Nepal Adventure Day 2 Kathmandu

Monday April 25^th

The weather here is much cooler than Delhi. Last evening and this morning it was about twenty, and I was wearing my fleece. So, it's a welcome relief from the forties of India.

I enjoyed a cereal and omelette breakfast in the hotel this morning before we met up in the hotel lobby for our tour of Kathmandu. The hotel is simpler than the last tour, but nice and clean, and has a good restaurant and patio. So that's good, as I will be staying here for a couple days after the tour too.

As we drove through the city, the first thing noticed was the air pollution. The sky is very hazy and a lot of people wear masks.

The other thing I have learned already is that electricity delivery here is a big problem. The city endures up to 14 hours a day of no electricity, as there are rotating blackouts. Because it is the dry season, the water levels are low in the rivers and they can't produce enough electricity for their needs. Anil explained to me that the people suffer a lot because they don't have electricity. They have refrigerators, but can't use them for perishable foods, just for cooling drinks. Restaurants and hotels have back up generators which run on diesel and I'm sure that is part of the problem with the air pollution. Amir also said that they have shortages of gas, kerosene and diesel fuels. And he alluded to the fact that the government is not very stable here and is not spending more on the infrastructure that they need to, for example hydro generation. I'll find out more about all that later.

The first stop was at the Shufa in Kathmandu. This is a World Heritage Buddhist religious site on top of a hill. We climbed about 300 very steep steps to get to it. There were resumes monkeys there. There is a couple of Buddhist temples there and a monastery. Anil explained that monasteries are basically schools for teaching monks about religion.

Then we got back in our van and drove for an hour or so, to Bhaktapur City, another World Heritage site. This is a medieval era city that is mostly as it was back them. We walked through the narrow streets to Durbar Square where we saw several Hindu temples built in the pagoda style that originated here in Nepal. Then we walked to Taumadhi Square where we saw the largest one in the country with its five levels of roofs. The Nepalese celebrated their new year ten days ago and there were a large wooden chariot in the square that the local people traditionally fight over. The people from the 'upper' part of the city compete with the people from the 'lower' part as they try to win the right to keep the chariot in their neighbourhood in a community tug of war.

Then it started to rain. We went to a restaurant and had lunch. After lunch, while everyone sheltered in the restaurant, I went down to the square and stood under the overhang of a temple and people watched and soaked up the atmosphere of the place, while the weather got worse and developed into a heavy thunderstorm. The temperature, which had been quite warm (upper twenties) dropped to about twenty and it was quite chilly and I wasn't dressed properly. When it finally let up, we set out again, but you could see it was going to start again, so we curtailed our visit and headed back to the van. I've resolved to revisit this site again on my free days after the tour. I'd like to come back and explore it some more and get some sunnier photos.

Back at the hotel by five and I napped for a couple of hours, before blogging and stuff, then to bed.

Nepal Adventure Day 1 Delhi to Kathmandu

Sunday April 24^th

Just before bed last night I was in bed reading the itinerary for this trip and checking a few things. I read the flight date and time, April 24^th 12:50 pm and then the start place and date, Hotel Tibet and April 24^th. Then I went and plug in my iTouch and saw the date: 24^th. All of a sudden I panicked – it was the end of the day! The 24^th was over and I missed my flight and the start of the tour!! I was so worried about it, I phoned my faithful side kick and silent (well sort of) partner, Denise at home. But she wasn't there. I left her a message about the situation and then tried to figure out what to do. I knew I had a taxi coming at 9:00 to take me to the airport to catch a flight I'd missed. I was so upset, I realized I probably wouldn't get any sleep. Then it dawned on me... it was after midnight the date had changed to the 24^th!! Duh! I felt very stupid, but hugely relieved. So, all systems are go.

I slept reasonably well, but not long enough. Got up early, got organized, caught the cab and headed to the airport. Got there really early because it was Sunday and surprisingly there was very little traffic. Then my flight was delayed an hour because it arrived from Kathmandu late because of poor visibility there. The flight was an hour and half and they served a snack. Who knew you could fly from Delhi to Kathmandu and watch four episodes of Two and Half Men during the hour and half flight!! I had many a good laugh. Just before we landed, we flew over some low mountains and I was surprised to see farms and homes, and even small villages on the mountain tops! My first thought was where do they go get groceries?!

