This morning we leave the colorful state of Rajasthan for Agra and our visit to the Taj Majal. Our stop last night was just to shorten the drive to Agra and the hotel didnt come close to the "castle" if the previous two nights. We were just happy to get here since the bus broke down about 15 miles from the hotel. Fortunately there was another OAT group ahead of us and they were able to send a bus to retrieve us from the side of the road! The road we were driving on was by far the best we have seen so far--- a two lane divided highway that was reasonably well paved. There were still crazy drivers, tractors, overloaded carts as well as cows on the roads. The rides continue to be entertaining! Yesterday ... read more

It turns out we are leaving for our next destination (Rathambore Game Preserve) 1/2 hour later than I thought so I will quickly try and summarize my experiences at the Nagaur Festival. First of all the 5 hour drive there from Jaipur was an experience. There are 16 in our group (including the trip leader) but we are using a full sized bus for all our transports. It was amazing to me to see the driver navigate through the crowded city streets , but even more amazing to observe the driving along narrow rural roads and through many small villages where we encountered numerous cows, water buffalo, goats etc in the road, along with carts being pulled by camels, and several caravans with men bringing animals to the festival to sell. There were also a couple ... read more

I began the day by watching the Super Bowl halftime show and part of the second half before heading to breakfast! i then kept thinking all day that it was Sunday. The sightseeing highlight today was a visit to Amber Fort-Palace, another World Heritage Unesco Sight. It was built in the 16th century and included the 12 apartments for the king's 12 wives and a beautiful room with the walls and ceilings covered with tiny intricately carved mirrors. The original idea behind using the mirrors was to reflect the colors in the rugs....which were changed to reflect the moods of the king. We had some time to try our hand at bargaining in a large bazaar. I was intimidated at first but actually had fun playing the game. I bought a punjab after quite a bit ... read more

Tomorrow I have to be in the lobby of the hotel at 5 a.m. so this will have to be brief...I'll write about the highlight of the day and just briefly mention other places/impressions. The highlight of the day was a visit to the largest Sikh mosque in India. Prior to our visit, our tour guide gave us a very derailed history of the Sikh religion and various practices and philosophies of the Sikhs. At the mosque, the women and men were both required to wear head coverings and we all had to remove our shoes and social. We had some time to sit and experience the inside of the temple where there is ongoing prayer with music and song before going to the soup kitchen. Part of the Sikh religion is that people must care ... read more

I hadn't expected to be blogging again until summer when I have a trip to Alaska planned. However, I opened an e-mail on Black Friday announcing Cyber specials waiving International airfare for select trips with Overseas Adventure Travel. While India wasn't even on my bucket list, there was a trip to India in February and it's warm in India in February! The other February trips in warm places were to South American countries that I'd already visited. I saw that OAT offices were open until 8:00 so I decided to call to inquire about the trip. By 8:20 I had booked a 19 day trip to India! I will be visiting many of the well known cities/sites in Northern India (Delhi, Varanasi, Agra, Jaipur and Rathambore) as well as lesser known cities and villages. This particular ... read more