Many Places, One Short Post

It's hard to feel the love when one is under the weather in a place like India. Just ask Shanon. She's gone from stomach sickness to a pneumonia like cough in a matter of a few days. I'm sure that an abundance of spicy food and the fine Indian air quality was a contributing force. Nonetheless, she perservered and is on the mend.

We spent a few lung burning days in a place called Pushkar (see right)...actually a small mountain'ish' holy town full of temples, rolling hills and a vibrant bizarre. Poor Shanon spent a lot of time in our ice-box hotel room coughing her lights out with a fever, while I ventured to a nearby hilltop temple like a good husband should while his wife is sick. Along the way I met 10-12 loud and very vocal Indian guys who became my best friends along the way. At the top they joked in Hindi (probably making fun of me), drank all my water, practiced their English and then disappeared down the mountain.

Our last stop in Rajasthan was a small city called Bundi. There was not much to do in the town itself, but our hotel sat right at the base of a massive, monkey invaded fort. Feeling better now, Shanon was able to venture out this time and we got a chance to explore some of the ruins. Since this place is off the beaten path a bit the ruins of the palace and fort were mostly open for self-exploration--a refreshing change. We were sure to carry sticks to keep the primates away. "A teardrop on the face of eternity" is how an Indian poet once described the Taj Mahal. Like Macchu Picchu, this place is almost too hard to describe in words, and photos can't really give one an idea of what it is like to see it first-hand. People see pictures of this place all their lives, but when seeing it in person you have no choice but to throw out any preconceived notions you may have had. This place is truly spectacular, and it's no wonder why it is the crown-jewel of India's tourist attractions. We got up at 6:00am and joined the masses at the gate so that we could be there for the sunrise, and although the heavy pollution made the colors less dramatic, just being in the presence of the grand mouseleum was really a special experience. By the way, notice that our attire has reverted back to what it was during the cold days in South America? Yeah, we've been cold in India, and we're heading into Nepal in a few days. Looks like we may be investing in some new Gore-Tex sometime very soon.