December 31 Tea Nest near Coonoor Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Today was not a good one. I spent it trying to get an Indian Apple ID. The process is very frustrating, with internet problems, phone problems, communication problems. and is still not solved after two months. It is impossible to download updates etc. Anyway I didn't do much, except visit the ladies picking tea on the slopes, so have lots of pics of them plucking away, and putting the leaves into the sack on their backs. They were very friendly and chatty.

I walked up the road to get to the Gateway Hotel, which is much further away than I thought. Terrible road, and ended up going by taxi. I met Vinod at 4. He looks like the guru he is, and mystic too. He chatted to me for ages about my plans, and shared his great wisdom about yoga. Seems like we won't focus on the physical part of yoga so much as meditation and pranayama ( breathing ). There was some physical work that went along with the breath. Very little physical exertion over two hours. His opinion is that to develop one needs three months in one place, and no moving around, as I am doing in India. Oh well....too late! You carry the soul with you wherever you are, so you don't need to move around. Fellow yoga teachers can check out the yoga component on the website: www.devashola.com You will see pics of Vinod. The yoga journey has started again, a different dimension this time. He is Swami Shivananda based, and has caught my interest.

After the yoga, Vinod took me to the grocery store. I purchased some goodies. Then we both went to the garment store to purchase clothes. My hoodie disappeared at one of the hotels on the tour, so I bought another, and a T shirt ( mine are now so sad!), underwear, and that was it. He gave me a ride home and I realize how far it is. He said it was better to drop me at the Tea Nest in case I met bison on the road, and that is quite dangerous in the dark!!

No appetite tonight, and off to bed now, so all you wild partygoers have a wonderful time. Peace, quiet in the mountains and sleep will suffice. The best of wishes to all who read this, and HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all. It is chilly up in Nilgiris at night and early morning.

 Large tea bags everywhere. The tea factory is on the top of the mountain!!

 Silver oak trees shade the tea bushes.

 A bag full of tea. The lady put both feet into the bag to compress the tea, so I hope your next cup doesn't taste of her feet!!

 Note the rubber apron, as moving around the sturdy tea bushes will scratch your body.

 The very act of picking above

 The  sack is tied around her head. She puts the leaves over her head right in

 They were all friendly

 Above leaves are very good, according to the male supervisor!! He didn't pick!!

 See how large the aprons are! Vinod below...meditation, pranayama, and Reiki...he is a mystic, so the lessons will be tailor made for me. He is very friendly, and intelligent, and very very wise!! What he said to me applies to all of us. We sometimes know that we do things that are not good for us, but ego persuades us to do them. Welcome to a 2016 year of peace to ALL OF YOU!!

December 30 Karumba Village Resort to Tea Nest Guest House

I was up this morning at 8AM to go with the guide and his helper for an early morning walk. Another couple came too. It was the same walk as I had done the first day. Afterwards I took a shower, packed, checked out of the hotel, and waited till lunch time. After lunch, I had my last favourite view from the open air restaurant ( which has such a gorgeous view of the Blue Mountain ) and left with the taxi driver to Tea Nest, which is about 30 minutes away, higher up in the mountains. Lots more hairpin bends, and we reached Coonoor, a small mountain town in Niligiris ( Blue Mountain in Tamil) I drew money, and we went another 6 km to the Tea Nest, which is a small guest home stay place. I was shown my room, the Chamomile room, and unpacked. The Tea nest is of course located right in the Tea Estates....tea bushes everywhere you can see against the mountain. Gorgeous view of course, and much higher up in the mountains. I wondered around, and walked down to the Annexe of the Tea Nest, where a few more guests stay. Lovely and most peaceful place. Right in front of the Tea Nest is Rathina Pinisetti's home. She is a friend of mine from Edmonton, and I am here because she told me about this lovely part of India. I am glad I believed her. I met some friendly Indians on the way towards the Annexe, and noticed the Buffalos in the tea plantation below. Rathi says they are eating the weeds, and not the tea leaves!! We noticed three enormous bulls, as well as the females. They didn't seem to mind us, and continued eating. We edged closer and took more pics. They are still wild animals, so you don't venture too close!! Then we walked back to the Tea Nest. The manager said Rathi was home, so I walked over to her home. Wow! The home was originally built by the British, and then was occupied by a Frenchman who imported teak!! Lots of gorgeous teak around. Her home is a work of art, truly magnificent. Exotic, beautifully lit with Eastern lamps here and there. I had a chai with her. He dining room furniture was stunning....well it all is, the kitchen looking over the mountain view. She has her own maid, and she took me around the gorgeous lawns and the back of the property with a super courtyard. I hope to see it again in the daylight. As you enter her home you see this lovely bronze Buddha. I hope to take a pic of it. Then I came back, chatted to the Indians staying at the Tea Nest, and had dinner at 8. ( Ginger chicken, ginger tea, and numeric/tamarind rice with other veggies thrown in. Spicy but great. I will only eat two meals a day from now on. Sadly I have put on weight being on the 33 day Indian tour. Now it is time to tighten the belt literally. The manager called Vinod, the yoga teacher, and I take my first class tomorrow at 4. The Tea Nest is peace in the mountains.....a great change from the manic touring for 33 days Kolkata to Kochi. Time to meditate, walk, lose weight, do yoga, and process the myriad experiences I have had so far. Up till now there has been no time to do this. I now have phone service here and internet. It is quite cool at night, and you need a warm hoodie. I even have a heater in my room if it gets too chilly. No AC or fan is needed here in the mountains. I look forward to the stay until January 12!!

December 29 Karumba Village Resort, Blue Mountain, Tamil Nadu

Slept in, and had a good breakfast. Then met the guide, and his young helper, and we left at 10:30 AM for the trek, as they call it. We walked across the stream at the hotel, and up the mountain. Lots to see, new views, and saw a deer, lots of monkeys. I had to take great care, as my runners are toast now, and slip easily. I had good help from the guide and his helper, especially as we then descended into the valley. We saw a deer, small, which scampered away. No real paths, just a faint trace of one at times, and we found the main river. We walked along the bank for a while and then, the guide announced we were crossing the river by wading. I agreed, hiding my trepidation. I did not want to be swept away, or slip on a rock. However I was helped along….we rolled up pant legs, and my shoes and bag were carried for me so I could concentrate on not falling in. Then we climbed up the steep forested side of the mountain with the guide. Quite slippery although not wet. We came upon the main waterfall, which was very impressive. Then we climbed back up the side of the mountain, and avoiding slippery areas of moss, and water flowing into the main river to come out above the waterfall. Very impressive. I hid my fear of crossing above the waterfall, praying that I would not slip and be swept over the high waterfall. Although there were deep parts, we crossed, and I concentrated on each step, as the rocks in the river were slimy too!! I held onto the helper guy, and at times the guide, and made it across. I have pics of it all. We sat for a while, listening to the roar of the waterfall in front, and enjoying the great vistas. I took pics of cactus like trees, and huge jack fruit trees. ( elephants love them). We didn’t come across elephant or water buffalo ( though we saw their scat ). Then it was quite steep climbing up the side of the mountain, and we went up to the main road. At a roadside stall I had a lime soda and the guys had tea. Then we followed an elephant path back to the hotel. I was so pleased. After a shower, I had a superb lunch. The rich Arab family was there, and had a huge argument with each other, which I ignored. Now peace and bliss here blogging to you from my balcony looking out at magnificent trees all around. This place will soothe your soul, like it is doing for me. The gentle roar of the mountain stream, constant birds, sometimes a visit by monkeys to the balcony. Close your eyes, and picture the scene in your mind….great weather today. What is great is the mists that seem to come down different valleys, although it is a sunny day, and makes the view spiritual, and mystical blue. I relaxed and went to the lawn at 7:30 PM for a Tamil Dance Performance called Kattegaran. It was a solo dancer with a single pot on his head. He danced to  Tamil folk dance tunes, and did many balancing tricks like flipping the pot onto his neck, then gradually moving it back onto his head ( to be seen to believed). He put 3 pop bottles with a tray over, and a pile of sand on the tray. A long needle poked out of the sand. He picked up the needle with eye lashes and lodged it in the corner of his eye. He came into the audience to show us. The resort had a fire on the lawn to warm us up, as the evening air was quite cool. ( no furnaces here!!) The dancer

 The main waterfall. We waded across this river twice, with bare feet, and pant legs rolled up.