I was picked up by my GAP guide, Anil, and driven to the Hotel Tibet with an hour to spare before the introduction meeting. First impressions, based on the ride from the airport: tons of motorcycles, traffic calmer, air seems dirty, less traditional dress – many women in western style clothes.

Again I have lucked into a private room. My new group is two men and seven women. The other guy is with his girlfriend, so I have my own room. We are two from Portugal, two from South Africa, one from each of England, Wales and Scotland, one from Japan and me from Canada.

We went for an orientation walk and dinner. The group seems nice, as does the guide. The food was good. Then we walked back to the hotel and I phoned home to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Another adventure begins.

Spirit of India Day 15 Last Thoughts of India

Saturday April 25th

I have thoroughly enjoyed my three weeks in India, and like I did in Egypt, I have some thoughts and lasting impressions of this country that I'd like to record both for your interest and so I don't forget.

First:

Hindu – is the religion

Hindi – is the language, not the plural or Hindu! It is the official language of India.

They have different titles for their rulers of old. Kings are called either Maharaja (great king) or Maharana (great warrior), and the female version is Maharani.

Religion – Jain and Sikhism are both offshoots of Hindu. Hari Krishna and Swaminarayanism (from the large new temple I visited) are cults that are based on Hindu. There are also Buddhists, Muslims and some Christians here. I think religion is the one thing that holds this country together. Everyone seems devote and they greet each other with a religious gesture. There are temples and shrines large and small, everywhere, which pay tribute to anyone of their many gods. I learned about a few, primarily Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Ganesh.

Politically, according to Sameer and a few other people we had a chance to talk to, the government is very corrupt. People are disillusioned and fed up by the lack of support to improve things locally for the people. Whereas lots of money is spent for international issues (for example the Commonwealth Games), or to build nuclear weapons and such. None seems to be spent to address the local problems of hunger, poverty and the general filth of the country. All the bodies of water I saw, from rivers to ponds, to lakes, were horribly polluted. I couldn't believe people were bathing and swimming in any of them, especially the holy River Ganges. As we watched people swimming, not far away a dead cow floated by. I saw fish jumping in the Ganges, I can only assume they were trying to get out! The streets and waterways are filthy, with garbage left everywhere. I don't remember seeing any garbage cans or a garbage truck. Garbage is just dumped in the street. The wandering cows eat anything edible including the paper and cardboard, and the leftover plastic is everywhere.

The poverty of the country is immediately evident. There are people everywhere and lots of them have little or nothing. There are lots of beggars begging for food, despite the fact that Sameer told us that the temples all have food programs for the poor. So apparently they make more money this way. They often use their children for begging. Others will sell anything, even things that are worthless or obviously recycled. We saw numerous people with deformities, or amputations, or illnesses wandering around and begging as well. We were encouraged not to give the beggars anything, especially the kids, as it just perpetuates the cycle of begging. If kids learn they can survive by begging, then they frequently don't go to school. This is a problem I have seen over and over in the 3rd world.

Holy Cows are a nightmare. The females are generally taken care of by people and apparently provide some milk, but the males are just abandoned and left to fend for themselves. They wander around thorough the cities, towns and countryside, apparently fearless, because no one every harms them. They wander on or across the roads in traffic and the drivers just go around them. It appears that they would rather crash into an oncoming car than a cow. The cows often congregate on the narrow medians between traffic, apparently because there are less flies there to bother them. Flies are everywhere. The level of hygiene and filth perpetuates that. When a cow dies, it's skin is sent to tanners to make leather and the carcass is left for scavengers to eat. Indians are mostly vegetarian and won't eat this wasted source of protein. Their religion forbids it.

Which reminds me of something that all of a sudden became obvious to me – there are no chickens here. All through South America, Africa and the Middle East, I have seen chickens running around everywhere. Here there are none. Apparently there are poultry farms, mostly for the tourist trade, but there are no chickens in the towns or yards of India.

