The Adventures of Jim & Rhonda

Sorry again for being a bit delinquent about blogging!!!

We said goodbye to India on 20March. Our final time in Goa was absolutely incredible. The beach shacks we stayed in were certainly not deluxe but the location could not have been better and the staff of young guys working there were just fantastic, We had meant to only stay 4 days and ended up staying 9…that is how good it was! We spent most of our time bumming out with Paul, an American living in New Zealand that we clicked with.  Long days of swimming and sunning and great dinners in town or on the beach at night. It was all good!

The beach at Palolem was very similiar in looks to a mini Puerto Vallarta, sort of a curving bay. However, instead of high rise hotels it was beach shacks and small eateries. They had a couple really fantastic restaurants- namely Magic Italy and Cheeky Chapatti where we spent most of our evenings. Weather was near perfect and the surf was my type, very little wave and warm but refreshing water temps. The guys at our hotel were 19-25 years old and all came from Calcutta. The Palolem beaches are interesting in that the shacks are put up every October and taken down every June so are disassembled during monsoon season.

We had originally booked a hotel of huts listed as the pick in Lonely Planet. However, upon arrival we found they were not on the beach! Can’t have that… so, we headed out in search of alternate accomodations. The first place we stopped was Cafe del Sol and they happened to not only have a room available but we got the ONE shack that was oceanfront with a veranda directly on the beach! Fantastic (especially at $28/night!) The room had a fan and mosquito net and very little else, bathroom had a toilet and shower with actual hot water which was nice, although we kept it on cool quite a lot. The beach was about perfect, not too big but large enough to have a variety of internet, shopping and restaurant options. It all added up to heaven for a week.

Then, unfortunately, we had to overnight in Mumbai prior to heading to Egypt. The hotel was ok and for 1 night no problem. However, after a dispute the next morning with the front desk about our charge, driving through slums to get to the airport, dealing with a dirty airport with no shops or restaurants open, and having some Indian men continually attempting to push ahead of us going through security I tell you… I was glad to be leaving. It’s amazing what a different experience you can have in one country from one day to the next!

Our flight to Oman on Oman Airways was uneventful and THAT is a very nice airport. Then a 4hr trip into Cairo. Upon arrival we were met by a Grand European rep. and taken to our hotel. Talk about luxury…the Semiramis Intercontinental is on the bank of the Nile and is truly 5star. Everything about it is gorgeous and the breakfast buffet is the best we have ever had anywhere. Of course, on our budget, this means we could barely afford to even get a drink there! But, we made do.

Egypt is a huge change from India. Cairo, which is considered quite polluted, was so amazingly clean to us after just leaving Mumbai, and the traffic actually usually even drives in the lanes! Something we haven’t seen in a very long time. The never ending brown and grey of the desert landscape is about as far removed from our tropical beach hut in Goa as you can possibly get. However, it’s nice to be in yet another new country. We love Egyptian/ middle eastern food so have been going a bit nuts in that department.

There is security everywhere in this country which is both comforting and disturbing. It’s a bit disturbing that they need so much security (we even have to go through a search and metal detectors at the hotel each time we enter) but also comforting that they recognize the need and are prepared and aware of what is going on.

The first full day with the tour we started out going to the Mohamed Ali mosque and the citadel, both of which were interesting. The mosque was very nice, designed after the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and had some decent views of the city which we could see a bit through the smog. Then on to the Egyptian museum. What a fascinating place, it’s too bad it’s so oddly organized and things are not labeled well but the antiquities are great and certainly a taste of things to come. We paid an additional amount to go into the mummy room and saw 11 of the great leaders of Egypt. It’s interesting how intact and lifelike they still are. That evening we had dinner at a local families home and on the way got our first glimpse of the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx at sunset…wow!

Then, on Saturday which was Jim’s birthday, we had a 2:45am wake up call!!! What an ungodly hour! But, we wanted to get down to Luxor and through the airports before the heat got to be too much. A short 1hr flight to Luxor was uneventful and we boarded our cruise ship on the Nile, the MS Miriam. It’s very nice and unlike many river boats we’ve been on ,this room actually looks like a hotel room and is very comfortable. Sameh, our guide for this trip is an engagin young guy and has been really informative so far. He had studied anthropology prior to becoming a guide and knows way more than we ever needed to know about ancient Egypt!

Our first stop was the HUGE temple complex at Karnak and we got our first true taste of the Pharoahs. It is difficult to put into words how amazing it is to walk through these enormous temples with 4000 yr old reliefs and carvings (and even sometimes the color) still visible and imagine what life was like in that time. We had a couple of hours there and then back to the boat for lunch. The restaurant on the boat has been great. We had hoped to have a bit more “egyptian” food rather than the continental cuisine they mainly offer but everything has been very good and there is tons of it.