 Above, at the top of the waterfall with Friss, the young guide.

 I didn't want to slip over the edge as we waded across here further up.

 The Blue Mountain. The trees are so exotic, deciduous and so different to our trees.

 The Tamil Folk Dancer balancing on a pot below.

 Pot being placed on a lady. The heater ( a fire ) in background. Below a pic with the dancer with his pot on my head.

 balanced himself on a metal pot ( plus pot on head). I had a pic with him, and the pot on my head.Many of the audience also tried the pot. He actually put on a saree laid on the floor whilst the pot was still on his head. One trick was to balance on a plank put over a roller. After the performance I had supper, then bed. Quite a day.

December 28 Karumba Village resort Tamil Nadu

Wonderful bed, luxury, geat room, everything here is Indian heaven. I went for a great walk with a guide and some Indian folk, in the forest.The walk was cancelled yesterday  apparently, due to elephants too close by!! Great views, and we saw a lovely waterfall, lovely views, and a giant squirrel ( the size you had to see.....I don't think they get bigger than this....the pic is not close but gives a general idea. ) Scenery is outstanding, mist stays most of the day on these mountains,  ( so they are called the Blue Mountains ) and looks great. Fabulous trees here. A monkey just visited me on my balcony, which faces out into the forest, so bird songs abound. I will keep the screen doors shut to avoid mosquitoes and monkeys . Bliss looking out here with the constant sound of the water rushing down the mountain slope. Just got distracted by a big monkey climbing on the roof. After the walk, I had breakfast, and watched dosa making. Enjoyed lovely papaya ( the best so far) tree tomatoes ( liked them ) and passion fruit ( not as good as the African variety!! Monkeys are constant now, so have camera ready in case another one hops onto the balcony!! Everything is great. I go on a tour of the spice plantation this afternoon. Took pics of the flowers, and gasped at the tree of huge pink lilies, just hanging their in beauty and innocence!! I could stay a long time here!! I will definitely swim in the pool which is gorgeous. Wish I could stay longer!!

I had a massage. First prayers. Then two massagers. Tons of oil is the Indian way. A very different experience, ayurvedic, and I could appreciate the skill of the practitioners . It is not as painful as a Western massage. After prayers, you sit in a chair, and they pour oil on your head. The head massage is lengthy and lots of chopping etc....quite a different experience. I think it was beneficial. Afterwards I had a rest, then came up for the spice tour. The HR guy took me around as no-one else went. He showed me all the trees on site. Cinnamon tree with bay leaves. I will not get all the details right but found out that the lovely pink hanging lilies are actually poisonous!! I think they are the nightshade family. Great pic of jack fruit....enormous fruit, but he said it was small and young! Mangosteen tree was on the list, avocado tree, clove tree ( and I sampled the flavour from a green clove .) I have a pic of a clove tree. Clove oil has anti fungal. Cloves have antibiotic properties, to cleanse the mouth. I was surprised to notice green pepper hanging in bunches from a tree . the pepper is actually a creeper that grows around any tree. Pepper creeper is a parasite. I hadn't noticed it. Then there were pomelo trees, pretty enormous. ( helps with balancing cholesterol and obesity control )They also have medicinal properties as most of the common spices do. He pointed out the vanilla bean creeper. It grows around a tree. All these spices are harvested at the right time of year. I took pics of the amazing varieties of hibiscus flowers...quite spectacular. The yellow fruit, which has a round large seed, is a nutmeg seed. The flowers are whitish.I have a pic of the tumeric bush, with big green leaves. Afterwards we ended up in the tea shop. The chef made me a chai, and I have a pic of him pouring the chai from one receptacle to another to mix and cool it. The spice plantation is 12.5 acres here. We saw a rosewood tree, very old, and the second most valuable hardwood. There are sandalwood trees here near reception. This is the most valuable hardwood in the world. I saw the basil bush, which is quite big. It is wild basil. So the hotel, Karumba Village is situated right inside a spice plantation, with fabulous scenery. Supper was gourmet/great. There was a local music teacher who played guitar, and synthesizer. He sang Western carols etc. Very pleasant during the meal. The HR guy took it upon himself to have me sing!! It was announced....so the two of us did Jingle Bells...I taught the dance to two kids, and the dad joined in. Afterwards I met a lovely Indian couple with their lovely daughters. They were very friendly towards me. I chatted to the lady....they are from Chennai. She is a professor of physics, and is post doctoral, having written books etc. I have her email, and will try to get her in touch with Matthew, my son, who loves physics. She is coming to Toronto to do research.

December 27: a familiar date! Kerala to Tamil Nadu

Firstly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!! ( my oldest son!) 

I slept well, despite the fear of cockroaches crawling over me. I was done with the service, and assumed that water was cold ( confirmed by the honeymoon couples!!) so I just packed to leave asap, the dead cockroach still on the table! The boat was still in dock next to all the other boats. The other couples were not impressed with the service either, but still into pics. I became the honeymoon assistant photographer, and took lots of pics of them. They knew exactly what poses they wanted! Rather fun! We had breakfast, Idli, which is a rice cake, with coconut sauce and a chutney.One of the ladies buttered me toast and jam!! I am having trouble with spicy foods, and will try to curtail this in Coonoor. The captain got going, and I took pics along the way. The Indian love for  hooting their houseboat horns, matches the hooting on the congested roads everywhere else. Even the houseboat channels are congested. Lots of different boats, and motor boats, canoes loaded with coconuts. People were washing in the freshwater, young guys swimming, and it was not long before we reached Alleppey. To exit the houseboat, you go on a ladder through two other boats, moored together. I took pics of the two couples, the captain, and the cook ( both in Dhotis ) and left. I found my driver, and we were off on the road to Coimbatore, and the destination is Karumba Village, a hotel in the mountains. We won’t get there till at least 6 pm. I took pics of two trucks taking an elephant in the back to a Hindu Festival. Of course, Ganesh is the most revered Hindu God. My driver has a small elephant on this dash. My mission today is to buy a Todi….no idea of the spelling, but it is a coconut beer, only available in Kerala. Wish me luck!! It is a hot day to do a long journey by road.

Ok…we visited a bar, and I asked for Toddy, and got a non alcoholic coconut drink, healthy and nice. Very well behaved patrons, I have to say. Then further on, Rajesh stopped at a real Toddy store…I have the pics. I tried Palm Beer, and Coconut beer. ( both alcoholic). Rajesh assured me that it was hygienic. Well, I did not care for either, I’m sorry to say. Took pics, and left, but it was fun for the very local bar patrons to meet a foreigner, and me to meet them.

