems.  For example, the last king of Mewar was thrown off his horse as a child and his living quarters contain modern conveniences such as an elevator, private toilet and a wheelchair.  Even the queens' quarters are fully decked with swings, beds, textiles, mirrors and fabrics. To my great delight, I realized that all the mirrors in the maharani's quarters are perfectly aligned to my height!  How does that saying go again?  "Some are born great..." Ahem...

Driving around Tahoe

Fall 2014.  On the second last day of my third trip to California this year, Julie and I drove out to the mountains.  On the recommendation of a friend, we headed for the Nevada side of North Lake Tahoe to check out a place called Incline Village.  It was a beautiful day with fresh snow on the ground.  The views were simply breathtaking!

Joanna and Julie "frolicking" in the snow... err...not quite

Aunty Jo Jo's winter glamour shot :)

Absolutely stunning views of Lake Tahoe

Hanging out in LA

As much as I love spending time with my sister Julie in northern California, waking up to freezing temperatures in winter is really not my cup of tea.  And so we planned a trip to visit friends in the sunnier climate of southern California.  Los Angeles was our first stop.

 

(L-R) Kathleen, Joanna, Julie and Swee Kit

 

Kathleen's place is always my first port-of-call in sunny Los Angeles.  We first met in Calvary Church KL back in 1996 before she married and moved to LA.  Her beaming smiles and warm hospitality makes it much easier to bear the horrible traffic on LA freeways.   This time she arranged for us to have dinner at a classic American diner - Norm's in Whittier - before whisking us to a play about a nun in Las Vegas!

 

We also caught up with Swee Kit, one of Julie's school friends who recently moved to LA to start postgraduate studies at Biola University. 

 

The next day, we spent a whole day hanging out with Kathleen and her family.  Of course, the girls decided to first treat themselves to morning dim sum, foot massage and coffee & cakes before heading home to see Kathleen's boys.

 

Kathleen's darlings:  Samuel (dark blue t-shirt) and Joseph (sky blue t-shirt)

 

These two little boys have a very special place in my heart. It was so good to see how much they've grown and developed.  They showed off their acrobatic agility and prowess by doing a balanced stand on their dad's legs while Joe played dodge ball with a very uncoordinated Aunty Jo Jo. 

 

We took some photos with the boys in the backyard.  Here's me posing with Sam - whom I think has the dashing good looks of a Korean drama star.  Don't you agree?

 

The highlight of my day came after dinner when Joe started cuddling up to me when I sang him lullabies.  So sweet!  Is there any wonder that my heart melts every time I visit these little ones?

 





Sunny San Diego

I love it when a new city springs a surprise and charms me into falling in love with it.  This only ever happens when I'm not expecting anything major and open to possibilities.  San Diego is such a place. It's not as big and loud as LA, or as bohemian and exclusive as San Francisco.  It's just warm, welcoming and quietly confident.

View of San Diego from Coronado Island Ferry

Julie chose a hotel on Coronado Island as our getaway home for a few days and I'm so glad she did! Sunset walks along white sandy beaches really does marvellous things for the soul.

In front of Hotel Gran Del Mar, a gorgeous Victorian-style wooden structure where Marilyn Monroe filmed "Some Like It Hot"