The afternoon we headed by horsedrawn carriage to Luxor Temple. We headed out around 5:30pm so it wasn’t too hot and were able to see the sun go down over the temple and the Nile. A great end to the day. At dinner that night they brought Jim a birthday cake and all sang happy birthday to him which may have embarrassed him a bit but was fun.

Since then we have seen the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the Colosses of Memnon, and the amazing Valley of the Kings. At the Valley of the Kings our pass allowed us to go into 3 of the tombs. Some were almost too hot and stuffy to breath in and we really give credit to the teams who excavate these sites! Being that far underground or in the mountain and dealing with those sites must be slow work. But, being the tourists who get to take advantage of their hard work is great!

We headed down to Kom Obo but due to traffic at the locks were a bit delayed and didn’t see the temple on the way down, we’ll catch it tomorrow on the way back to Luxor. At Aswan we saw the dam, which, of course, completely changed the way the flooding happens on the Nile, the Isis Temple at Philae and went to a perfume factory. It’s all so old and so overwhelming that it’s hard to take it all in!

Today, up at 3:30am again to fly to Abu Simbel, one of the highlights of the trip. Not only is the site, built by Ramses II amazingly well preserved, but possibly more impressive, it was moved to a higher site in the 60’s to avoid being flooded by the Nile. The pictures of how they cut apart, moved, and restored the temples back in their new home is truly an engineering marvel.

Now time for yet another great dinner so must go. Once we’re back in Cairo I’ll give some final thoughts on the fascinating country of India and catch you up on our time here in Egypt. What an amazing opportunity we’ve been taking advantage of!

Cheers for now, Love to you all, Jim & Rhonda

As you can probably guess , we actually found an internet site with really quick uploads! woo hoo.

Here are the Thailand pics…it always brings back good memories to look back at all the fun we’ve had!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimandrhondartw/sets/72157604123075555/detail/

As an update, we decided to stay at Palolem beach for our entire time in Goa and are having a fantastic time. This little town/ beach is just perfect with enough to see/do/eat to make you happy and yet loads of time for just reading, people watching, and playing in the water. ahhhhhhhhh. Is nice before the heavy duty sightseeing coming up in Egypt. I finally found a Lonely Planet Egypt and even reading the history is tiring!

Until next week in Cairo, take care. Cheers. Jim & Rhonda

Can you believe it???? Another country worth of pictures on the blog within a week! Here are the pics of Laos, one of our very favorite countries. I didn’t do many descriptions of the photos for Vientiane and Luang Prabang, letting the amazing architecture and sights speak for themselves. Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimandrhondartw/sets/72157604099047676/detail/

Love, Jim & Rhonda

We are still in India and now in the state of Goa. Getting here was a long 3 days of traveling. From Kochi it was a 6hr train trip to Calicut, where we spent the night at the Beach Hotel, built in 1890 for the British and right across the street from the beach. We took a sunset walk on the beach and were THE spectacle of the evening! It was us and all Indian families and school kids and we truly felt like celebtities as dozens of people came up wanting to talk to us, shake our hands, and take photos with us. The kids, especially, were fun and wanted to practice their english on us.

The next morning we had a 7:30am train from Calicut to Mangalore, another 6hr journey. There we stayed at a rather dumpy hotel called the Nalapad Residency. For one night, however , was just fine and it was a central location. We did have a really fantastic lunch and then I finally succumbed to Jim’s desire for me to buy a sari. I think they’re really gorgeous but just didn’t want to spend much money on something I might just wear for a halloween party or such. However, it was much too beautiful to resist. Peacock green silk with an extraordinary sequined pattern on it. Even just hanging the fabric up to view will be worth the cost!

From Mangalore we found that there were no AC trains going to Goa so we took the 7am 2nd class car. It was just fine since luckily we took that morning departure. It was, however, slow, and almost 7hrs later we finally pulled into Madgao station and then still had to go 1hr further in the taxi to get to Panjim, where we are now. Believe me, we were DONE with traveling for a few days!

We tried to book into the Alfonso Inn, a very cute small hotel that is extremely popular and doesn’t take reservations. Too bad for us, it was full. So, we moved to the more expensive Panjim Inn which is just great. It is a Heritage hotel and has fantastic tilework everywhere, the most comfortable beds and best showers we’ve had since Vientianne, Laos and a really nice staff. It’s just 1block from Alfonso Inn so still a great, central location.

