Getting from Bangalore to Bandhavgarh is a bit of a hassle especially when traveling by train. We had a stopover at Jhansi for a day. A tour around the city seemed like a good idea and the a chance for some good food.
The city is historically important for being the stronghold of Rani Lakshmi bai, a quintessential heroine in the annals of Indian history. There are a few places of interest in the city. The fort is quite well maintained with a a few notable sights such as the kadak bijli canon, a few temples and gates. There is a board which marks the spot where the queen jumped off which seemed to be amusing if not too historical. The Rani Mahal has been converted to a museum although it looks more like a storehouse for statues and artifacts. The city museum on the other hand was far more informative and interesting.
A short weekend trip which could have really been bad but ended well. Started on the drive really early in the morning when we realized the car had no petrol and the highway had no open petrol bunks. One open bunk just before the last drop ran out and a long drive with bad roads at only the trip end made sure we got there late evening. After some much needed lunch at a "Mango tree" (quite a nice place), we made our way to the Virupaksha temple. The first sight that caught my eye after crossing the river on a ferry was the snake charmer with 4 cobras.
Although Virupaksha temple is quite old, unlike the others it is still in use (supposedly the oldest functioning temple since 7 century AD). Most interesting is the inverted image of the Gopurum in the inner sanctum using a pinhole.There is the temple elephant and bunch of hawkers pestering you to buy bananas for it. Photography is not allowed in the inner sanctum, architecture of course like everywhere else in Hampi is intricate and in Vijayanagar style. The hill overlooking the temple was a nice place to laze around.
There are plenty of places to see around London. I had one weekend so narrowed it down to a few places. First up on the list was Windsor castle. The largest inhabited castle was about an hour's journey by train. Very close to the station, the entry line was huge. Took me about half an hour to get in but they do provide audio guides as well and since it is inhabited, security checks also take time. Inside there is a tour of the state apartments, the doll house, and a number of other areas to be visited. The Saint George's cathedral of course is another fine piece of architecture. It was a sunny day and it took me easily the better part of the day to see it all.
Salisbury was a little further off in another direction. The cathedral there was a little more lax in the photography area.
The interiors of course as in others are magnificent. Also it does hold the oldest working clock and the best preserved copy of Magna Carta. Listening to the Organ playing on the way out was another treat. There are regular buses to the Stonehenge from Salisbury. The next stop was there. Theories regarding it aside, it is an iconic historical circle of stones. Seems to have been under a fair bit of wear and tear as earlier, people did chip off pieces from it as a souvenirs until they blocked general public from getting too close.
Final stop was the city called Bath which is famous for its ruins of a Roman bath. Can think of quite a few jokes on the name but this is not the place. The abbey overlooks it and had reached there when a mass was going on so could not go inside but the baths themselves were quite interesting. They are located on a hot spring and the ruins are preserved not too well but visible. The city itself is quite idyllic and architecturally very important for its Georgian flavor. The Pulteney bridge and Royal Crescent being the famous ones.
Stayed a couple of weeks in London. Unlike last time where I had stayed in Southampton, staying in Central London in summers with only one day of rain during the 2 weeks gave me much more freedom to move about. Caught a couple of movies and window shopped in a few malls. Then went exploring with a tube ticket to the first 4 zones. London of course has the kind of architecture that really intrigues you with the rustic feel that keeps you interested.
Piccadilly circus and Trafalgar square are a great way to spend the evening. Fridays, the gallery is also open until 9. A number of monuments there provide a nice view. There is of course the largest Ripley's believe it or not museum at Piccadilly but gave that a miss. The National gallery of course is free entry and has some really fantastic paintings from 16th century onwards and is large enough to keep you busy for quite a while. Trafalgar square itself provides an interesting hot-spot for tourists although the pigeon feeding is no more a practice.
A walk along Thames at sunset never really gets boring. Had done that on my last trip as well but was not in much of a hurry this time so took my time exploring the areas around Westminster to the Tower bridge. It was a really long walk but fun. Took a ride on the London eye as well. Maybe a little overrated but it does provide an excellent view of the river and the surrounding areas.