A note on those who drive on the wrong side of the road. This is common in India. We are on a double carriageway, but a scooter was in our lane coming towards us. No-one really cares!!!!!

We went by various Christian churches….Indo Christian churches. There are mosque like features in the architecture. Also, Hindus love shrines. I noticed Christian shrines too, with a cross as the idol. All this has metal bars to prevent damage. Traditionally Hindus don’t worship broken idols: their history is full of amazing idols that were partly destroyed by marauders. I have seen the partly destroyed statues in other provinces.

This is my first road blog!! We just stopped at Tamil Nadu province border to register me. I am no longer in Kerala!! We are gradually climbing into the mountains, and are close to Coimbatore.

The trip was tiring but the driver was good. Roads very busy, and it is always quite dangerous. We passed a guy with the biggest load on a scooter I have ever seen. You have to see this pic. We got to Karumba Village after 7...a 10 hour road trip, but we did stop for lunch. The road was hairpin bends up into the mountains. We are close to Coonoor, where I will be for most of my time in Tamil Nadu. The descent to the hotel was scary, as the hotel is located on the downward slopes of the mountain. I was very tired, but what a treat to be here: lovely place, lovely accommodation, great meal tonight. This I will enjoy....took a refreshing hot shower before dinner. Looking forward to my 8 AM walk tomorrow into the mountains with a guide.

December 26 Kerala Backwaters

Slept well with AC and fan. Breakfast was good, but service poor, and it wasn’t actually ready when I got there. This is a 4* deluxe hotel….not what I wanted but bowed to the Travel agent. Great view of the freshwater lagoon, which is enormous, bigger than a huge lake. I took pics of the coloured waterlilies in the hotel pond, and the surroundings. It was not a cheap hotel. I packed, and left at 11 by a new taxi driver. I was taken aback that I needed to be driven to the houseboat jetty. Turned out that 90 minutes later, and nearly back in Kochi, I reached the houseboat late. Well nothing really runs on time. I was the sole occupant, and we left waited, and at 2:07 pm I was taken thought the backwaters, saw many other houseboats with vastly different designs and passenger capabilities. The backwaters are huge. We returned, about half an hour later, and docked again, waiting for the 2 honeymoon couples, who were late!!! One couple boarded about 4 pm but by 4:30 PM the other couple had not arrived….we wait!! Quite disappointing, and we were supposed to go along the coastline, see the sights, get out, and walk……still waiting.

The second couple arrived 10 minutes later and we left. I was not a happy camper. We left at 4:45 PM, and had missed a whole afternoon of coasting on the houseboat. We saw more boats, more water hyacinth, rice paddies, and 6:23 PM we docked for the night…all the houseboats were in a row. We tied up on a Palm tree of course!! I got off and walked along the path, many people were using. It was getting dark. I met two guys who were decent, and stuck with them as it was getting dark, and I didn’t want to lose my way, and fall into a rice paddy. Mosquitoes were out and hungry with all the waterbodies around. I needed exercise badly. We came back, and the two Rajasthani guys came and chatted on our houseboat for a while, discussed my tour and had interesting conversation until 9PM, when supper was served. I did not enjoy the supper, and ate very little. Very poor food on the houseboat. I am also wary of spices now. I ate with the two honeymoon couples. Well, one was 6 days married, the other couple 6 months. They were very friendly, and I enjoyed chatting to them. No coffee or dessert was offered, and we were asked to go to our rooms at 10pm. Then I saw 2 huge cockroaches in my room. I can’t stand those critters and managed to kill one. ( the other crawled over me!!!!) I have a pic of the beast. Not a good houseboat experience I have to say. The captain, and the cook only spoke Malayalam, and were not very communicative to say the least. Why the itinerary was delayed by the couples, I don’t know, or care……the travel agent will hear about this! Now….to bed….thanks for reading this.

Christmas Day in Kochin on the Arabian Sea!!

Breakfast at 9 AM. Those of the group remaining, visited. After breakfast, I packed and checked out of the hotel room by noon. Dania and I remained. I said my farewell to Sanjay our trusty leader, whom we were so fond of, and who looked after us so well. He lives in Chennai, and is heading there today to his wife and small boy. Dania and I walked to the shore, but were pestered by a guy who wanted us to go with him in his tuk tuk to see the Indian Bazaar, as he would get a rice token if he did  so. We obliged and found the Bazaar amazing to see. So exotic, so ornate, amazing Pashminas, silk garments, carpets, you name it. We couldn't afford much, but indulged ourselves looking. We then headed for the Ginger Cafee. You enter it via a museum which is longitudinal, and has an extremely long boat, used by a Maharaja and his wife, rowed by a host of slaves. You can check out the pic. The Ginger cafe is on the water's edge, and we drank ginger soda and ginger lassi ( a ginger flavoured cold yoghurt drink which is lovely). I don't get hungry in the heat, so didn't have lunch. I took a tuk tuk back to the hotel, and cooled down there till my taxi arrived to drive me to Kumarakon. At 3 PM we left the Fort Manor Hotel, ending off the huge Indian train trip. What an adventure of extreme highs, and extreme lows, lots of fun, and difficulty. But isn't that what life is? The groups were sad to leave, and we are planning a reunion in the UK when I end up there. Some great friends were made, and memorable experiences had. My driver, Rajesh took me in a lovely air-conditioned car through Kochin city, the modern part, and off towards Kumarakon. It was palm trees, palm plantations, rice paddies everywhere. Water water everywhere....... I stopped to take some pics of Hindu temples along the way, and stopped for an Ayurvedic massage just before my hotel, which would have been too expensive.  Totally unlike a Western massage, it does not focus on deep tissue, but seems more medicinal. Lots of herbal oils. I had a steam session, which was going into a "closet" with a hole for your head. Really old fashioned last century steam room!!! A good shower and we left for the upscale hotel. Very nice but mostly in the dark by now. I had a nice meal focussing on the local seafood, which is great. I took pics of a tabla player, and wood wind player. He played a kind of recorder. They allowed me to take pics. Off to the very comfortable bed, and ready for tomorrow, when the tour of the Kerala BACKWATERS begins!!!!!!!! Stay tuned.