However, there are dogs! Thousands of them. They wander everywhere, sleep anywhere, and eat anything. There is no discernible breed, but they all look similar in a houndy, kind of way and are tan coloured. They don't seem aggressive, but they are mangy and generally ignored by people, and just missed by traffic.

Another issue is pollution. The air is very polluted. When we flew into Delhi last night, there was a very thick layer of smog over the city, and was very noticeable as we left the airport. The lack of regulation of emissions for vehicles is obviously part of the problem. People seem to have red eyes, and lots of us developed coughs and filthy noses from what we were breathing in.

There is also the issue of public urination. Men in particular will go whenever they need to. It is not uncommon to see them peeing by the side of the road, on the side of buildings, waste land, anywhere they can be relatively discreet. There are few public toilets, but the ones they do have are basically open to the street.

Traffic is also a nightmare. Cars, rickshaws, tuk tuks, motorcycles, trucks, bicycles, animal drawn carts, all vie for a place on the road. They drive on the left most times, but we frequently saw motorcycles fearlessly driving towards us on dual carriageways. Trucks have 'HORN PLEASE' stencilled on their tailgates and every driver obliges. They are constantly sounding their horns. They are not used in an angry way, as we do in Canada, it is more a form of communication between drivers. “Look out here I come.” I think they use them here even more than Egypt, if that is possible. I can't decide if they are the worst drivers in the world or the best! They don't follow the same regimented rules that we follow, there are no stop signs and precious few stop lights, but somehow everyone gets around. Didn't see any major collisions and no road rage. They just do what they have to do to get some place. I know I couldn't drive here, I wonder what would happen if we put one of them in Toronto!

Originally the society was based on a class system, like much of the rest of the world. This was a more fluid organization and a person could choose a profession from any class, and if successful financially, could rise to the next class. However, over time and with the influence of invaders, notably the Moguls, the system became more rigid and became known as the caste system. This is highlighted in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Professions were assigned to castes and a person would be born into a caste and a profession and could not change to any other profession. Your career and life were set. You were what your family was. Ambition and self improvement were eliminated.

There were four basic castes:

Brahmins – priestly class, this included teachers
Kshatriyas – administrators
Vaishyas – merchants
Shudras – working class including the untouchables the lowest of the caste

The untouchables are the lowest level and include sweepers, tanners, and people who deal with the excrement of the society.

Despite all of this the people we met seemed happy and were very nice and polite to us. They have a gentle disposition, don't seem to get angry, seem endlessly patient and smile easily. They are fascinated by tourists and like to ask where you come from or just stare at us. Even the merchants, who can be a bit annoying at times, will finally and politely leave you alone if you say 'no' enough times.

Our guide Sameer was amazing. When you ask him how he is, he replies “Never better.” That sums up his attitude towards life. He loves his job and is a real gentleman and a consummate guide. He was patient with everyone and repeated things for those who weren't listening. He was thoroughly organized and handled all issues with aplomb, even a guy travelling without a passport! He seemed to know everyone, and everyone at all the hotels and restaurants, and all the drivers seemed to really like and respect him. He apparently had a hand in the itinerary for this trip for Discovery. GAP outsourced us to Discovery.

The trip was also interesting because it was a 'Comfort' trip. It was more expensive than the 'Standard' trip, but given the conditions in India I thought it might be a good option. I am very glad I did. We ate at a much better class of restaurants, and as a result I think there were a lot less sickness issues. Several people did get Delhi belly, but I think it was more from the spices and oils rather than unhygienic prepared foods. And the hotels were amazing. We stayed in really nice places. Many of them were heritage buildings converted to hotels. Some people pooh pooh taking a trip like this, but it is a great way to go for a number of reasons: there is no way I could have planned and seen as much as was already organized for me, especially in this period of time; they know the best places to see in each city or area; all admissions and camera fees were paid for (yes they charge you camera fees to photograph inside the temples and palaces); Sameer knows his country inside and out and could provide us endless historical details and insights; he collected a kitty of money from us and handled the tips for all of the hotels, cabs, drivers, waiters, musicians, and whoever else for us; we didn't have to worry about where we were going to stay, how we were going to get there or anything, Sam took care of all the details; and it is great to travel with a group of people from all over the world and share the experience with them. Couldn't be better.