The other museums that I visited were the Natural history museum, the science museum and the British museum. All their entries were free so whenever I had time on my hands and they were open, I was able to get around again thanks to the tube. The British museum itself had some really interesting details while the Natural history museum was fun to say the least. The
The Tower of London of course is a must see. Along with the multiple artifacts that it houses and the fact that it has a rather colorful and sordid history, the tours are really fun. The tales by the warders there, the ravens kept there as legend has it that if 6 ravens are not present, the kingdom shall fall, the fusiliers museums, the carvings by the prisoners and of course the crown jewels are just a few of the sights.
The Luxor trip started with a visit to the west bank, to the valley of kings. 63 tombs from various dynasties lay there as the hill there was assumed to be the steps to heaven, serving a role similar to the pyramids of the old. I visited 3 tombs, each one different from the other, with the length of the shaft giving an idea of the reign of the pharaoh. The smaller shafts had their owners dying early which was why they were incomplete. The longer ones more decorated as the owners spent more time living. The colors and the sarcophagus preserved in a few.
Next up was the temple of Hatshepsut, which was the only temple remaining among the 3 in that area. The other 2 were built by her father and her 2nd husband Thutmose III(also her step-son) who had tried to destroy her temple. Ironically her temple was the only one which survived a landslid due to an earthquake. 
The statues there are restored as most were badly destroyed and most of the carvings were also damaged by Thutmose III however the temple is still beautiful and is surrounded by tombs of nobles. The view from the site is amazing. Also saw the colossi of Memnon nearby, 2 huge statues of Amenhotep.
We came back to Luxor and proceeded to the Karnak temple complex. This was absolutely way beyond anything I have seen. The complex is humongous. The size completely overshadowed by the sheer amount of art and architecture present. The row of sphinxes at the entrance, the fantastic size of the gates, the entire rows of huge columns and the obelisks in the inner precinct are just surprises lined up after one another. Towards the end the lake and the scarab sculpture still thought to bring luck and fulfill wishes altogether made this one of my favorite pieces of history to witness. Some parts of it have undergone reconstruction and renovation however the entire complex is a certain must see.
Last on my list was the Luxor temple. Although not as huge as the Karnak temple, this was still impressive, the obelisk in front of the gate providing a very scenic view. Inside one of the best preserved statues was another sight. Both these temples had been built in the pharonic style and the change in architecture from Kam Ombo and Edfu was prominent. Both of them had many stories on their walls which my guide explained. I had a few hours to kill until my train back to Cairo so that was spent at the Luxor museum. It is of course much smaller than the Cairo one but being much newer, it is very well made and definitely worth a visit. The next day I took a bus from Cairo to Taba, partied in Eilat for a day and got back.
A felucca ride to the cruise ship completed the activities of the day, the boatman did shout at me as I tipped him less. After this I basically relaxed on the ship which also had a swimming pool and a jacuzzi. In the night a programme was organized in the saloon of the ship with some local dancers and and some fun and games. The ship itself stayed at Aswan that day and the next so I spent the day either hanging around Aswan (which seemed very small and peaceful compared to Cairo) or just chilling on the ship itself. In the evening we sailed to Kom Ombo.
The main attraction there is the temple, built in Greco Roman style by the Ptolemys from about 180 BC to 40 BC approx. It was built for the crocodile headed god Sobek to appease the crocodiles after Nile floods. It is unique in the fact that it was built for 2 gods, Horus and Sobek, Horus being the benevolent god countering Sobek. I got there when it was dark and the temple in the lights was just spectacular. Also amazing are the carvings which present the ancient equivalents of surgical instruments as my guide explained. The calendar there also displayed the sheer knowledge of a civilization so old. A crocodile museum is being constructed to house the 300 crocodile mummies found there. Other points of interest where the double entrance and the nilometer to determine the amount of donations the temple would receive.