For the last 4 days we’ve been doing a couple of self-guided walking tours, eating, napping, and just wandering along the waterfront, etc. Panjim was a Portugese settlement and the buildings are highly indicative of that. It’s much more like walking through small town Europe than India!

We are having yet another issue with US Customs/ DHL with the latest box we sent home. Thank goodness it appears to be all resolved now and we only have one more shipment to go (from Egypt). Everything we buy on our safari we’ll just carry home with us!!!! Very sick of US Customs to be sure- Don’t even get me started on what I think of them!

Tomorrow, we head to Palolem for a nice, relaxing beach. We’re due to be there 4nights and then move to the northern beaches of Anjuna for 4nights. Our waiter tonight, however,  said we should just stay at Palolem the whole time because it’s much nicer than Anjuna so…we’ll see..maybe we’ll spend the entire 8nts there before coming back here to Panjim for 1 night before our flight.

Only 3 1/2 months to go before we go home, which is a bit of an odd thought after being gone for almost 7mths! Now that we’re on the downward slope we’re actually starting to think about (gasp) jobs and a new house, etc. yikes! But, for now, we can just enjoy this incredible experience we’re going through and enjoy having no real schedule!

Hope this finds you all happy & healthy. All our love, J&R

We know, we know…took forever, but here are the photos for Vietnam. Enjoy. J&R

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimandrhondartw/sets/72157604036629849/detail/

Hello again from toasty India. We’ve had a fantastic last week or so touring the area. From Alleppey we got our boat booked for the backwaters cruise. We ended up doing 2 nights (the norm is 1) and are glad we did. With the extra day we had time to go further afield and weren’t surrounded so closely by the hundreds of other tourists out boating!

Our boat, the penquin, had 1 bedroom/ bathroom, some comfy chairs and a table in front and side benches that were padded to recline on. We had a crew of 2, the captain and the chef and they were both very nice. The chef was a great cook and made us WAY too much food for each meal. However, he & the captain ate after us and if there were leftovers they shared with some of the local villagers. The backwaters are absolutely gorgeous, serene waterways stretching for over 900km and lined by small villages and palm & coconut trees. There were loads of beautiful birds to watch and little else to do except soak in the scenery, read and talk.

The boat turned out to be great except for one problem. Both nights at around 3am the battery died and the fan in our room started going on and off along with the beeping to indicate low battery. So, the crew would get up, start the generator to charge the battery and all is well. But, this was pretty crappy in the middle of the night! And, even worse, the second night they were both sleeping so soundly we had to LITERALLY shake them awake to go start the generator. This didn’t make for the most restfull sleep! But, other than that…it was an amazing experience and I am glad to report actually lived up to everything we’d heard about it.

Once we arrived back in Alleppey we caught a 2 1/2 hr boat ferry to the town of Kottayam. On the way some young Indian boys on holiday asked to have their photos taken with us, which always cracks us up a bit. We forget they’re as interested in us as we are in them.

We had intended to stay at the Ambassador Hotel but once Jim checked it out we realized it was total crap. Our rickshaw driver suggested we stay at his house at their “homestay” and we decided to check it out. He & his family (wife and daughter) are quite poor and live in a tiny, bright pink, home. It was very clean & they’re a delightful family so we decided to stay with them. Since he doesn’t make enough as a driver to pay for his daughters school they made one room available for tourists. Their home included 4 rooms, the kitchen, their bedroom, bathroom, and our room…which looks like it used to be their tv or living room. It was certainly cozy but they made us a fantastic dinner and seemed quite interested in hearing all about our lives. It was our cheapest night to date. $8.50 for the room and another $8.50 for dinner & beer. A true bargain, especially when you consider the really great time we had meeting the family.

We caught the express bus the next day heading to Kumily near Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. It was meant to be 3 hr 45min but our driver was nuts and we arrived in 3hrs 10min. In between thinking he was Mario Andretti he appeared to be drifting off to sleep, a very scary thing as we twisted and turned up the mountains with easily a 300ft drop off of one side and the typical crazy traffic passing and coming towards us. Luckily, we made it in one piece and took a rickshaw to Coffee Inn. They don’t take reservations but, again, we lucked out and got a room.

After a series of really uncomfortable beds we were thrilled to have a very comfortable bed with a bathroom with hot water and a balcony looking out over the edge of the sanctuary. At $23/night it seemed a bargain. We spent 4 days exploring the town, getting some things booked, etc. and did take a one day trip into the sanctuary. That was a bit of a disappointment in that we only saw 2 water buffalo and some wild boars. But, the scenery was beautiful.

