"India's more fun than Minecraft"

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Yes, you heard it here first! It's the official 9 year old report and I would have to agree. This week we have continued to enjoy Banyon beach, the thrills of the scooter, playing with the Tamilian children, visiting the Auroville Botanical Garden and planting some seeds in the vegetable garden at Aspiration. In the garden we planted lades finger, a variety of beans and watermelon. However, after the monsoon rain last night I examined the watermelon seeds that had washed to the surface and I noticed that they were bad seeds, so there goes the excitement of seeing them sprout before we leave. I might replace them with some fresh Rosela seeds that I bought.



We've continued to document the flora and fauna we've come across and we visited a portion of The Auroville Botanical Garden yesterday. There was a neat hedge maze the kids enjoyed, but it was so hot in the direct sun that we decided to return at a cooler time. It's interesting to me that most of the traveling that I have done has brought me to realize the prevalence of so many plant species- everywhere I seem to go I see the same plants: bougainvillea, birds of paradise and related, oleander, pathos- though India is home to a great diversity of plants that I don't think I've ever seen before. Plants such as tamarind, neem, apple custard, papaya, tulsi, sandalwood, so many of which seem to be edible or useful in some other way. It's highly interesting and I have a strong desire to bring back a suitcase full of seeds that would, alas, never flourish in relatively cold and wet Washington.


That's all for this week!

Side note:
(I have decided that I do appreciate the obvious consideration in American culture in regards to driving. It is nice if a fellow traveler allows you to have the right of way when there is only a sliver of road between two large pools of water from last nights monsoon. It's nice not to be honked at so much, even if the honking is meant as a nicety, a secret language of which I am not privy. We have met a family from Virginia staying here for a year, transplants of ten years from Deli. We discussed traffic here in the south as compared to the north, where they are from. They shared that in the north this is far more money and disparity. With wealth often comes arrogance and as such, drivers there are far less likely to heed any mere motorbike and deaths occur far more frequently. Looks like my motorbiking in India days will not follow me on future travels northward.)

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Photos

Idly
-because its just too good.