The next day early in the morning the ship arrived at Edfu. A horse tonga took my guide and me to the temple there. the tongas are basically tourist attractions as I cant imagine the locals using them. The Edfu temple itself is dedicated to Horus and his victory over Set to avenge the death of his father Osiris as the carvings show. Built by the Ptolemys and quite Greco Roman, it is very well preserved. The inner sanctuary and the carvings and statues all over make for a very nice viewing. The ceilings are blackened due to Christian missionaries having taken refuge there during their persecution but the colors in some places are visible. A carving of the numbers used gave an idea of the builder's mathematical prowess.
The ship moved on to the Esna lock where we went from higher to lower water and then we carried on to Luxor. As it had gotten dark by the time we reached Luxor in the late evening, the trips to the city were scheduled for the next day. A sunset on the Nile provided the perfect photogenic moment.
I needed a vacation and currently staying in Israel, the ideal option seemed to be Egypt. It would be very different from my previous trips and the fact that there was the sheer incredible history associated with the architecture there made for a very interesting trip to work on. I took a bus from Jerusalem to Eilat, crossed over to Taba (never seem to get over the fact that I walked across continents Asia to Africa) and then took a bus to Cairo to reach in the late evening. I had been booked at a hotel in El Haram street (also called Pyramid street) which is pretty close to the pyramids in Giza. The street itself is quite a hotspot with the number of discos and pubs on it. Getting into the Giza area the first thing to notice was the imposing silhouette of the pyramids in the city's smoggy background with the vulgar modern architecture unable to obscure the grandiose triangle which looks like a geometric hill yet is obviously the work of man.
The next day I went with a guide to the pyramids. If they seemed imposing from a distance, up close they seemed unreal. The largest one, of Cheops stands at 138 mts(originally 146), while the second one of Khafre, slightly smaller but equally amazing still has a part of the casing stone 
remaining which gives it a distinct appearance. I entered this pyramid as well to get a view of the sarcophagus inside and the decor for the dead. The relatively smaller pyramid of Menkaure stands beside at less than half the height to provide a perspective. His statues in the museum show him to be quite a benevolent ruler compared to his predecessors. Surrounding these are the tombs of nobles who wished to be near their rulers in the afterlife. The sphinx guarding the entire complex of course is impressive as well. Stories regarding the extraction of the Sphinx in 1400 BC (it was built before 3000 BC and buried in sands up till the neck) by a prince who wished to be king, and the destruction of its nose and beard were the pick of the legends.
Later then I visited a perfume store where they extracted and prepared the perfumes locally and a papyrus store which displayed the artistry and beauty of an art practiced since ages. The highlight though was the Egyptian museum, where just quickly observing each and every artifact in the museum would take months. I managed to catch a glimpse of the more popular ones. The mask and Sarcophagus of Tutankhamen being the real eye candy at 11 and 108 kgs of gold respectively. A couple of hours there was less than a trailer for the sheer number of historical collections of over 5000 years but my guide managed to explain what the common symbolism in quite a few statues and carvings meant.
The evening was again spent in front of the pyramids and the sphinx as I stayed on for the light and sound show in the dark. Extremely well presented and certainly worth the time as it literally shed some new light on them. The next day was a trip to Memphis which had been the capital 3000 years ago and housed some more statues and then to Sakkara which had some more tombs and a step pyramid which was the precursor to the true ones in Giza. In the distance from Sakkara the bent pyramid is visible as well. A visit to the Alabaster citadel provided a welcome change to the scenery as it was in religion, architecturally and functi
onally very different from all that I had seen until then. Also visible from that location was a panorama of Cairo. Some falafel and window shopping in Khan el Khalili bazaar (man do they love ripping tourists off) moved the evening along after which I hung out at the station with my tour operator for company until my train arrived.
The city of Tipu Sultan. Went there with Sagar(my roommate) over a weekend just for killing time. Ranganthittu is a very well preserved bird sanctuary. Really well preserved due to the crocodiles in the lake. Getting closer to the birds is only possible through a boat. Heard of tales where a girl's hand got eaten years back but maybe just a story. There are quite a few birds there, pelicans, storks, cormorants, spoonbills and other water birds. Few smaller ones if you search for them real hard. Crocs would be in the water unless its morning. Also saw a huge bat herd and a few langurs around.
