The chill we felt would well have been because of the chilly air. Clouds and smog obliterated the sun. It was, undoubtedly, cool for 2 pm. Or maybe the chill was from anxiety. Excitement? Maybe. It could also have been from any combination of circumstances or emotions that cause the heart to beat faster or, conversely, skip a beat. All we could really remember was staring dumbfounded at one of the most awesome and maybe the most recognizable buildings in the world, the Taj Mahal and feeling a chill. That the Taj Mahal stood detached, central and elevated on its platform [View Full Entry]

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There is a certain trepidation one feels when attempting something for the first time. And such it was for us with mounting the camels. That they are almost 3 meters (9 feet) tall and hundreds of pounds didn’t do anything to ease the nerves. But they did have the most lovable faces, bulbous lips and a fascinating gleam of innocent impishness in their eyes. Both of them were sitting flat contentedly chewing their cuds. Saddles made from leather around a metal frame and cushioned by layers of brown jute bags sat atop the single hump on each camel. Ah ha! “Camels [View Full Entry]

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Jodhpur's signature clock tower was well lit by the time we reached it; the colors changing intermittently. There, we paid and left an angry rickshaw driver who had wanted to take us elsewhere and we negotiated our way thru the quiet streets in search of accommodation. Sunshine Guesthouse offered up the biggest, liveliest room we ever had and the owner was a kind, friendly man. After check-in, he whipped out a pack of colorful bindis and pasted one in the middle of Shanna's forehead. Dinner was a grand affair atop a nearby rooftop restaurant overlooking the dark city and the shining [View Full Entry]

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The massive crumbling city walls a minute's rickshaw ride from the train station foretold of a once-mighty city called Mewar. Maharaja Udai Singh II, expanded Mewar and renamed it Udaipur. As the rickshaw weaved between a steady flow of traffic we sensed a building excitement for this, as far as the eyes could see, was Rajasthan, a state like no other in India. Come on now, say it: 'Rajasthan'. Let the 'R' roll off your tongue and feel the vibration of thousands of raging Rajput warriors, the gold standard of bravery and chivalry; feel the earth shake with the thun [View Full Entry]

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Have you ever wondered what Hindus believe? About why there are so many Hindu gods? Have you ever thought of Hinduism as so far removed from the beliefs of Christians or wonder if there are any beliefs that overlap or seem to overlap? We were about to come face to face with one of India's holiest and colorful places and have some of our questions answered. Four hours earlier we were half-running, half-hobbling from platform 14 to platform 10 in Mumbai's VT to catch the train. It was dark when we pulled into Nasik only to find that we were yet [View Full Entry]

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Mumbai They say that God works in mysterious ways. Six hours into the bus ride from Tarkarli we were still wondering what force had caused us to choose this horrid bus which would get us into Mumbai after 14 hours. All thru the night we bounced around unable to sleep. Finally, at 4:30 am, just when the dark is at its darkest and strange creatures and stranger humans prowl the streets, we get ejected to the curb of an unlit street. Shaken and stirred, with frazzled nerves and sore muscles, we watched the red taillights disappear around the bend while our [View Full Entry]

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Tarkarli wasn't the easiest of places to get to. Off the beaten track, as it were, the little seaside city lay 150 km north of the ever-popular Goa and made for a jaunting 5-hour bus ride from Panaji. Set deep in the south of Maharashtra, India's second most populous state, Tarkarli and the adjoining village of Malvan are more geared towards Indian travellers and much less to foreigners. But they did promise an easy pace, less noise and air pollution, beaches to make Goans jealous and, of course, great seafood. And these were enough enticements to cause us to endure the [View Full Entry]

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At last! We had made it. To Goa. So many times, between mouthfuls of spicy Goan fish curry from Pride of Indian in St. Maarten, we were transported to the Indian subcontinent, to Goa in particular, albeit in delicious thought. But, like we've learnt every minute of the adventure, time and space collapses and dreams become reality under the sheer will of intent and positive projections. Anyway, philosophizing aside, here we were, at Panaji's (aka Panjim's) bus station with high expectations and no place to stay. Relax Inn was little more than someone's home. We had found it by chance tuc [View Full Entry]

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Sekar duped us. He didn't come to pick us up as promised. Maybe it was because there were no shops open at 4:25 am so he couldn't swap fare for vouchers. Now, outside Paradise Guesthouse, we were faced with a huge predicament. Our train would leave Central at 5 am. Needing to find a rickshaw, we stepped out into the scary darkness of early-morning Triplicaine. There was a whole nocturnal world at work including more than a few stray dogs scrounging in the heaps. Scary though it was, the darkness also hid the things which had so grieved us the day [View Full Entry]

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With still fresh and painful memories of the harassment at immigration two days prior (see: Singapore: 4½ ), we entered the same Changi Budget Terminal in Singapore praying that there would be no drama this time 'round. There wasn't. In the slow march from the departure lounge to the waiting Tiger Airways plane, we struck up a brief conversation with a young-ish German man named Michael who'd later prove an asset. True to form, we had, again, not the foggiest idea of where we'd be staying but soon the sweet bliss [View Full Entry]

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