The best part of Kumily is, at 2500ft elevation, it’s a nearly perfect climate. Cool in the morning and evenings and around 80 or so during the day. This area is the tea and coffe plantation region of Kerala and the hills are surrounded by hundreds of acres of fields. We took a tour that explored some of the areas, saw how tea is processed and went to a spice garden. I love to cook with a lot of different spices and it was especially fascinating for me to see how the plants look in their original form.

After quite a few problems we got our flight booked to Egypt for 20March. We had really not wanted to spend the night in Mumbai but, due to schedules there was no way around it. So, on 19Mar we fly from Goa to Mumbai for 1 night and then on 20Mar from Mumbai to Cairo where we’ll meet my companys 12day Egypt tour. We’re very much looking forward to that as it’s 2 nights Cairo, 7 nights on a cruise on the Nile, and 2 more nights in Cairo, all sightseeing and most food included and best of all…. I don’t have to plan anything!!!!

After 4 nights in Kumily we decided that 6hrs on the bus back to Kochi was not what we wanted to do. So, we hired a taxi. It was about $50 but worth it for the 4hr (safe) drive especially since it was in the mid-90’s . We’re here in Kochi for 2 nights so we can send yet another DHL package home and lighten our loads once again and then start heading north. We have 2 hotels already confirmed on 2 different beaches in Goa. It’s a very busy season and we were afraid we’d be out of luck otherwise.

Our hotel here, the Yuvarni Residency, is actually a HOTEL….the whole bit, room service, maid service, an elevator, and …best of all..CNN. We have been without any real type of news for almost 2 weeks and really missing knowing what is going on in the world.

Well, dear friends & family. It’s 10:30pm and we’re off to dinner . Hope everyone is well at home. Cheers from India. Love to you all, Jim & Rhonda

We’ve mentioned to a few people that India is unlike anywhere we’ve ever been, and when they ask why it’s a bit tough to explain. We both love it AND hate it , usually within minutes of eachother!

It is completely a land of contrasts, and this is more noticeable up north. In Rajastan, as I had mentioned, women are really just worth about nothing. Due to the social structure there is really very little interraction between the sexes until they are married. There are still many arranged marriages and the caste system still seems very strongly in place, despite comments that it’s changing. However, the men are obsessed with Western women. They have an image that we’re all easy prostitutes , perpetuated by some womens clothing choices, and LOVE to stare. Every time we’d stop during the 2 weeks men would come up to the car and stare or surround me if we got out making odd, slurpy noises. But, they would almost refuse to speak to me, always directing all conversation at Jim. Even our driver Yunis would always direct comments to Jim, although he was always very polite to me.

The filth here is almost unimaginable, there seems to be no such thing as garbage service and it’s generally all open sewers so the stench is quite nasty. With the “holy” cows, camels, goats and dogs wandering freely, as well as men peeing everywhere on the streets it’s essential to watch where you’re walking every second. Plastic bags, something we believe should be banned from existence, are stuck in simply every bush, fench, ditch, etc. and children are playing in all that garbage. And, ironically enough, even though the Hindu’s worship the cow, they allow them to roam freely eating garbage bags, whatever so there are cow hospitals around where they do surgery on approx. 1000 cows a week to remove the plastic bags that are twisted in their stomachs! That is when we hate India!

Then, you’ll come across an amazing fort, with intricate carvings set in marble or red sandstone and be overwhelmed with the artistry, or be driving along and see a herd of camels moving through the desert, or round a corner to a market filled with bright colored saris or eat an amazing curry or fish dish and realize why you love India.

It goes on like this everyday. Even at the Taj Mahal, truly a world wonder, you are so amazed at that tribute to love (even if Shah Jahan was a bit of a loon) and then repulsed while walking back to the car by the garbage along the street and all the local men relieving themselves.

The smaller towns, Pushkar in particular, was a fascinating street scene of men selling everything imaginable, every kid on a cell phone, women carrying baskets on their heads, the smell of spices combined with incense, and the market scene. Then, to interrupt the scene was the funeral procession and a few stray camels and donkeys walking by. It’s certainly the finest people watching anywhere and we are certainly never bored.

We have spent hours discussing things like: Why, if these people have internet and cell phones and t.v. and can travel, why why why do they continue to live in such deplorable conditions. We can understand very poor people who don’t know much better leaving garbage about, but even outside very nice houses in Delhi, the wealthy have to walk over or around piles of crap to get to their houses. What would cause someone to continue to live like that and who wants their children to play in that?

