is unlike anything we have encountered, and it's easy to see why people either love or hate traveling in this country (and it's easy to have both feelings in the same day). So far, I think we are leaning toward the love side, but we'll have a final vote when all is said and done. Getting from point A to point B has been at best a nauseating challenge involving the most unsanitary of train stations, tight quarters in a sleeper train (usually with 3-5 Indians invading your personal space), choking pollution while riding in the tuk-tuks, and the death-defying speed and maneuvers of a city taxi. The latest was a 6 hour ride on a "luxury bus", which was more like a public bus spawned from the bowels of hell. To quote our India guide book, "buses are fume-belching, human-stuffed, mechanical rattletraps which travel at break-neckspeed."
After dealing with transportation woes there will be people who will try and take you places you
don't want to go, harass you so that you'll buy things you don't want to buy (like this guy). Combine that with the in-your-face poverty, and throw in the occasional elephant or cow; add the ever changing smells that waft through the streets, including nice aromas like saphron, curry or burning incense. Then rip those nice aromas away in dramatic fashion and replace them with the stinging smells or raw sewage, garbage, and animals feces. Such is life on the streets in India. Doesn't it sound magical? Really, it is. Although there are definitely challenges in traveling here, India has amazing things to offer, and the things we have seen and heard so far have truly been worth the effort.
At the moment we are in the state of Rajhastan, and just left a city called Udaipur. For all you Bond fans out there, part of the film "Octopussy", was filmed in the surrounding palaces. The city itself was filled with budget hotels, rooftop restaurants, and overpriced jewelry and craft shops. The tourists come in droves--and with good reason. There is a lot to see here, and it's easy to understand why some stay longer than expected. From there we bused to a place called Mt. Abu, which was a strange stop. It was a little out of the way, and is to Indians as Park City probably is to residents of SLC (minus the snow, etc.). In other words, a nice weekend getaway spot. Interesting to be in a place where Indian people are on holiday...everyone there was a tourist, not just the (foreign) tourists. Although, we seem to be a spectacle wherever we go.
don't want to go, harass you so that you'll buy things you don't want to buy (like this guy). Combine that with the in-your-face poverty, and throw in the occasional elephant or cow; add the ever changing smells that waft through the streets, including nice aromas like saphron, curry or burning incense. Then rip those nice aromas away in dramatic fashion and replace them with the stinging smells or raw sewage, garbage, and animals feces. Such is life on the streets in India. Doesn't it sound magical? Really, it is. Although there are definitely challenges in traveling here, India has amazing things to offer, and the things we have seen and heard so far have truly been worth the effort.
At the moment we are in the state of Rajhastan, and just left a city called Udaipur. For all you Bond fans out there, part of the film "Octopussy", was filmed in the surrounding palaces. The city itself was filled with budget hotels, rooftop restaurants, and overpriced jewelry and craft shops. The tourists come in droves--and with good reason. There is a lot to see here, and it's easy to understand why some stay longer than expected. From there we bused to a place called Mt. Abu, which was a strange stop. It was a little out of the way, and is to Indians as Park City probably is to residents of SLC (minus the snow, etc.). In other words, a nice weekend getaway spot. Interesting to be in a place where Indian people are on holiday...everyone there was a tourist, not just the (foreign) tourists. Although, we seem to be a spectacle wherever we go.
As of today we are in Jodhpur, and recovering from our bus ride I mentioned above. Happy to have arrived and breathing what may pass as fresh Indian air. We'll be here a few days at the foot of a massive sandstone fort, exploring the busy streets, and haggling with the locals before moving on to 'camel country' further North in the desert. There's so much to say about what we see here that I seem to be blabbing about nothing right now. Just enjoy the photos, and I'll try and collect my thoughts if we ever get a moment of peace.
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