 Above, the camel horn table...looks like ivory, ornate and exotic like the carpets in the back

 The long boat inside the museum above

 In the Ginger cafe looking onto Kochin Island

 Rice paddies on the way to Kumarakon

 Above note the tree full of fish eating birds

 Above and below, the tabla player and woodwind player.... like a flute...rather nice sound

December 24 Kochin on the Arabian Sea in Kerala

We had breakfast on the rooftop dining area, and left 9:30 AM on a walkabout from the hotel. We were located at the Fort Manor Hotel, which is in the old part of Kochin. The walk took us first to see Vasco Da Gama's home close by, and a church of St. Francis was very close. We went into the church, Christian, Anglican I believe, and took off our shoes as is the Indian way. Very ancient church, and it had pandas hanging there. The guys outside pulled the ropes ( the Walla guys) and it was a fan blowing air onto the congregation!! Vasco da Gama was buried in this church, and there is a memorial to him here. His remains were moved back home some time back though. We saw a teak tree and Sandalwood tree ( protected tree in India as it is so valuable and slow growing ) The walk resumed and we got to the sea, and saw the famous Chinese fishing nets. Very interesting as we watched the locals catch fish here using this ancient technique. We walked along the coast, saw the Kochin island, but did not get there, and took the tuk tuts to the Dutch Palace. This was very interesting, but unfortunately, many of the most spectacular places do not allow flash pics. The roof was made of carved Burma teak, a deep brown wood. The Palace was very interesting with great paintings, and lovely artifacts and costumes worn by the Indian king. The Dutch too took over this part a long time ago. It is very hot and humid in Kochin, but we survived the touring. There were coin collections as well depicting a very exotic and colourful history to this city of many cultures: Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and English, as well as all the locals of course. The tour led to an old synagogue, which was first built in the 1300s...only about 5 Jews survive here....as they are all back in Israel. The place is still used by the few remaining Jews and has Willow Pattern tiles in blue and white on the floor. It was lovely. There was a small museum attached close by the church detailing the history of the Jews here, as they were welcomed by the local Indian king. From here I went back to the hotel with some of our party to cool down....fan and AC did not do it.....a cold shower did the trick!!! After a rest we left at 5:15 PM for the Kathakali Cultural Show to see the make up being applied before the show itself. It is a highly stylized classical Indian dance drama noted for the amazing make up of characters, incredible costumes, very very detailed gestures, eye movements, and non verbal communication done in complete sync with percussion, drums of various kinds, and vocals, and huge finger cymbals. Each facet of this performance was a work of art in itself....the music very embellished, but done masterfully in the full ethnic tradition. The drama itself was all authentic, and left you in awe. The actors took 6 years to master the Kathakali style in music mime, dance etc. As fascinating as it was, and a visual spectacle it was too long, and was tiring to follow the detailed renditions. I was in awe and respectful of the amazing skill of this art form.....really so exotic. The pics are great...to be seen to be believed. The yoga teachers would have loved the mudras, and the yogic eye movements that can only be done by a huge amount of training of the eye and facial muscles to achieve such expressions. The synchronicity of music and mime and facial expression left me speechless....for a change. We walked to a hotel for a Christmas Eve seafood dinner, our last dinner together of the 33 day train trip across India. Prawns in mango curry were not too spicy, and I shared a small bottle of red wine with Dania, my wine drinking, Syrian English young lady friend. After the meal we sang Happy Birthday to Claudia and she got a nice cake from GE, and shared it with us. She bought drinks for everyone!! Then Sanjay asked me to get things going, so I did. I got the whole party up, taught them the Jingle Bell Dance, and they all loosened up very well. We got the Indian waiters, and the owner in his long dhoti to dance. Swapping partners the easy dance repeats....Mills Haven Kids love it, and would appreciate their dance done by the adults. Other adults from other groups joined us. Then I asked the proprietor to find some music, and the Indians put on various songs, and we all danced, and got the shy Indian waiters to join in. At midnight, the Indians took us outside ( the restaurant was no empty ) and they had a Christmas firework display. We were given sparklers to hold ( I haven't don that since I was age 6!!) Various cracker explosions of course, and lots of fun. Lots of hugs by lots of Indians, many who were strangers in the street, welcoming us tourists as tourism has dropped off in Kerala. What a wonderful experience this evening was. We walked back to the hotel, and slept with AC and fan going...bliss!! The challenge is to keep cool!!!!!!!! You are dripping with sweat most of the time. This was a very exotic memorable Christmas Eve!!

 Above at the Chinese fishing nets...note the water hyacinths that cause headaches for fishermen

 The whole structure is life up with stone weights as we watched

 Tiger fish?? Freshly caught

 Some fish in the bottom

 Above at Kathakali: close up of the make up session....took ages to paint but looked awesome on stage

 The full meal deal above....all male dancers.

 The female was a male with excellent make up, and facial gestures that were so good, you totally believed it was a woman. Below the fireworks after the CHRISTMAS eve party...in the street!!

December 23: Madikeri to Kochin on the Arabian Sea

Bad night. Couldn’t sleep well, as I have had too many spicy meals. Last night the butter chicken was too spicy for me. So, up early for an early start to leave Madikeri. I packed, but could not face breakfast.My stomach needed time to settle . Most of us find that we need Western food as our stomachs aren’t used to masala. ( cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, aniseed) This is the base for the curry mix that we find in most Indian meat or vegetable dishes. I found the sauce to rich and spicy last night. The hotel was a Muslim one, and was quite good. We heard prayer time broadcast on speakers at different times, as Muslims pray 5x a day. The modest mosque was right next to the hotel, but I didn’t find the entrance.

 I needed to walk because we had a long drive in the van, and a 6 hour train journey to do. It was pleasant out, cool, and I didn’t get lost. Quite safe in fact. A policeman was walking on the road, and enquired if I was ok, and he walked with me for a while for his morning walk. Indians are fascinated with foreigners. I got back to the hotel to leave at 8:30 AM. The trip took us through rice fields that were being harvested. I had not seen rice fields that were ready. There was a Claas German rice harvester that makes harvesting so easy. Beautiful pink lilies, like our Easter lilies ( and I saw those growing wild too ) were along the roadside. The countryside was forested, and of course we were in the mountains. Trees, and many creepers everywhere, so many palm trees.The road was incredibly windy, in other words, hairpin bends all the way, and it seemed to be downhill. I didn’t mind, as the road was good, and I thought our driver, Sidda, was good. We saw rubber plantations. There was a border crossing from Karnataka province to Kerala province. We had to pay a tax . This took about 5 minutes to stretch our legs. The drive continued for about 20 minutes and we stopped for lunch Kittir ( a small town ). I bought cashew nuts and pistachio nuts as of course they are locally grown. ( Also in Goa ) Our journey resumed with many more palm trees and lush vegetation. We were now probably on the coastal plains. We arrived in Kannur, which is a coastal town on the Arabian sea. It was quite a big city, very busy with tuk tuts, cars, and the usual congestion, roundabouts etc. It amazed me how the driver found his way. All the road directions were in the local Kerala language called Malayalam. ( This word is a Palindrome, in case the Mills haven kids want to know!!) The script on the signs is in this language, which has it’s own alphabet, and the letters don’t make sense to us. I noticed that the script was markedly different from the Karnataka script, and the script in Mumbai. There are 22 official languages in India, ( each with their own alphabet and script ) and 1,635 dialects. Hindi is the official language for Indians to communicate, and of course English is quite widely spoken. Many folk did tell me “No English”. This sounds like I am well informed, and yes I am, as Sanjay, our tour leader is helping me as I blog right now on the train.

So,  Kannur…we headed for the station, said goodbye to Sidda the driver, and waited a short while for the train. We were the only second class, which became first class coach, air conditioned. Lots of Indians got on, and off all along the way. A I speak, one guy is standing in the passageway sleeping!! In the other coach there are is no AC, and many Indians just stand in the passageway. The conductor was busy. I couldn’t sit for 6 hours so walked around in the passage way, or stood in the area outside the coach. The door is open, so you can look out. ( but don’t fall out!!!) It is very interesting to see the countryside here, very green. Kerala ( which means coconut ) province is the richest in India. It is mostly Muslim and Christian only in this province. In India Hindus are 82% of the population. The word India comes from the word Hindustan, according to Sanjay.

Now a word about the “Indian head wobble”. Almost all Indians do this while talking to each other or foreigners. It seems to mean “ yes I understand what you say” and is a very unique body language to Indians. It is a side to side head wobble . It usually is done with a smile.