And, why in a society where men & women are not allowed to touch or kiss in public and are so segregated, is it ok for men to have homosexual relationships?? India recently beat out South Africa as having the highest number of aids in the world. Everywhere you see men walking down the street arms around eachother or fingers interlaced as they hold hands, sometimes as friends, but often because that is the only physical contact allowed? And yet, AIDS workers here are having a horrible time spreading the message because they say “We’re not gay, this isn’t sex, it’s just recreation”.

Every newspaper we read had India talking about becoming a world power, but we can’t see that ever happening. The general infrastructure is so badly out of date right now they’re having a tough time even getting atheletes willing to come in 2010 for the Commonwealth games due to the air quality in Delhi. And yet, while they’re redoing the airport, the officials refuse to even discuss working on changing air quality. One paper we read said that 30,000 (not a misprint) new cars and motorcycles are registered EVERY DAY in Delhi. Unbelievable!

We believe India has a lot going for it, it’s producing the finest engineers in the world who, unfortunately, all leave for western countries to work, they have amazing artisans, wonderful food, really friendly people, and a general zest for life that is missing in so many cultures, however, we believe their caste system will never allow them to progress to keep up with the times. Not that we feel they need to become like the US or Europe. But general change in infrastructure will only do good for the health and well being of this country. We have discussed some of these things with different people and the response is pretty much all the same, we know we’re 50 yrs behind the times but we believe we were born into a certain life and that is unchangeable. Even our driver Yunis. He believes he will only ever be a driver so it never crosses his mind to try to improve his lot in life, change to a different status, etc. Nothing is getting done here because the CONCEPT of change is completely foreign to much of the country.

The good news is, we have read newspaper columns, magazines, etc. where some of the younger generation are trying to change. However, the caste system of being born into a certain group is so ingrained we think it will take decades to overcome, if it ever can be.

All in all, India is proving to be just as intriguing, amazing, disgusting and challenging as we’d imagined. We are very glad we came and, in spite of it’s flaws, you really do get drawn in to the vibrancy of life here.

By next blog…who knows? Will it be a love it or hate it day?? Ha Ha. We’ll see.

Cheers, Jim & Rhonda

As promised, I’m attempting to be better about blogging once again!

We’ve been down in Southern India for 1 week now and are enjoying it so much more than up north. We’re not freezing, for one thing, but the pace of life is just much more laid back here as well. Typical of the tropics.

Women here in the state of Kerala have much more clout than anywhere else in the country. They are actually out and about, working, willing to chat, etc. Many of the men, so used to seeing western beach goers are not such big starers but…today at lunch I again had a guy who wouldn’t talk to me and when Jim ordered lunch assumed I wanted the same thing. Have I mentioned yet that it is pissing me off???

We spent our first 3 nights at a bit of a splurge ($70/nt!) in Fort Cochin. It’s an island that is an old Portugese fort, also used by the Dutch during their spice trading heydey. Our Delight Guest House was just that. David, the owner was great, our room was large and beautiful with A/C and a great shower along with a balcony. The town is tiny and we spent the days walking everywhere, watching the local fisherman, and reading on our balcony.

After 3 nights there we had our first Indian train experience. We took a rickshaw to the station and acquiring the ticket (A/C class 4 hrs to Varkala) was no problem but getting anyone to tell us what platform our train was leaving from was a nightmare. No where on the tickets does it give the train number/ platform number/ or car number. So, we finally figured it out JUST as the train was pulling out and then had to force our way up about 10 cars (fully backpacked with tiny aisles spilling over with kids & luggage, etc) to an AC car. We were on board about 2hrs and the conductor came by to say we could move to the “correct” car or pay more. So, up again and finally in our correct place. Although he, also, couldn’t explain how we could have known that!

Anyway, ended up in Varkala and we’d made reservations for 4nts at Santa Claus Village, yep, silly name all right. The town was packed so we did end up taking the room which had a veranda with a lovely view of the ocean but without a doubt the most uncomfortable beds known to man. Truly, we’re more comfy sleeping in our backpacks on the ground! However, it was centrally located and as mentioned…this town was packed!

Varkala is a small town perched on a cliff overlooking the ocean with about 60 steps down to the beach. All of the restaurants and hotels are on the top and actual Varkala town is about 4km inland. It was a great place to hang for 4 days. We spent some of each day on the beach where you can rent beach chairs (ancient loungers) and umbrellas, but , alas, no drink service! Each night everyone would begin the parade to see which restaurant got their sunset viewing business for the day. Very peaceful. We read a few books, took walks everyday and caught up on emails.

