Briefly... [View Full Entry]

---

---

Chipped out of the cliff face! [View Full Entry]

---

---

Crippled computer so I can't shrink them, see how many I can upload... [View Full Entry]

---

---

(I may have been ripped off on the bananas.) We travelled from Udaipur to Aurangabad via sleeper bus. Somehow, we'd travelled by car or normal bus (daytime, upright seating). From Udaipur to Indore (closest major city to Mandu) there was no direct train link. The sleeper bus is covers hundreds of kilometers during the night (when the roads are emptiest) and averages 30-40 km/h, so it takes something like 11 hours. The bus configuration varies, but the sleeper compartments are above the seats, about 5'10" long and 3x3. You climb up a ladder and swing in with your heap of luggage, [View Full Entry]

---

---

I'm guessing at the date since we've neglected this blog for a week. We were in a small town last week (I think John's describing it on the other computer right now) which didn't have readily available internet access. The rest of our stay in Udaipur was quiet and relaxing. We wandered through the gardens and the zoo (which had about 6 animals in it), rented a pedallo boat and pedalled around Fateh Sagar lake, and saw the rock garden and statues of Maharana Pratap (Moghul resister!) and his loyal horse Chetak. We also spent a lot of time in rooftop [View Full Entry]

---

---

Tried buying fruit - bananas are cheap and convieniently packaged, about 10 rupees (Rs) for 5 bananas. It's strange to have no concept of what something costs, though we're gradually getting an idea. 25 cents for 5 bananas sounds ok to me, but then certain things are dramatically cheaper here, so prices at home don't really give any relative indication. Tried a papaya (10Rs) and pineapple(40Rs), but that got messier to prepare on our own, so I don't know if I'll try that again soon. Unfortunately, its not mango season so there aren't any available anywhere - make you realize how [View Full Entry]

---

---

Whole bunch of palaces here. The presence of the water and hills makes this place quite scenic. [View Full Entry]

---

---

I just realized that I gave John free reign to post pictures, and they're all of me! That's gotta stop, so I've just deleted some of the more unflattering images (sitting on a camel all day and spending all night camping doesn't really show off my best side). After a quick stop in Jodhpur (which is much bluer than Jaipur is pink) we're out of the desert and in cool, green Udaipur in the hills. The city is small, clean and pleasant to wander around in. Happily, the lake is full - after taking a boat ride around it, it's hard [View Full Entry]

---

---

Spent a week in Jaisalmer - the desert. Now in Jodhpur where the connection is faster, I can add some pictures. Each city has some impressive fort, equal to anything in Europe but with an Indian style. Quite impressive. Camel safari was quite fun, but extremely punishing on the first day. The camel moves with a rocking motion, and your legs are unsupported and swing about freely. The result is, that after a few hours it feels as though your legs are being shaken off under their own weight! The desert scenery is unbelieveable, and surprisingly varied, going from moonscape to [View Full Entry]

---

---

Dial-up connection to the internet today - I'd completely forgotten what this is like! Images are turned off, and pages are loading sloooowly. End of our first week in India - feels like much longer since we've been on the go since we got here. We said good-bye to our driver at the entrance to the bazaar in Jaisalmer, feeling ready to strike off on our own! We're in the desert! The drive from Bikaner to Jaisalmer was long and the roads were empty- we left at 7:00 in the morning and arrived at 12:30 or so in Jaisalmer. The scenery [View Full Entry]

---

---