Blogs from Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 365

After Agra Brett and I headed to Jaipur, which is in the North Western state of Rajisthan. This city is hustling with energy and a strong economy. For the most part the begging and such is quite minimal to Agra, but still fairly active. Our Hotel was magnificent as we felt like kings, a little more plush then we needed. Pictures coming soon. We spent the whole day sight seeing yesterday throughout the city and also a visit to the Fort Amber (Ameer) in the outskirts. We really enjoyed the fort as we got lost a number of times in the maze of rooms and courtyards it holds. We hope to put some pictures up soon. We also went to the City palace where the largest silver flasks/pots in the world are held. The king of ... read more

Well I arrived in Jaipur a couple of days ago and it is an amazing place. The whole city if full of gates, old palaces and much of the city looks like it was built 400 years ago. Yet India with its traffic and crazy drivers are still in the midst of this beautiful city. India is an amazing place and as many will tell you, you have a love/hate relationship with this country. There are many interesting things that one would see on a daily basis that are amazing. Today for instance I went to Amber for and 2 other ones. Amber fort is the most popular and amazing fort. They have indian elephants painted lavishly that will give you a ride up to the fort. The fort is in decent shape with many beautiful ... read more

I arrived in Pushkar in an overnight bus from Udaipur yesterday morning, about an hour before sunrise. Other than the couple tea stalls offering me and my rickshaw driver some chai (and the stray cows and donkeys chewing on cardboard) it was a pretty ghost townish morning. I sat on the table-on-wheels variety of rickshaw and practically jolted from my half-wake half-asleep state when the megaphone attached to the neighborhood mosque announced the first of 5 daily prayer announcements. Something I may not have eluded to in previous blogs is the faith-rich culture of this country I've been exploring. The loud announcements blasting at 5-6 am may not be the most welcomed sound, but it connotes a level of religious freedom that is different than that found in my country (ironically, founded on freedom of religion). ... read more

India is an amazing place and I guess I have been more critical of India because I am from here. But still the people here are incredible,they are really smart but argue and cannot decide on anything. The people are generous and then you will turn around and meet someone rude. It is a country of hot and cold.... read more

*** I wrote most of this blog before we became aware of the devastation caused by the recent Tsunami which is why there's little reference to it. It’s been particularly shocking for us as many of the destinations of our trip so far have been severely affected. We've heard back from some people we met in southern Sri Lanka who are safe and well but fear the worst for the many guest house people that we've met on the way. We’re probably far less aware of the extent of the tragedy since travelling through India it’s very easy to lose touch with world news. *** ============================================== Plane, trains, and automobiles...coaches, buses, boat, motorbike, bicycles, rickshaws, floating bamboo basket; we have needed them all to travel the vastness that is India but have as yet only covered ... read more