When I first arrived in Delhi, I was fascinated by the poverty next to the wealth, the traffic and noise and the smells, good and bad, of the city. It was very different. But, many of us commented upon our return to Delhi, how normal it seemed after all the other places in India that we visited! It's all relative.

I know this country is becoming a world power but from what I have seen, I'm not sure how?!? It is so far removed from what I visualize a world power should look like.

Having said all of that, India is amazing and perhaps like nowhere else. Despite all of its problems and maybe because of them, this is an incredible place to visit. There is lots to see and do, and I have only scratched the surface. I am really glad I came here and would love to return again at some point.

I think Gail said it best, when she said “India is endlessly fascinating”.

Spirit of India Day 14 Return to Delhi

Friday April 22^nd

This morning we had free time. A number of people went back into town to continue their shopping sprees. They buy lots of scarves, purses, shoes, clothing and nick knacks for gifts and or souvenirs. I decided to lay low, take a bit of down time and enjoy the hotel. I worked in my room for a while sorting photos and then went for a swim in the pool.

We met up in the lobby by one and loaded up on the bus for a short ride to our lunch restaurant. This was another nice place with a great view of one of the lakes for our air conditioned eating area. Then we headed for the airport to catch a domestic flight to Delhi. Again I had no problem with my International Drivers License for ID. The flight was only two hours long aboard a propeller plane that was only four seats wide.

Back in Delhi we boarded another bus of the hour long ride back to the Residence Hotel, where I happily found both my new and old passport waiting for me!

We immediately went to another great restaurant for dinner. Jennifer had already left, but the rest of us had a good last dinner as a group. We had collected money for a tip for Sameer and I had been asked to say a few words, so when we got back on the bus for the ride back, I thanked him for everyone and presented him with the money.

When we got back, about 10, a few people wanted to go out for a last drink. So Sameer organized a cab to take Ian, Stephanie, Wendy, Josh, John and I to a bar. He told us it would be about a twenty minute ride and that the driver knew where he was going. Wrong on both counts. It took us forty minutes and the driver had to stop and ask directions a couple of time. The bar was called Blues and when we went in it was small and was playing music so loud it would have been impossible to talk, so we left, asked someone outside where we could go, and were directed to another bar, also called Blues, about ten doors down. It was much quieter and played soft American music for the eighties. We stayed there for a couple of hours before the ride back with the same driver, whom we had paid to wait for us. Got back to the hotel by 1:30, thoroughly exhausted. Goodnight.

Spirit of India Day 13 Udaipur

Thursday April 21^st

Happy 25^th Birthday Danny!!

Today, we had a little more relaxed start and didn't load on the bus until 9:00 for our trip to the sights of Udaipur. This city is called the Venice of India because of the three lakes it is built around. First we visited a 450 year old Hindu Temple. It was not as ornately detailed as the one yesterday, but nevertheless, it was very impressive. Inside were a group of women chanting to the rhythms of a drummer. Sameer explained that these women come to the temple after their household chores to relax and socialize while connecting to their religion. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the temple, but there were photo ops outside, as several holy men sat around outside, including the rather intense on in the photo. You have to be careful of them and religious men inside as they will either demand money for photos, or offer to pray for you and then demand money. So, I always watch first and see what their scheme is. Today they were okay with photos.

After the temple we walked up the hill to the City Palace Museum. This is the second largest palace in India (the largest is somewhere in the south). It has been the permanent home of the royal family of the Mewar district since the 6^th century. The current Maharana is only a figurehead and he has no powers politically anymore. The palace has been added to over the centuries and houses many different rooms and courtyards with many historical paintings of battles, tiger hunts and daily life, throughout and lots of tiled and mirrored rooms. The palace has a stable for horses and another for elephants, a loading platform for elephants, an elephant tug of war arena, and another area where they pitched animal against animal, or man versus animal much as Rome did two thousand years before! The palace sits right on the shore of the man-made Pichola Lake, which was originally made to facilitate the moving of goods by boat to markets. On the lake is the Lake Palace and the Jagmandir Island Retreat, also known as the Garden Palace, which both belong to the family and on top of a distant hill is the Monsoon Palace where they retreated during monsoon season.

