Blogs from Uttar Pradesh, India, Asia - page 3

Agra Fort was built in the 1500’s and is really a walled city... completely beautiful and AMAZING! it was home for Shah JaHan who built the Taj Mahal... which you can see from the windows.... read more

Due to the lost days in the middle, my eight days in Varanasi had actually begun to feel short. I woke up late that last morning with only one thing on my mind, hiring a boat to take me across and down the Ganges to Ramnagar Fort. That was the only thing left on my list to accomplish in Varanasi. And now miraculously given my recent illness, I was this close to achieving all my pre-trip goals. To navigate and face India one needs to be at full health. That’s because this country demands all the strength and sense of humor you can muster. I now had both back in full force. Let’s do this. My first thought was to hire a boat from someone on the Mir Ghat which was directly in front of my ... read more

You can’t avoid India. Try to hide out and it will make a way to find you. I was in my bed at 10am when I was awoken from a blissfully deep sleep. It sounded like all of Varanasi was right outside my door. I peered through the curtains of my room’s window. What I saw was around two hundred people crammed onto the hotel patio, some sitting right up inches away from my room. If I wanted to leave my room, I would have to push my way through and step over the multitudes. Breakfast? Forget about it. They appeared to be some kind of Hindu pilgrim group. I could see a microphone setup with huge loudspeakers. Then the speeches began. Speech after speech booming through the amplifiers, saying lord knows what. You have got ... read more

It started with one single sneeze at dinner last night. Afterwards when I returned to my tissueless room I became aware that my nose had begun running like a leaky faucet. Hmm, maybe I was coming down with something. I popped in a couple of Nyquil and hoped for the best. By the time I settled down for sleep I began to sense how strong the air conditioner had gotten. The previous days it had barely managed a ripple, but currently it had the feeling of a roaring refrigerator. I thought that could not possibly be good for someone with a budding illness. I turned it way down. As I gradually slipped away into slumber, I pulled the covers tight around myself, but the chill remained. I guess it was just a random wintry night. Throughout ... read more

Blog # 5 (February 18, 2019). Time for some critters….and a rather well known building. From Jaipur we drove East to Keoladeo National Park, a protected wetland that is choc-a-block with birds. How could I not stop there??!!! Along the way, we stopped at a huge old step well called Chand Baori - probably the largest in India - dating back to the 10th century. A deep four-sided structure with a massive temple on one face, it was like an Escher painting, with zig-zag terraced steps on three sides leading way down to the well (water source). Step wells are out-dated and abandoned nowadays, superseded by modern plumbing. But they are culturally significant and lately many are being lovingly restored. We’d seen a few already, but this one was a doozy (see opposite). In addition, I ... read more