My stomach feels better now. We are due to arrive in Kochin City on the coast at 8:20 pm tonight, and in the hotel at 9 pm. A day of travelling, and observation with no specific sight seeing involved. I met a very interesting Indian government official, sitting next to me. He told me many interesting stories about his job and how he had such a comprehensive view of the country, having travelled all over for his job. I also took a pic of a lady and her cute young daughter. She was very happy for me to take it, and introduced me to about 5 other young men who were in her party. They were all related, and had been to a family wedding. It was so interesting talking to her. I met her young son, about grade 2 or 3, I think. He was quite fluent in English, and very charming. He would be speaking the local language Malayalam, English and would definitely learn Hindi, the official language of India later in his schooling. Then, his job oneway may take him to another part of India, and he would have to learn the official language of that part of India. Indians are multilingual.

On arrival in Kochi, we went by taxi to our hotel, and then off to a place nearby for drinks, and snacks, and then off to bed!!

December 22 Madikeri Karnataka

After breakfast we went by van to the Madikeri mountain view point. Great views of the surrounding countryside with lots of morning glories everywhere. We walked further to another viewpoint too, and took pics of flowers, flowering trees too. Then we went for a ride on the toy train for about 7 minutes, which was fun. Back on the bus, we drove to the coffee plantation. It was a short ride, with extremely exotic vegetation, trees, such as palm, betel nut trees, and silver oak ( the latter used to shade the coffee shrubs. The vegetation was the attraction as well as the pics of the different types of coffee grown, from Robusta, Arabica to the broad-leafed Liberia coffee shrub. Lots of pics of the coffee beans, in different colours on the shrubs. The guide took us along the mountain path and showed us the spices that grew there too: I learned that bay leaves come from the cinnamon tree ( bark is the cinnamon ). We saw pepper trees, cardamom trees ( and I have a pic of cardamom being dried in the sun ) clove trees ( the leaves smell like cloves too ) lemon trees ( great lemony lemon leaves ) orange trees. I liked the fish tail palm trees with huge hanging braids of  nuts or whatever they were. So many interesting types of shrubs and trees. After that, we went into the small house, to see the coffee processing plant. I learned about Civet coffee ( coffee beans fed to civet cats, then processed after being digested by the civets!!!!!!!!! I didn’t buy any  lol. We enjoyed a great cup of coffee together. The van took us to a restaurant for lunch, then we drove to the Madikeri fort. It was not maintained well, and was very drab, so I didn’t take many pics, except to show the crazy switchboard, which looked chaotic. The police occupied the inside of the fort, and it was very very  poorly looked after. One officer had a desk lamp, and the rest was in darkness. I walked along the wall of the fort, which had gone through several renovations over the years, including by the British. One Indian king, had built two black elephants to demonstrate his power. The group felt like a massage after that, but I declined, and went back to finish this blog at the hotel. Internet connectivity was good enough to upload some photos for a change. Takes time! Thanks for reading this.

Above: morning glories everywhere!

Coffee beans

Elephant ear leaves are enormous!

More coffee beans, riper I believe.....

Such interesting exotic trees

Above: wondering through the coffee estate, and checking out so many spices like cloves, cinnamon trees ( with bay leaves ) cardamom etc

Palm trees galore above, and red powder puff blossom

December 21 Madikeri : Madikeri Heritage Hotel: Private vehicle

This morning we slept in, and after a sparse Indian breakfast, with no spices, due to my stomach issues, we left by van for a Buddhist temple on the way to Madikeri. This was the Golden Temple in Bylakuppe, which was on the way to Madikeri. The Temple was a huge teaching centre, and the largest settlement of Tibetan monks outside Tibet in the world. More than 4,500 male monks are there, and 800 female nuns. We spent a few hours at the monastery, and it was quite spectacular. I saw the monks, and took pics of them, and saw all the representations of the different Buddhist lineages.I took lots of pics, and lots of pics of flowers, which thrive in this climate naturally. There are always Indian guys asking you for selfies, and you end up having group pics, and individual pics with them. They have a love affair with their cell phone cameras!! We wondered through the grounds of the monastery, then went to the Malaya Restaurant, which serves Tibetan food. I kept to the Mo Mos, steamed vegetable dumplings. Easy on the stomach. Fresh pineapple juice, and mushroom lemon dish, which proved too spicy for me, although it was quite delicious. Of course everything is spiced here! We got into the van, and drove up into the mountains towards Madikeri. Huge trees, and luxuriant vegetation, coffee growing on both sides of the road. We saw Betel trees, which look like Palm trees ( which are everywhere ) but are thinner, with more sparse foliage. The leaves are good for digestion, and are eaten. ( I took pics of them in Mysore market ) but you chew it for a stimulant. We stopped to take a pic of bulls pulling a cart, and an enormous rice straw truck. Straw to feed cattle etc. Lots of goats here, herded alongside the road. We arrived about 4:20 pm, freshened up, and had supper at 7 pm. This is a Muslim hotel, and the prayers are on now, broadcast to everyone, as we have heard in the major cities, quite loudly in the streets etc. I had a light meal, and Sanjay helped me remember the past 5 days of this blog, which was very helpful. I can't even remember what happened two days ago. We cover so many things some days, and it is so hard to remember it all. Well, and early night, and we stay here tomorrow as well. Madikeri is high up and cool. Great hotel, great hot water ( a huge plus ) They grow cocoa here, and have their own home made chocolate.

December 20 Casa Meridian Mysuru ( Mysore) Tuk tuk/walking

Early today the nightmare began. I woke early with Delhi Belly. The train toilets are a nightmare, but I had my own nightmare with Delhi belly which really shook me up. It was an Indian toilet, so of course you squat!! I found toilet paper in the first class toilet. It really bothered me, and I have never had such an experience before, and never wish it on anyone.  Then, we got off the train, and I went to the Casa Meridian hotel, while the rest of the party had breakfast. A good shower, lots of sleep, electrolytes, stomach medication, and I started a slow recovery. At 12:30 PM, we went by van to CHAMUNDESHWARI Temple in Mysuru. It was right on the top of a high hill. It was a Sunday and the line up was 2 hours long, so we didn't get to go in. Then we went by van down the hill to the Bull statute which is the second largest bull statue in the world. Made from one block of granite, and it was painted black, and worshipped by the Hindus. We got into the van and stopped at a view point to see the city of Mysore below. Then we visited the beautiful palace called Lakshmi Vilas Palace in the Indo Saracenic style...one of the biggest palaces in India, built by the British architect, Henry Irwin, completed in 1912.  I got separated from the group, as I didn't hear the instructions. Stressful, but found the group. We went in with the local guide, called Niagara. There were thousands of people looking at the Palace, and it was truly amazing, with wonderful pillars, peacock stained glass ceilings, Burma teak doors, very ornate. There were various halls, 3 dimensional paintings, jewellery boxes, presents from different kings from different places. There was a private hall, and a public hall. Lots of interesting features, the first electric lift in India. Lots of paintings on a grand scale.  We saw the golden Howda, which was a gold plated seat for the king on the back of the elephants.  After this we had free time, and went by tuk tuk to the Devraja Fruit and Vegetable market. This was very interesting. I encountered lots of interesting fruits, and vegetables, and perfumes that were in glass bottles, from watermelon perfume to various other exotic smells. They sold paints and fabric colourings too. Very interesting. Then we got the tuk tuts back to the Lakshmi Vilas Palace, and waited for 7 pm, when the entire complex was lit up for 30 minutes ( to save electricity ). Huge crowds to see it. Gasp from the crowds when it was lit up. The pics show how impressive it all was. Truly something to remember!! Again lots of selfies with Indians. I toured a Hindu temple which was at the Palace complex, and observed local Hindus worshipping. We took the van and went to dinner at the Green Hotel, which was an open air restaurant. The air was cool, and we had a good meal. My stomach by now had recovered!! I took my own tuk tuk to get back to the hotel early, and got an earlier night, ready for the next day!!!!!!!!

