The last five days have been hectic and coupled with the lack of internet has caused me to fall almost hopelessly behind with updates...so I'll try to do a brief summary of what has happened since I left Hugelli, India.
Following our school dedication last Sabbath the group rushed back to our hotel to clean up and check out in time to make our evening flight from Hyderabad to Jaipur. By the time we all got checked into our hotel in Jaipur it was after midnight and we had a full day of sightseeing ahead of us Sunday.
Sunday started early with a visit to The Amber Fort, a world heritage site. The fort and palaces are impressive to say the least and dominate the landscape in its valley location.
We had the option of taking jeeps or Elephants from the parking area up to the Fort. I took the Jeep but many folks rode the elephants. I suppose I should have ridden the Elephant but it just didn't appeal at the time. Rather than try to describe the fort and palaces I'll let the photos do the work.
After lunch we were taken to a carpet factory. I went in with an attitude of been there done that but walked out having purchased a beautiful carpet for my house.I was just so impressed with the craftsmanship and the fact that this "co-op" keeps the ancient art of rug weaving alive while employing folks that would otherwise have no work.
Another night in Jaipur and then an early start to our next destination, Ranthambore National Park. This park is famous for tigers although I'm not certain why. We saw Peacocks,Monkey's, and Deer but nary a Tiger to be found. We did however catch a glimpse of a Leopard which is supposed to be even more rare than a Tiger. Probably the highlight was the magnificent hotel we stayed at out in the middle of the park. Again, I'll let the pix talk. After our morning "safari" our second day we headed off on another long bus ride to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal.
Having visited the Taj Mahal a few years ago I found it quite pleasant to just enjoy the visit rather than frantically taking pictures as I did on my first visit.
After our morning visit to the Taj and yet another shopping stop, we hit the road for Delhi...another LONG bus ride that got us to our hotel near Delhi late in the evening Wednesday.
Thursday found us touring New Delhi. Sights included Qutab Minar,The Indian Parliament buildings and the India Gate. Following lunch I and two others left the group for the airport. The group continued to a final shopping stop before the remainder of the group began their departures.
This has been quite a journey. India is a country of extremes. Extreme poverty and extreme wealth. Extreme beauty and extreme squalor...and all of it in such close proximity that it can be almost overwhelming at times. The one constant seems to be the people. So kind and accepting of us as we trample their language and culture....and in return we received kindness and courtesy.
In every small village or town we passed through during our epic bus travels the kids always waved and smiled....beautiful big smiles.....it was heartwarming and made the journey so much more pleasant. I will miss that. What I will not miss is the smog,and the insane traffic.
At times the driving in India was entertaining to the point of being hysterically funny while at other times it might cause the faint of heart to lose bowel control....I realize that is not a delicate way of stating it but it is very difficult to put capture in words the chaos and gut wrenching experience that is driving in India. That said, amazingly it all seems to work....most of the time. If an amusement park wanted a truly fear inducing thrill ride, "Driving in India" would be it.
I had a very pleasant day in my new second favorite city in India, Bombay, yesterday. Varanasi is still #1, but Bombay is a thoroughly delightful city that I must return to.
I am in Hong Kong enjoying the hospitality of the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge, The Wing, as I wait for my flight to Los Angeles. I'll miss India, but it is indeed time to get home!
Thanks for sharing this journey with me. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did......I know that's impossible but seemed like a nice way to wrap up...=)
