Blogs from Rajasthan, India, Asia - page 368

Truth be told I am not sure what to write to keep everybody up to date. We have been to too many places and seen too many things to remember not withstanding actually writing them in a blog. We are in a nice hotel in Udaipur at the moment and will be braving the roads to Puskar in the morning. Probably about a 7 hour drive. For all those that don't know about the India road system let me expand. (Mum I think you to stop reading now.) Rule one: Might is right, everybody makes way for trucks, bikes make way for cars, people make way for everybody. Donkeys, cows, camels, dogs, goats, sheep and pigs are pretty variable. Rule 2: Use you horn for everything you do. Turn left, horn. Turn right, horn. Overtake horn. ... read more

I said my goodbyes to the Polish travelers as I left Agra and headed to Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna, a reincarnation of Vishnu (Hindu god). Following the advice of the Ukrainians, I went to pay a visit as it fell on Krishna's birthday. I could only imagine the festivities that must arise. The newspaper said that there would be about 500,000 pilgrims visiting Mathura and Vrindavan, a nearby town that housed the center of the festivities. So it was no surprise that I took a shared taxi to Vrindavan. It took me a while to find a vacant room of course, but in the end I found a nice place. Vrindavan is the most sacred place in India for Vaishnavite Hindu, where many of the mythological stories depicting Krishna took place. I dropped my bags ... read more

Sunday Morning - August 01 - picture perfect day for a chilled Sunday - picture this - cool breeze, sunny skies…..a loving dog wrapped around your feet, the wavering yells of two happy kids filtering through the curtains, bundles of Sunday papers that promise to keep you engaged for two hours - bliss ..bliss…bliss ???? Nope not for me …I am shaved ( hate on Sundays) and on my way to catch a plane to Mumbai…Duty calls over domestic bliss. So off I took a 9 am flight - uneventful, standard Jet air meals and then we land in Mumbai. The approach to Mumbai is not the world’s most pleasant sight even on the brightest of days - clusters of habitats strangulate the boundary wall of the airport almost choking the life out of it ... read more

The last drive up from Delhi to the Himalayas commenced on an “exciting” note - an excited two kids in the rear seat checking if the mountains were round the bend every 20 minutes. A cool wind in an early summer morning with the sun breaking behind some rather neat clouds had all the indications of a great vacation till…we landed in this huge monstrous jam at the Delhi wholesale veggie market with every conceivable vehicle of transport whizzing in all directions - guess this sudden change to chaos overwhelmed me to an extent wherein I allowed this half blind truck driver to rip -off my right tire and the bumper at 6:30 in the morning - boy oh boy --- all the coolness disappeared—suddenly I had two wailing kids, a very upset wife , a ... read more

Namaste, Sorry it's been too long since my last update. At times it's seems as though I have experienced a lifetime since I last wrote to you guys. India is such a wonderful place where a multitude of religions, cultures, and ideas blend together. I'm not too sure where to begin now, so i'll just continue from where I left off. After leaving the former Portugese colony of Diu, I headed to Rajasthan, which thru it's enigmatic history is known as the home of the Maharayas and the powerful Rajasthan armies. The Moghuls invadors from Central Asia knew better then to fight them so they allied with them and allowed them to keep regional control. It worked for a few centuries until some of the Maharayas rebelled and took over full control of their princely states. ... read more