December 19 Overnight Train Hospet to Mysooru

We had breakfast looking right into the rice fields, and then we walked through the small village of Hampi to the river. There we crossed in a motorboat to see the huge temples. The boat nearly sank with so many people crammed on, including a motorbike. We made it to the other side, and climbed the rocks up to meet our guide Basu, a local guide. We went first to the Shiva Temple called Virupaksha. Very spectacular. We were mobbed by school kids, shaking hands, and being so so friendly and very vocal. There was a marriage hall, where anyone could marry. There was an elephant in the courtyard, and I had a pic with his trunk on my head. We went into lots of small passages through the temple, and there lots of idols of Parvati ( wife of Shiva ).  Very interesting local people to have pics with.  Amazing vegetable colours on the ceiling of gods and goddesses. Then we went by tuk tuk to see the broken Ganesh elephant statue. Hindus do not worship broken idols. They had been broken by enemies long ago. From there we went to the statue of Narasimha ( the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Very scary, half lion, half human. Seven cobras above his head. Close by was the Shiva Lingum, which is the representation of male and female sex organs ( symbol of fertility ) It was surrounded by water. Then by tuk tuk to the Lotus Temple, which was the Queen's private palace. Very spectacular. We went to the elephant stable place....very big area. We had coconut water there. There were the houses of the mahouts or elephant keepers on one side. The whole area was walled. Then we went by tuk tuk to Hazarama Temple. There the guide told us the story of Rama and his brothers. We saw stone carvings of this story. Then we walked to the Kings Palace Platform, which we climbed up, and saw the aqueduct, and a well. Then the tuk tuts took us to the  Queen's bathroom. A very interesting place, with water channels etc. Then we went by tuk tuk to the Vittal Temple which was very interesting. On the way we had sugar cane juice at a roadside stand. This was my big mistake. I also ate a local fruit, which was washed but hmmmmmmm!!!!We saw the chariots in stone, with an eagle on the top, and the musical complex with tuned musical  pipes, ( 56) that had to be played with a sandalwood mallet.  They closed this part to the public, as tourists would have ruined the pipes.There was a marriage hall here too.....very ornate, lots of pipes. Then we went by tuk tuk, to the lunch place: Food point. It was a Thali lunch....my stomach was now not well!! I was not a happy camper. The tuk tuk took us to the river. I got caught up with the locals, and then we got into the motorboat  which nearly sank again, but got us back. We walked back through the village of Hampi, which was very interesting, and back to the hotel. My stomach was sore, so no supper!! We left at 7:15 pm by van for Hopet railway station, where our train was almost on time!!! The van driver was talking the whole way!! We caught the train overnight to Mysore. ( Mysooru ). My stomach got way worse. I drank some wine, which I should not have done. I had an unpleasant night on the train.

December 18 Shanti Guest House Hampi

Early start at 5:30 AM, and went by van to Madgaon railway station. Breakfast was an Indian one, at the station. I could not eat as it was too early. Then we had the drama when the railways changed the order of the coaches, and we had to run to the other end of the platform, with our luggage, and nearly missed the train!! We left at 7:50 AM, for Hampi. This daytime train trip was interesting. The door the train was open, and I could watch the scenery. I was a herd of prancing deer. Also, the area is flat, and not a great height above sea level . Great for agriculture. I noticed crops of cotton,  sugar cane, ( I noticed the spear like flowers of the sugar can ) lentils, banana plantations, palm trees, chillies, tomatoes, rice etc. Then we reached Hospet, which is a big rail junction town. There was a few minutes to get off the train, and it was a huge rush, we nearly didn't get off, as our party was split in different parts of the train, but all ended well. Then we went by van to a bakery, where we had ice creams etc. Then we drove in the van towards Hampi. Lots of pics of the rice fields everywhere, with the women planting the rice in the mud. The scenery was spectacular: looks like Zimbabwe...granitic domes ( volcanic ) split by weathering into boulders. A moonscape!! We came across an old aqueduct, and crossed the river to our new hotel: the Shanti ( Peace ) Guest house. I had a rondavel to myself ( a round thatched house ) Mosquito nets were over the beds, as we were so close to the rice fields that were just everywhere. I have a pic of the hammock outside the rondavel. We didn't wait long, as we wanted to see the sun set over the Hanuman Hindu Temple on top of a very high granite dome. There were 600 steps to the top!! Very tiring. Monkeys all along the way. At the top, we had a spectacular view of the surrounding scenery....broken granitic domes everywhere, rice field everywhere, music from below, some burning somewhere. One of the monkeys tried to steal the water bottle of one of our group. We went into the temple ( always shoes removed) and were allowed to watch the monks and the various idols inside. Monkeys walked around the walls. I have a pic with one of the monkeys. It was actually very spiritual up there: no wonder the Hindus built the temple there. We walked down, and got in the van to our hotel. Supper was unusual: on the floor right looking into the rice paddies all around, which I photographed of course. No chairs, just mattresses on the floor to sit on. Fresh juices served, and local food. It was a nice meal. Very very rural here, but there are lots of white hippies in Hampi.

December 17 Alor Resort Goa

This was the beginning of the new section of the rail trip. I did not go to the excursion of Old Goa, or watch the elephant washing, or go to the spice plantation. I rested up. Then 6:45 pm, we went to the Lazy Days Restaurant in Calungute Beach in Goa. It was a great meal of seafood. I had the Pomfret fish, and there is a pic of it. Wine was good. Great evening talking to a new English couple who had joined our group. Then home to bed for an early start the next day.

December 16 Goa

Another day of relaxation but not much beach time, as the heat was fierce, and humidity very high. I just walked around, went to the beach for a small lunch, after breakfast in the hotel. We had a welcoming meeting with our new leader, Sanjay at 7 pm with a new group, but 5 of us remained from the last leg of the train journey. I had dinner with Dania, and we had a great Portuguese red wine that cost only $6 for a bottle. I am picky about wines and this was great.

December 15 Goa

Slept in late after the late night. I opted out of lots of touring options. The only one I would have done was the spice tour, which was too far away, and I was too tired. Some went to ride the elephants and wash them, but I passed on this too. ( Was not recommended by the tour operators ). The heat was fierce here, so it would have drained my energy. Instead I went to another beach, wondered around, had some lunch, returned, rested.

December 14 Mumbai again!