Now, after another 2hr train ride (we got some extra info this time and it went smoother!) we’re in a town called Alleppy , which is the starting point for most backwater houseboat cruises. Kerala is famous for it’s thousands of kilometers of backwater and old rice barges have been converted to fancy overnight digs for we tourists! We’re here for 2 nights, taking the houseboat for 1 night, and then moving further inland to do some (hopefully) wildlife viewing and visit some tea plantations.

It’s hot & humid in this region of India…around 94 degrees F today and quite humid. Thank goodness for A/C sometimes! I know, I know, first too cold and now too hot! But, not complaining , we’d rather be in the tropics!

Hope everyone is well at home! Cheers, J&R

Hello again,

Well, our 17 day tour of Rajastan/ Aga & Delhi was interesting to say the least! After Mandawa we headed for Bikaner. Bikaner is a neat little town of around 200,000 with a great old fort/palace and some good sights. Our room was nice but , again no heat. At least this one had hot water! By this time Jim was getting a full on head cold and we really wanted to go to Karni Mata temple to see the rats so we altered our itinerary a bit to stay 2 nights in Bikaner.

The fort was interersting but Karni Mata was quite a trip. We’d seen it on the travel channel before…the temple devoted to rats. You must enter barefoot and if a rat runs over your feet it’s good luck and if you see a white rat it’s REALLY good luck. Some other woman saw a white one while we were there and were moaning and crying and carrying on, quite a sight.

Rajastan is very arid and monochromatic but the women in their incredibly vibrant colored sari’s are a feast for the eyes. It was amazing to be driving along and seemingly out of nowhere in the desert you would suddenly see bright colored sari’d women carrying sticks or water containers on their heads. You truly know you’re in another world!

After Bikaner it was a 6hr drive to Jaisalmer, about 45miles from the Pakistani border. There have been no issues there for some time but military in evidence everywhere. The town also has a very impressive fort (which included a beautifully carved Jain temple)which Jim, unfortunately, didn’t enjoy too much. At our hotel (nope, again no heat or hot water) he had a “fried” egg for breakfast that was mostly raw. About halfway through our walking tour he was feeling sick. oh oh.

We stopped briefly so I could go to the ATM for cash. I was a bit intimidated because in this part of India women have it worse than anywhere else. They’re not just 2nd class citizens they’re more like 4th class after cows, men & camels. It was all men in line and , unlike the US where you give the person ahead of you space, everyone sort of pushes and leans in. I had 4 military guys ahead of me and when the one right in front of me was up he turned and asked me to go ahead so he and his buddies could sort of shield me from the staring crowd. I was shocked to be sure but really glad there was some man in India that wasn’t just out to leer!

Yunis, our driver, headed out of town 1hr to the Khuri camel camp for what was meant to be one of our highlights. Too bad Jim was really sick by this point and we had to pull over once or him to throw up. By the time we got to camp he was really not well. We got one of the little rooms with an attached bathroom for him, a good thing because the poor guy spent the next 12hrs projecting from both ends. After Wendy and I had just had food poisoning in Thailand I was really understanding how miserable he was!

I, on the other hand, decided that since all the men of the village kept coming by to check on him I may as well do the camel ride. I was thinking all of us at the camp would go together but alas, was not to be. They assume most people want to get that “alone in the desert” experience so each couple or group headed out in different directions. So, not only was I riding the absolutely most uncomfortable animal on earth, but was alone in the desert with the camel handler attempting to make conversation even though he spoke almost no english. And, everytime we stopped to rest all the village boys would circle around and just stare while making slurpy noises. Not fun. I was worried about Jim and sore by now so cut my camel journey short to head back to the camp. Jim was still being checked on regularly by pretty much everyone in town so I headed to the kitchen.

Now, in this part of India women do not work outside the home. In 2 weeks we only saw TWO women with jobs other than housework or building fences or whater. So, the men do all the cooking and one of Yunis’ s friends that was driving another couple around asked if I wanted to watch him cook mutton (lamb) curry. I had a great couple of hours hanging out in this tiny kitchen with about  8 guys all chopping and stirring, etc.  Learned a couple of new tricks and enjoyed having men actually speak to me instead of just staring.

Then, to indicate that nothing is normal in India, I walked back outside the kitchen to go to check on Jim and found a cow wearing , perhaps, more jewelry than I own! She had earrings, a necklace, and 4 ankle bracelets of silver with bells on them. Plus, streamers on her horns. She was a black cow with very sweet eyes and she had just been watching the activity in the kitchen. Craziness!

Jim had a rough night but finally around 2pm not much else was coming up and we finally got some anti-nausea pills to stay down and he continued to improve from there. We left the camel camp and drove around 5hrs to Jodphur, our next stop.

