Blogs from Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 346

The problems with our hotel in Jaisalmer (see last blog) were rectified to everyone's satisfaction- especially ours, as we didn't have to lift a finger! We transferred to a much nicer hotel (the Rang Mahal) on the other side of town. Our first impressions of Jaisalmer were that it reminded us of Marrakesh- narrow alleyways, carpets everywhere, the smell of camel leather and hookahs. Our tour of the city was a pleasure, including a walkpast of the guide's house. We even had time for some shopping- a luxury on a tour where every minute is planned for you- and found some nice Rajastani bedspreads to argue the price over. In the evening, we took a camel safari out to the dunes near the town of Sam in the desert. It was lovely- just me, Linda, and ... read more

Hi Everyone! I 'm just about a week out from my five week trip to India. I leave one week from Thursday...I can hardly believe it! Seemed like it was high time to get this set-up and ready to go. I'm going to be writing about my experiences in India as much as possible. For those of you who don't know, I will be staying in people's homes in India, so every few days I will be with a new family in a new home. Thus, given that we'll be traveling around seeing new things, meeting new people and staying new places often, I don't know how much internet access I will have. But I will write as often as I can. Here's my promise: When I write, I will write what I'm experiencing honestly...in other ... read more

India occupies only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area, yet it supports around 16 percent of the global population. With over a billion people*, its average population density is higher than any other nation of comparable size - andit continues to add the equivalent of Australia’s total population every year! It should come as little surprise then that this overpopulation leads to severe economic hardship and, in turn, to diseases which we fortunate Westerners seldom, if ever, encounter. So, I’ve been careful to be prepared for disease. Like most NHS doctors’ surgeries, ours dispenses free inoculations against the most virulent of the nasties to which the people of India are routinely exposed. Jabs against diphtheria and tetanus in my left arm and typhoid in the right meant sleeping on my back for a couple of ... read more

We have got some photos put on CD now so here's a selection.... read more

Just arrived in Jaisalmer and the hotel isn't a patch on the lovely restored havelis/palaces we've been staying in so far on the tour. The rest of the group are saying things like "it's disgusting and filthy, I wouldn't let my dog stay here"; Steve and I nod, mumble agreement and privately remember the dumps that we seek out and check in to around the world just to save on a few euros/shekels/rupees! The view to the rear of the hotel is of a patch of rock-strewn scrubland inhabited by five cows, a wild pig and a crow. The crow sits on the back of the pig as it wanders about and pecks at the pig's bum. When the pig takes a poo, the crow stands underneath, open-beaked, not wanting to miss anything. You don't see ... read more