After that we walked to a local restaurant that Sameer recommended and I had an Indian version of a wrap, not bad. Then some of us took tuk tuks back to the hotel, (while others stayed to shop) where I spent some time in my room sorting photos and going for a swim in the pool. Yesterday I had a bit of a problem with my room, because the lock on the door didn't lock easily and had to be jimmied to close. This morning Sameer arranged for me to be 'upgraded' to a better room. Not that there was much wrong with the other one, but this room is beautiful and has a commanding view of one of the three lakes here in the city.

The weather this week has been really hot, high thirties to forty degrees! The sun is very intense but thankfully it is a dry heat. Originally I wanted to do a tour of India for a month that encompassed north and south India. However, now I'm glad I didn't because the south is hotter and more humid. This is the last of this tour for the season and all the national parks close for the monsoon season shortly and don't open again until October, so my timing was good.

We met up again in the lobby at 4:15 for a boat cruise around Pichola Lake. The ride offered a beautiful view of all the palaces and parts of the city, including some bathing ghats. Apparently the Bond movie Octopussy was shot here and uses the various palaces as locations. We landed at the Garden Palace and had a look around there for a half hour, before getting back into the boat for the return ride.

A bit of relax time, before meeting again in the lobby for our excursion to dinner. We took tuk tuks to a terrific outdoor restaurant right on the lake, with a spectacular view of both the City Palace Museum on the opposite shore and the Lake Palace. In the dark with just the lights from the buildings around the lake, it was beautiful. For once all the dirt and grime that is India was hidden. We had a lovely dinner. I shared two veggies dishes with Wendy and we all had a couple of drinks. Jennifer was celebrating her birthday tonight even though it is really the 22^nd. Then we took our tuk tuks back to the hotel and some of us had a nightcap at the terrace rooftop bar.

Spirit of India Day 12 Jain Temple and Bats!

Wednesday April 20^th

I slept really well and woke up feeling better. I had a light breakfast of muesli and fruit. Right after that we had a cooking demo led by our fearless leader Sameer. He showed us how to cook a typical local dish made from chick pea powder, garlic, onions and spices. Because of my stomach I declined to try it, but I was told it was quite good. He is going to give us the recipe.

After that we loaded up on our bus for another long drive. Again Sameer divided it into two parts. We were again taking rural roads and the scenery and things to see out the window kept me entertained. We stopped at a famous Jain Temple that was built in the 1500's by a rich merchant. The carvings and detail are amazing. Jainism is an offshoot of Hinduism.

Then we had lunch at another great heritage house. I again ate light – tomato soup and macaroni. Then we set off for another three hour drive. En route we stopped to watch a women and her child as they drove a team of oxen around in a circle drawing water up from a well to irrigate a field. And we stopped at a tree loaded with fruit bats! That was amazing. It was great to see them flying around and roosting.

We stopped at an ATM machine and while people were withdrawing money, I got out and watched as men were unloading motorcycles from a two level covered truck without the aid of a ramp or anything. Just manhandle it off the back and lower it to people below! Also, I finally got a picture of a local bus going by with people sitting on the roof!

We arrived at our hotel Swaroop Vilas about 6:00. Settled into our rooms, had dinner and hung around the hotel by the pool and the terrace bar, before turning in again for another early night.

Spirit of India Day 11 Jojawar

Tuesday April 19^th

Today we had a fairly long drive of six hours, but it was broken into two by a lunch stop at another decent heritage house restaurant. Although some people tire of the bus rides, sitting on the bus is no problem for me. I love looking out the window at the the things that go by. My only regret is that I can't stop and take photos! So, you have to make do and try to get shots out the window, sometimes it works. In the first half of the trip we were on a dual carriageway that was under construction which made it bumpy and very busy. There were trucks everywhere. Many of the trucks were loaded down with hunks of marble, from rock size to really big pieces. So obviously there is mining in the area. A lot of the trucks have “Horn Please” painted on the back of them, and the Indian drivers oblige. The sound of honking is continuous. The honk as they approach, as they pass and when someone is coming towards them.