By now, I am getting a head cold. Geez, what was going on with us! We had a very nice room for 1 nt in Jodphur at a heritage haveli (basically just means old palace converted to a hotel) and even got a hot shower for the first time in a few days! We went to the spice market that night and bought some spices and had a great evening having dinner on the rooftop restaurant watching the sun cast shadows over the fort and monkeys play everywhere.

The Jodphur fort was my favorite, I think… very impressive and well kept. It had an excellent audio taped tour which made everything more interesting. Then, on to Ranekpur. We really wanted 2 nights in one spot to just relax and for me to recover. We stayed in a tiny little hotel set in the countryside and I spent most of the time napping or reading with Jim in the sun on our deck. Then, only about a 3hr drive on to Udaipur.

Udaipur is the city of the floating Lake Palace. Our hotel was just ok but, for the first time on this trip actually had GLASS windows, not just shutters and so was quite a lot warmer than any of our past rooms. We had 2 nights there and spent our full day doing a tour of the fort and palace and taking a lake cruise to see the Lake Palace and the current home o the Maharaja (from a distance, of course!). I was still not up to par so Jim and Yunis went to an art school where Jim bought a great miniature painting. It’s an Indian speciality, where they paint minute details on paintings…quite amazing. So far, we had also purchased a small patchwork wall hanging in Mandawa and a handmade rug at Ranakpur and that was about it. I think Yunis was quite dismayed at how little we were interested in shopping ….it sounds like most people go nuts here and buy out every town.

The next day, another 6hr trip to Pushkar. This small town of 14,000 was one of my favorites…maybe just because I was finally feeling better! We had a room with a view of the “holy” lake and all of the bathing ghats, where the locals and pilgrams come to bathe in the holy water. First thing we noticed some men carrying a dead body by so we followed to witness our first funeral pyre. It was very interesting watching them build up the wood pile, carefully place the body, say some words, paint the face white, and then start the fire. Really, just like our cremation at home but much more hands on. Perhaps if we did something more similiar at home so many people wouldn’t have denial issues about a loved one being gone.

Then, we wandered the town. It was a fascinating group of vendors, shops, women shopping for dinner, camels, cows, goats, and monkeys. Jim got peed on by a monkey…we’re not sure if that is considered good luck like when a bird poops on you, but we’re going with that idea! We had a few traffic jams caused by those “holy cows” that are simply everywhere and ate dinner at a little hole in the wall called Sun n Moon that we’d read about. A young couple owned it and she was delightful and  the one waiting tables while he cooked. Dinner took over 2hrs because we’d gone for the house specialty… homemade gnocchi with fresh tomato sauce and apple pie for desert. Was great! We spent quite a lot of time chatting with her and she gave me my 3rd bracelet gift of the trip, a silver charm bracelet. I am constantly humbled by such behavior and can not imagine how these women who have nothing are willing to give me a free piece of jewelry. It was very sweet.

After Pushkar on to Jaipur…sort of THE town in Rajastan for groups and such. On the way we literally drove 2 or 3 hrs past marble and granite shops on each side of the road. For as far as we could see tons and tons of gorgeous marble and granite in every color you could imagine. Boy, if you were remodeling your home this would be the place to be!

In Jaipur a miracle happened. We got a room with glass windows AND a space heater. That is right a heater! We were overjoyed. Finally, a room we wouldn’t be freezing in. Our first afternoon Yunis took us to the theater to see a Bollywood movie. The theater itself is magnificent….something we’d use at home for theater or dance productions, and the movie was so much fun! It was in Hindu so we really didn’t understand it all but it was easy to follow and full of song and dance features. Had a great time.

The 2nd day up to the fort. We rode brightly painted elephants up and explored at will, then did the city palace and Jim bought some handstichted leather shoes that are typical of the region to wear at home as slippers..they seem very comfortable.

That night we just could not take any more Indian food (although it had all been good) and ordered Dominos’ pizza delivery. Laugh if you will, but after eating every manner of rice dish for the last 3 months in SE Asia and India we just wanted pizza! And, it was about 1/4 of the price of it at home!

Then, on to Agra. Our hotel there was nasty…by far the worst of the bunch, and we’d been warned since it’s a tough town to get a room in. But hey, one night we can handle. We got up early to see the sun rise over the Taj Mahal. It was truly magical. We’ve seen a lot of impressive sites and some are as good as their reputation and many are not. But, this certainly was. Absolutely gorgeous, amazing, out of this world. The color of the marble changed as the sun moved up it and with the image in the reflecting pools it was certainly something we’ll always treasure. Next we saw the fort in Agra, also impressive and with some great views of the Taj. We bought another wall hanging unlike any we’d seen before with semi-precious gems sewn on and headed to Delhi.