Found I was too exhausted to meet Uday at 6 AM to walk. However I made it out of the hotel early, and he had brought my stuff with him, which I dumped in the hotel. I was hungry, and tired, so we went to the Trident, the Five star hotel for breakfast.There were amazing fruits there, and Uday was on an all fruit diet to lose weight. I tasted the local custard apple, which looks like an artichoke, and it is in many sections, each of which has a seed. I enjoyed it. We had lots of fresh juice: watermelon juice, pineapple juice etc. It was expensive, but very good, in AC, and I enjoyed the fabulous brunch, which was amazing. Then Uday took me to the GPO, and spoke in Maharati to the packers under umbrellas right near the GPO. Thank goodness he did, and he asked the packers to really look after me when I returned with my things to pack. We left for his commuter room, where he stays during the week ( weekends in New Bombay with his wife ) and he dressed for work. The taxi, which is cheap, dropped me at the hotel, and he went to work. Then I packed all my stuff to leave the hotel by noon, and also packed a separate pile of things to send back to Canada, as I have way too many things already. I took a taxi to the GPO, went to the packers who did an amazing job. They got Visa and passport photocopies organized.....and it was a seamless process, and one which would have taken me all day to do, had Uday not shown me where to go. Language is often a problem, although English is widely spoken. I was surprised that my parcel in a box, was wrapped in linen, and then sewn up with a large needle. Matthew and Carla will be amazed at the parcel when it arrives!! From there I sat in a restaurant, pleased that I had less weight to haul, and less chance of being dinged with overweight charges on the internal flights I still have to take in India. Then I called Uday. He suggested I come to the Veterinary College again, and we meet for supper. He sent Swapnil, his Masters Student to host me as I got off the commuter train, which I now know how to navigate successfully. I had seen the whole place before, so I spent pleasant time talking to him, and his PhD colleagues, Dr. Vijay......( forgot the last name ). Great discussion etc. I went in to take pics of the kitchen for the canteen. You would have been shocked, but everything works here. I had a few snacks with these guys, and met more of them as friends wanted to see the foreigner. Got my phone charged too, and then we met Uday. He and I went to an amazing Juice Place for supper. I was not hungry, but tried some very unusual Indian dishes that I hadn't come across before. I had fresh pomegranate juice, which was delicious. ( Carla would be envious, as she loves this!!) I tried Falooda, which is an ice cream delicacy with seeds in and noodles!!!!!LOL!! Very nice!!! Then we went in the underground connective tunnel in Mumbai to avoid the traffic, and it was a shortcut to the hotel. I thanked Uday for his help in Mumbai. I would have found life way more difficult, and not as rich, had I not met him. Said goodbye, and walked around the interesting side streets in Mumbai. Local Indians told me to ignore the beggars as it only encourages them. Your heart bleeds for the handicapped who limp, and crawl, and hop their way through life. We went to the station by taxi at night. We were to leave by 9PM or so but the train was delayed 3 hours so we never left till midnight. Some of us walked around the amazing Victoria Rail Terminal, which is a tourist attraction, and experienced the life of those catching trains. Most people put blankets down, and sleep at the station to wait for trains. The rail system is the largest in the world I believe. Fascinating to watch the people. After midnight we left on the train for Goa. It was delayed a further four hours, and we only arrived in Goa at 1:30 PM to check into our GOA hotel. About 2 we left for the beach, and had lunch ( as we had no food on the train) at a great restaurant right on the beach. I had King Fish steak, which was very good, and very reasonably priced. On return, I slept, and recovered from the journey, and then we left that night for a beach resort dinner. It was great. I had King prawns, and I spent some time walking on the beach. There was loud disco music going, and lots of guys were dancing ( no women ). Most of them were a bit drunk, but quite harmless as opposed to aggressive drunks we know. Most of our group got up and we all danced, and had fun with them. The some of our group went to a different night club, but a lot of us stayed at the beach to enjoy the fun. A late night.

December 13 Mumbai

The overnight trip was exhausting, as I didn't sleep much on the train, and we arrived early in the morning. Taxi took us to our hotel. Hotels are expensive in Mumbai, and this one was incredibly small, way way too small. Michael and I shared a room which was too small for one person. It took a lot of time to refresh, sleep and recover from the journey. It was not a successful day, and I didn't do much that was productive except recover. I had an early night, as I made a plan to meet Uday early in the morning for a walk at 6 AM, the time Mumbai people walk, do yoga, and exercise. I spent time walking around Mumbai on my own mainly, and saw a huge Sunni Muslim Festival in progress, with lots of busses bringing in folk from outside. Drew money, and got organized.

December 12 Bundi to Mumbai

I am doing this in retrospect as there was no time to blog as the tour was too hectic. We got into tuk tuts, and went to an ancient step well. Huge area, and people walked down steps to get their water. The water table is now way lower due to agriculture, so the well is now no longer used. Quite an impressive feature. We saw two other Rajasthani step wells, much smaller in Bundi. Our guide was extremely good. He came from the archeological survey of India. Great English, great presence, very informed.The tuk tuts took us to a view point from the road from where we took pics of the Bundi Palace and city walls. Bundi is in a valley, so the Palace was half way up the mountain, and city walls way up. Not far to get to the Palace. It is not well maintained but some is maintained by the Archeological Survey of India. Impressive huge gates. Once inside the Palace gates we saw the area for the elephant fights. The elephants were given alcohol, opium various drugs, to make them aggressive, as normally they're not. Then we walked up into the Palace. The pics will show that it is quite impressive, and when you realize the opulence that the king enjoyed always with a harem, you appreciate the ornate architecture, paintings etc. Again, lovely view down to the valley below, and amazing paintings. There was a smaller garden maintained by the Indian survey. Very enjoyable tour. On descent, we had to be very careful as the ancient rock steps were very slippery, so we traversed. We walked from there into the Old city of Bundi, and it was a fascinating Eastern market. The ladies stopped to buy silk from a guy with his hand loom, proving all his goods were hand made. The trip down the road was busy and the people and shops were fascinating. We actually walked back to the hotel from there. I think we had lunch next and relaxed. Then, an hour before we left we went back to the market. A spice vendor decided to decorate my forehead with a long red tikka. We returned to the hotel, which was a monument in itself. It is a very ornate guest house used by the British. I was sharing a room, but we had an entrance to the room....like a lounge. The inner courtyard was very pleasant, and everything was decorated to reflect the history of this building....pink chandeliers, paintings of various English patrons, and Indian prominent people. The food was particularly good at this hotel. It was now dusk, and we got into jeeps, and left from Bundi on an hour long ride to Kota Rail Junction, where we boarded the train to Mumbai overnight. We were on a freeway for some of the time, and we were amazed that one of our lanes traffic travelled in the opposite direction!!!!! Didn't seem to bother anyone as , after all, the cars had headlights.....scary stuff!! Mumbai was next!

December 11 Udaipur to...Bundi

Tired, and chilled in the room. Found a half decent breakfast place, and blogged. We will be out of hotel room by 11 AM, but may do some shopping till we leave later by train for Bundi. We drank gin and pineapple juice or tonic. My group are a very young group of men and women from the UK about 14 of us. They are a lot of fun, and look after me when the going it tough. It was a late arrival in Bundi, a very rural town. The next stop will be Mumbai!! On arrival we went to a great courtyard fire, and they all drank wine and beer, but yours truly did not. He had tea to warm up and an omelette. stop Too old to keep up with them!! Went to the room, and water was warm, and had a good shower. BUT the water went ice cold and I was soaped up, so two towel around the soap, I found our leader who eventually got the water going, and I rinsed in a big bucket of nice warm water. So , if you tour India....shower quickly as the water runs out....I found out that I had accidentally switched a switch at the door and turned off the water!! I have found the trains very demanding, very crowded, very dirty, but survived.