We arrived in Jojawar about 2:00pm. This is a small town of about 20000 people. We stayed in the heritage house of the family that used to be the landlord of the area. The house is large with two inner courtyards, horse stables and a pool. The rooms are beautiful and mine comes with an indoor swing and a bathroom with saloon windows that look directly into the dinning area!

The house is in the town, so after settling in, I went for a photo walk. The town is not as touristy as Pushkar, so I was able to see a regular town and watch what the people were doing. Interesting to see blacksmiths, tailors, cows, fruit vendors, bicycle repairmen, barbers and all the other activities that were going on.

Then back to the hotel for a quick swim, before our village safari. Sameer reconditioned two 1930's Chevy safari jeeps for the landlord. They both seat eight, four benches for two, plus a driver. Amazing beautiful old vehicles. We loaded up and headed out through town. We felt like colonial royalty driving in these huge cars, down the narrow streets as people and cows had to get out of our way and they all stared at us. Then we had a great drive on the country roads through the dry fields. We stopped at three really small villages and had the catch to walk around amongst the villagers, see their homes and animals and take photos. Really different to see these villages as compared to Delhi and the other big cities. We stopped as at a local pilgrims shrine, where our drivers served us tea and biscuits, just to complete the image of being rich and important. On the way back Sameer drove one of the vehicles and I road shotgun. Great activity.

When I got back to the hotel, I was exhausted, combination of heat, a bit of Delhi belly and maybe being dehydrated. I lay down at seven and woke up at eleven. Slept right through dinner and drinks, which I didn't want anyway. So, I got into bed and slept until seven. Sometimes you have to stop and listen to your body.

Spirit of India Day 10 Pushkar

Monday April 18^th

This morning I woke up early this morning and finished updating the blog for Peter. We were underway on the bus by 9:00 and heading to Pushkar. The trip was about 5 hours. A lot of it was along a dual carriageway and there were signs posted periodically saying “Lane Driving – Safe Driving”. They are trying to encourage them to stay in their own lane and only use the same number of lanes as there are lines.

Pushkar is a very religious town with lots of pilgrims coming here and lots of old hippies living here. We were warned to watch out for people trying to sell us drugs. When we got to Pushkar we checked in and had lunch, before boarding the bus back into town for an orientation walk. Sameer introduced us to a Hindu holy man who led us on a twenty minute walk through the main street of this 25000 people town to the ghats on the lake. He took us in groups of 6 down to the edge of the lake and performed a religious ceremony with us to rid us of our sins, and to provide us with good luck and safe travels. We were anointed with a red dot on our forehead and we had to thrown some rose petals into the water. Then he tied a string bracelet around our wrists and told us we now had our Pushkar passport! Apparently if you don't have the dot and the bracelet locals will try to sell you one or the other. This way we won't be bothered.

After the ceremony I wondered the streets taking photos. This is a photographers dream. The people are friendly, more relaxed, less intent on selling you something (although it is a tourist town and their are lots of shops), and the colours and faces and scenes are to die for. I took well over a hundred photos and am going to publish my own National Geographic edition. I was trying to capture moments and sneak pictures without people seeing me. Really fun to do.

Finally got to where I was supposed to meet the group, at the Sunset Bar, where we sat and had a non-alcoholic drink and watched the sun set over the lake. Then back to the hotel for dinner and a couple of drinks. There was a conference and party going on at our resort. They had the place all decorated with lights, video screens and they had a live band and a dj! Luckily it ended at 11:00.

I showed some of my Africa and Kilimanjaro photos to Ian and Stephanie, and then off to bed.

Spirit of India Day 9 Jaipur

Sunday April 17^th

After breakfast this morning we went for a tour of Jaipur, the pink city. We stopped at the Wind Palace, which is basically just a large facade for a market area. Then we proceeded to the Amber Palace, which is another built on a low hill behind the local Moghul Fort that sits on the crest of the hill behind. The fort commands a view of the whole area and is also protected by a long wall, which Sameer called the 'Great Wall of India'. It's very impressive and makes you wonder, yet again, about who these people built all of these things before all the tools and machinery we have today.