Our hotel room in Delhi was huge…they’d given us the Maharaja suite, alas not in a gorgeous hotel, but the room was very nice. And, a HOT shower…oh joy of joys. Delhi, unfortunately, is a pit hole from hell. Filthy, polluted, with the most aggressive, nasty rickshaw drivers in the world. We ordered room service the first night and the next day Yunis took us to see some sites. That night we ordered pizza hut delivery as we were just not up to braving the streets, weren’t in a great location, and were both already feeling congested after just 1 full day back in the craphole that is Delhi. We couldn’t wait to leave!

We got a transfer to the airport on 15Feb, 17 days after we arrived, to fly south to Kochi. We left Delhi on time and then circled Bombay airport for over an hour, being # 21 in line to land! We then had only 20minutes to catch our flight to Kochi but, never fear, we sat on the ground on that flight or over and hour being # 24 in line to take off! Crowded airport to say the least and very badly organized.

We arrived in Kochi to the blessed tropical breezes at 5:30pm and were in our hotel by 7pm. I’ll update you on our week down south so far in the next blog.

We’re loving it much more here on the beach in the warmth. Can’t let India get to you!

As always, Living the Dream! Cheers, J&R

Well, as everyone we know who’d been there had told us….India is a completely different world! And we did NOT have an auspicious beginning.

We arrived in Delhi at 9pm and had to wait 1 1/2 hrs for our luggage. No kidding, the Delhi airport is a pithole, especially after coming from Bangkok’s new and lovely airport. We hadn’t expected it to be as nice but geez, ANY airport is nicer than Delhi! After finally getting our bags we had to walk out what appeared to be an emergency exit into an alley where hundreds of people were waiting or arrivals. Yep, it was 37 degrees out but the airport does not even have a place or people to wait inside! There were signs everywhere saying a “world class airport is coming soon” but gotta say, we’re dubious.

We got a prepaid taxi voucher and our driver immediately told us there was a problem with the address we’d printed off the web for our hotel. He said it only indicated the area of town, not the real address. So, we drove to the area and asked, no one had heard of it. Then, he suggested we go to a travel agency open 24hrs to call the hotel. We immediately sensed a scam but decided to go with it and see what happened.

I waited in the cab with our bags while Jim went in to call. Next thing I know he comes out saying the hotel has no reservation or us and no rooms (we booked through orbitz.com) Fearing the agency/ driver were just trying to get us to go to their hotel for commission I verified with Jim that he really was the one that called the hotel and yep, they really didn’t have us down.

He went back in the agency (it’s now around 11:30pm and freezing….literally!) and spent over an hour calling dozens of hotels looking or a room. He found one at a hotel that wanted $1000/night!!! Not a chance there. Finally, I went in too and we called the train station thinking we could just get a ticket for 6am to Agra or Jaipur and wait there. No go either, all trains were full or 5 days!

By now we were not happy campers. The agent then suggested another option. Since we were planning on traveling through Rajastan anyway, we could hire a car/driver and do their 2 week itinerary. It was a bit more than we wanted to pay and we weren’t too thrilled about making a decision like that at 1am with not many options, but it was all of the places we wanted to go and figured it might be nice to have a driver for the chaos that is India.

Next thing you know, at 2am, we’re speeding out of Delhi towards Mandawa, our first stop. Unfortunately, the car had no heat and Jim and I were still in shorts from the heat of Bangkok (where it had been 93 when we left) and, in spite of having hats, coats and gloves on, were absolutely freezing. It was the most uncomfortable 6hrs of our life.

At Mandawa things did not improve right away. The hotel was a heritage haver changed into a hotel and was lovely, but, alas…no heat. Being made of stone and cement the rooms held in the cold and we asked or more blankets and tried to get a couple hours of sleep while fully clothed and bundled in. Finally, at about 11:30am we decided it HAD to be warmer outside in the sun than it was in our room and ventured out. Sure enough, it was quite a lovely day. Cool, but pleasant. We had lunch and took a walking tour around town, enjoying the architecture. Mandawa is a town of around 20,000 which was really affected when an American owned manuacturing company pulled out after a divorce and it’s really struggling.

There were several people staying at the hotel and after a beer and the sunset they made us a fire in the courtyard before dinner. It proved to be another very cold night but at least we’d made it to India! And, as predicted, nothing turned out like we’d planned. We would find this typical in the weeks to come.

Sorry this is so delayed but promise..more soon! Cheers, Jim & Rhonda