A Logistical Update

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So today Brian and I made plans for the rest of our trip. We are working until the 15th of July, and then the night of the fifteenth we are taking a train from Jaipur bound for Amritsar, which is the capital of Punjab. Before we get there, however, we're going to transfer trains a couple times with the goal of ending up in Dharamsala before nightfall on the 16th. Dharamsala is the seat of the Tibetan government in exile and the home of the Dalai Lama. It's supposed to be a very relaxing place with great Himalayan views and lots of friendly Tibetan monks. We had plans for getting way into the Himlayas, but decided it involved too much bus travel with lots of hairpin turns, and wouldn't have been relaxing at all. This way we'll spend several days in Dharamsala and the surrounding environs before returning to Amritsar to meet Mona (my roommate) on the 21st. The main sight in Amritsar is the Golden Temple (although I hear the closing of the border between Pakistan and India is quite a spectacle, and only an hour away), the most holy site in Sikhism, which incidentally provides free accomodation for up to three nights. After we've exhausted Sikh hospitality, it's another full day of travel to Jaisalmer, in Western Rajasthan, where we hope to go on a three day camel safari in the desert. After a short stop in Jodhpur, it's back to Jaipur to pick up our bags, and then we'll head to Delhi via Agra to see the Taj Mahal. We'll spend our last two days or so in Delhi seeing the sights before Mona and I fly home August 2nd. Brian heard from the professor he's doing work study with during the sememster, and it sounds promising, so he'll be flying back early whenever the cheapest date is. Anyway, it promises to be a great two and a half weeks, with lots of wonderful pictures and some great experiences, and I can't wait. Until then.

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