Most tourists take an elephant ride up the hill to the entrance to the Amber Palace, but we were discouraged from that, as GAP doesn't support the elephants being used in such a fashion in the heat of the 40 degree sun. This is part of their focus on responsible tourism. A few months ago, a tired elephant killed her handler and a tourist. So, we loaded onto a fleet of jeep and rode up the road on the other side. The view from the palace of the wall and the entrance with the elephants coming in was very impressive. The main building in the palace is beautifully appointed with frescoes and little mirrors.

We wandered around listening to the history of the palace and the people of the area. Sam pointed out that a lot of Indian city names have the one of two different endings: either 'pur' or 'bad'. He told us that if the name ended in 'pur', as in Jaipur, it was founded by Hindus and if it ended in 'bad', as in Hyderabad, it was founded by Muslims.

I found a section of the palace that has a shaft leading down and it was full of bats. Got some good photos of that, as well as the gardens and some of the people working there. On the way back to the hotel we stopped for a photo of the Water Palace, which was a summer home for one of the local Maharaja’s of the day.

At the hotel I went for a walk to buy new headphones for my iPod and a flashdrive. Then I went for a swim on the roof and worked on my blog.

At five we went for a drive on the bus to an area outside of the city where Sam knew of a great place for an elephant safari and an outside dinner. Sameer and his brother went to school with the son of the owner of this place, and calls him is cousin. They have a number of elephants that they use for safaris and to play elephant polo! The Indian elephants were all painted and dressed up in the style of the Maharajas. We rode with two aboard each elephant. I rode with Bridgette from Austria. We sat in a chair type apparatus side by side, unlike the African where we sat behind each other horse style. The Asian elephant is smaller than the elephant, but the ride is just as rolling and hypnotic. Half way through we stopped at a 'bar' and we were all given a glass of wine. The ride was about an hour and lots of fun.

Then we went to the real bar beside the polo pitch, for a drink and a time to chat. After hearing about our itinerary, the two Canadian women we had met at the national park, Geraldine and Claudette, asked if they could join our safari tour. Sameer told them he could not include them on our bus, but arranged a taxi for them that followed us. So they too enjoyed the ride. We all had a great meal outside under the Indian full moon with another drink or two. Back to the hotel by about ten. Really a great day and a fun activity.

Found out today that the last Maharaja of Jaipur died today. He was an old man and it wasn't unexpected, but it marks the end of an era. The government decreed that the maharajas were to be phased out after the death of the one serving. Interesting that it happened while we were there. Tomorrow all the monuments are closed for mourning. Good thing we are off.

Spirit of India Day 8 Ranthambhore Fort

Saturday April 16th

Today we drove back into the national park one last time to visit the Ranthambhore Fort. It sits high up on the cliff, commanding a view of the entire valley. It is another huge fort built by the Moghuls. In order to protect it from attacks by raiders the entrance has a couple of sharp turns in it before you reach the actual gates, this to foil attackers who might arrive on elephants. It prevents the elephants from getting up a head of steam before smashing the gates down. The gate also had heavy metal spikes on it to injure the elephants if the try to push it down.

We wandered around looking at the ruins inside and watching the langur monkeys that live there. They are not afraid of humans as they are fed by pilgrams who come to this fort to offer prayers to one of their gods. The small temple receives more mail apparently than any other address in India (perhaps the world) because every marrying couple sends an invite to this god hoping to have their marriage blessed by him.

When we returned to the Tiger Moon Resort, we had to pack up and have lunch. I took advantage of the time to also have a last swim in the pool to cool off. Then we loaded on the bus for the four hour drive to Jaipur. Along the route I took lots of photos of the rural life and the chaos of the Indian roads, including the wrecked bus (check out what is right in front of it) and one of the home made trucks they make using a water pump as an engine. They are illegal, but no one in India stops them from driving them, or making them.

We arrived in Jaipur in the late afternoon, checked into the Ramada Hotel (which is very nice and has a pool on the roof). Paid for wi-fi and checked mail. Then Sameer took us all to a local restaurant which is another heritage hotel. Again it was home to a rich local man who has turned it into a bed and breakfast. The building is lovely and has large grounds out back. We ate in the yard and watched another demonstration of local dance, including a fire eater and a puppet show.

Another very interesting day in India.