December 10 Udaipur

This day did not work out. Tired to start, we went on a long walk to get to the City Palace. The place was excellent , and well worth it. We were not allowed to take pics without paying for them, so I desisted. It was tiring, because it was so hot, and we all got dehydrated. The walk back was hard. Then we went to lunch. I opted out of the boat trip on the lake to see the gardens, just too overheated. Lunch was not great...we sat outside, but I got overheated, although in the shade. Made the mistake of eating a curry which was too spicy for me. Felt ill. Came home, and slept. Udaipur is an amazing city of lakes, and a major city in Rajasthan. At 4 pm, we went for an interesting miniature art talk on the painting history of this area. Lots of Indian artists here. The work was done on various media....silk, tile, wood etc....and was incredibly detailed. The colours were made by the artists from various ground gems like lapis lazuli, cow urine ( yellow) ochre, etc. I was tempted to buy but had not space.....not cheap either, but lovely. All local scenes. Then we went to a stunning Rajasthani cultural performance with dancing, puppetry, singers, tabla players and harmonium. Amazing pics.....the pot dance was stunning at the end, where she danced on glass, with about 10 pots on her head!! Truly unforgettable....took some video, and lots of pics. Mostly lovely female dancers....MC was very good. Then home. In Udaipur I had my best clothes stolen, very expensive shirts and pants bought for hot climates. I had them in a bag, and we left our bags at the hotel. The hotel security for baggage was unacceptable , and it disappeared.

December 9 Jaipur to Udaipur by train

We slept in!!!!!! Then after breakfast, we relaxed....I did the blog, and waited to leave the hotel by noon. We got on the tuk tuks and it was an ordeal. The group ate cookies for the journey, and pizza which did not appeal to me!! So I hung in. Once at the station, we travelled to Udaipur, and arrived about 10 pm. The group wanted to eat, but it was too late for me. I ended up getting a late massage, which was not great, but not expensive. Was very tired, got to bed late.......

December 8 Jaipur

We left at 10 AM and stopped to get lassi ( sweetened yoghurt and cream) on the way....superb!! Then we stopped at the Wind Palace...a magnificent facade of terra cotta. Jaipur is called the pink city, because of all the terra cotta pottery buildings. Just see the pic. The palace had all the windows for the harem of the Maharaja, who kept them away from normal life, and other men. They could only view regular life from the windows!! We viewed it from a building, which we climbed to the top, and stood on the roof top. We climbed back into the tuk tuts, with Zakir Hussein, our driver, and went to the Amber Palace. We saw elephants on the way, and also on the parade ground inside the enormous palace. We climbed up many steps to the top of the hill, where the palace was located. The ancient city was walled, so we saw it snaking across the mountains. Jaipur is in a valley, and was originally walled. It was an incredible palace...actually a 3 in one palace, made by 3 kings, with a fusion of architectural styles. One Hindu king, one Muslim, and British style. The decoration was very ornate, with mirrored designs on the roof.....incredibly beautiful. We saw the King's apartments for his vast harem, and he had eunuchs to manage the women. The drainage system of the palace had 3 huge water holding tanks. We saw the toilets, and secret passages, which let light in but did not allow men to see the women walking in the secret passages. I took pics of elephants, with mahouts on the parade ground, and we came across a snake charmer, who played his ethnic instrument well. The two cobras were apparently defanged, but they swayed nicely to the vibrations of his music. Afterwards we drove to a restaurant for lunch, but on the way, stopped to see the camels.....which were a delight, as was the palace in the middle of a lake. I have the pics!! If I don't blog, I will never remember any of this!! After lunch we went to the money palace via tuk tuk. Zakir Hussein was our driver......he is a singing driver.....he sang for us, and each of us sang for him as he drove. We walked up a hill, and took many pics of the monkeys on the way.....huge numbers of them. A guy on a motor bike had a huge bag of fruit and veggies, which he proceeded to give to monkeys all along the way. We had bought peanuts, but often those fat monkeys wouldn't eat them....so one wonders why so many humans are in need of food, and so many monkeys are overfed. The monkeys here are tame, as they get so much food from people. They were sitting on our shoulders, heads, taking peanuts with their hands, and often you put the peanut right into their mouths. They were such a huge source of entertainment, and there were so many of them. We did see a cow with 6 legs. You have to see the pic to believe this!! We got as far as looking at the monkey palace, which looked interesting. It is deserted, and apparently leopards are around at night. We left, and it was a long way to walk back to the tuk tuts who were waiting patiently for us to be done. We came back to the hotel to scrub monkey off our skins, and have a good shower, and wash our hair, to avoid any monkey viruses!! We went on the tuk tuts to the gem place. It was explained to us but no-one was working as it was evening. We spent time looking at the gems. Amazing prices, and I wish all the ladies in my life could have seen them. I don't buy gems as jewellery is such a personal choice. We had the best cup of ginger/clove/cardamom chai there, and drove by tuk tuk to the textile place. The process of block printing was explained to us. I got a block print of an elephant on my long sleeved T shirt. Vegetable dyes are used. Then we looked at lovely textiles, scarves, table cloths, clothes etc. I bought a cotton, block printed table cloth, with napkins, and a silk scarf. Then by tuk tuk to a restaurant. It was a lovely but very late meal. I didn't eat much, but enjoyed the band of harmonium, tabla player. We watched two women doing traditional folk dances, with on to 5 pots on their heads. The top pot had a fire in...see pics!! The dancing was great. They invited me to put a pot on her head, and I danced with her. Their skirts twirled, and they danced around a fire. Music was great....the women had bells around their ankles, which added to the music. Elaborate hand movements typical of Middle Eastern dancing. It was a great evening. I took close to 500 pics in one day!!!! The hotel we are in, The Bissau Palace is decorated like the Amber Palace we saw, and had elaborate decorations as the pics show.

December 6 Agra

Up very early at 4 AM!!!! We went to the Delhi station, and caught the train to Agra….a two hour journey. It was an upgraded train so we were served snacks, and a full breakfast. Not much time to catch up on sleep, and we arrived in Agra, and transferred by bus to our Agra hotel. Most of us were tired from the early start, as we stayed in our rooms, slept, etc till noon. 

Then we went to a vegetarian restaurant for lunch. The cuisine has changed: no mo mos here. Great ! Then by bus to the Agra Red Fort. We had a new guide who explained everything to us. It was the most amazing fort I have ever seen, on a very grand scale. Words only pics suffice. I took many many pics. From the fort, which is very high up, we were able to see the Taj Mahal in the distance. This early Indian civilization was quite sophisticated, and probably the most advanced society at that time.Totally impressed. 

We then went by van to see the “Little Taj”. Apparently the main Taj was modelled on this one. All in white, with tombs inside, and very ornate marble design with inlaid colours. There were monkeys hanging around. This Taj was on the banks of a big river. We did not spend long, as we needed to be at the Agra gardens to watch the sunset. I thought the Little Taj was very impressive, although on a very modest scale.

Once there, we were quite close to the back of the Taj, with the river between us and the main Taj. We could see thousands of people in lines trying to see the Taj. Many pics were taken, and we witnessed another “red” sun, perfectly red and round in the sky. Perhaps pollution has caused this?? It was quite relaxing, and then we headed off to a restaurant for supper. At the restaurant was a tabla player, and Sitar player. I took pics, and they allowed me to play!!Pleasant meal, and then hotel and early bed to prepare for the next early start!!