All Chilled Out

One of the things that I was looking forward to before we left for India was to get my hands on Canon's new 21 megapixel prosumer camera, the Canon 5D Mark II. As it turned out, the camera was not available in stores until the first of December, which is about when we returned. So, even though I no longer had a rationale for this camera, much less the budget now that my portfolio has tanked, the first thing that I did when I got home was to go aout and buy one. I did this in the firm belief that a better camera will take better pictures. We'll see. The next thing I did was to try and take some decent pictures with it. That's not so easy. One of the reason that I like to travel is that I get to see new things. This helps to focus my 'vision' and provides opportunities for getting, what I think are, decent pix. Driving around the old neighborhood (and this includes most of western Washington) does not provide the same stimulus. In any case, I headed out to the Snoqualmie Valley in search of... something. I usually find something new every time I head to the valley even if it's not particularly photogenic. I did not get much this time, either, but I did see a flock of snow geese in a field, just south of Monroe. Not a great photo, but it is the best that I have gotten so far with my new camera.

All Done

Thanks to Abo's for this image from the beginning of our trip.

Back in Obamaland

After a sixteen and a half hour flight from Mumbai, Carol and I (and Paul and Puki) have arrived safely back on US soil... or, at least in New Jersey. We had showers at the club room and we feel pretty good, if not a little tired. We board our flight to Seattle in a little while and we should be home by 1PM today. Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. Cheers!

Of Boars and Bats

Carol here. This is probably my last post as we leave tonight on our Continental flight home via Newark. We separated from the group last night at the Mumbai airport, some leaving from the airport that night, others going into the old part of the city near the Taj hotel that has been under siege to stay at its sister hotel the Taj President and others to continue on to south India for more travel. We are staying at hotel near the international airport. In reflection about our travels for the past four weeks I find it hard to properly compose my thoughts for a final blog. India is so alive with images for me. As we left the caves on the last official touring day in Aurangabad we drove down the narrow road from the plateau and a family of wild boars (a boar with huge tusks, a sow and 10 piglets) raced up the hillside brush. Later as we watched out the window fruit bats flew alongside the bus with what looked like two foot wingspans. Here we were driving past villages, watching mothers cook dinner and children play in the dust while bats accompanied our bus. The many special memories we have of the conversations with local people, from children to shopkeepers and village men, are as vividly detailed as the sight of the boars running and bats flying. My memories of India will always hold the special beauty of vibrant people and colors as well as the desperation of the poverty, even more intense with knowledge that terrorism will have its ugly impact on this wondrous country. Our last days with the local hawkers at the caves were palpable with the desperation of their efforts to sell us something, anything in the knowledge that we might be the last tourists they would see for a long time. In Ajanta, nine tours had been cancelled, in Mumbai at our luxury hotel it was a ghost town in the lobby and restaurants, tourists having fled Mumbai leaving the boutique staff pleading with you to come into their shops. (Mike here: The hotel has 90% vacancy and we had our choice of rooms on the Club floor. Our personal butler practically hovers outside our door.) The American economic crisis had already hit India a severe blow, now terrorism had brought it down even more. We hope that its resilient people can find ways to survive. We want to remember the fruit bats and tigers, Hassan who sold me my carved wooden camel as we rode along in a camel cart, the bell maker’s daughter who helped us navigate the paths in a village, the silversmith who sold his tribal jewelry on Ebay, the toddlers that played peak a boo with me and most importantly the women that embroidered and wove, that always were working whether carrying rock for road construction, water for washing, or caring for the goats and cattle, their children and families.

Spelunking For Photos

Today, we visited the Ajanta Caves, which are just like the Ellora Caves that we saw yesterday, but different. The main difference is that Ajanta is off the normal trade routes and is located in a narrow gorge high up on a canyon wall. So, after the original craftsmen had finished building the caves, or not finished the caves in some cases, the place disappeared in history for 1100 years until a British cavalry officer discovered them in 1817. His name was John Smith. We know this because he carved his name into the 2000 year old carvings with his bayonet. Anyway, the 1100 year time-out had distinct positive consequences. You see, since Ellora was on the main trade routes, those caves were continually being visited. Not just visited, but lived in. During the monsoon season, people would move in with their cattle to escape the flooding. They lit fires inside the caves, and the smoke from a thousand years of barbeques obliterated the paintings that covered the walls. Ajanta’s paintings survive, and that is why we went to visit them today. Our local guide, Sanji, was superb in describing, in great detail, the stories that are represented in the paintings. At least that is what I have been told by others. I wasn’t really paying attention. I was trying to take photographs of the paintings in almost total darkness. They do not allow flash photography or tripods into the caves here. I had to prop the camera against pillars and then hold real still for the 3 second exposures required. I did my best. Anyway, the Ajanta Caves are a huge tourist draw, especially with Buddhists from Korea and Japan, and the place is usually packed. Not today. We were told that nine tours had cancelled just today. The hawkers are not happy. Neither were the palanquin porters. The porters usually do a great business carrying the old, the infirm, and the Americans up the zillion steps to the caves from the entrance.

All of the women on our tour are in love with our local guide, Sanji. Many want to adopt him and take him home. The others want to help him find a nice girl to marry. In case any of our readers are looking for a nice Hindu boy to marry, Sanji holds two advanced degrees, including one in law with a specialization in intellectual property rights. He speaks four languages, and is learning Mandarin. He is working as a tour guide while he gets his law practice going. He’s 28 and he comes from a good family.

Army Men With Guns

It seems the Indian government is taking this whole terrorist thing very seriously. When we arrived at the airport in Bhuj for our flight to Mumbai, we had to go through two extra security checks just to get into the airport – showing our passports both times. There were soldiers (or, as Indian TV refers to them: “army men”) with machine guns on the tarmac. Here in Aurangabad, there were armed security guards at the locked gates of the Taj Residency Hotel when we arrived. And, on the drive today to the Ellora Caves we had to stop at two security checks. They even searched the bus.

I'm including some miscellaneous pictures that have accumulated over the past couple of weeks.

Spectacular

The Ellora Caves are a series of 34 temples and other structures that have been carved from rock in the hills above the town of Ellora. Outside Aurangabad. They were built from the 2^nd century BC to the 11^th century AD. Over that time, tastes (and religions) changed a bit. The earliest caves are Buddhist, with later ones being Hindu and Jain. The scale of the structures is immense. Photo’s won’t do it justice at all, but we will try to share the incredible skill involved in carving these complex temples from the top down into the basalt rock. Note that all of these structures are carved from a single rock. In other words, they were not constructed, but chiseled away, starting from the top. They're amazing. BTW, the Buddha in the first image is over 25 feet tall.

Carol here. I had some fun exchanges at the Ellora caves with the hawkers that are persistently harassing you to buy their wares. I usually start by telling them I will not buy anything but would love to engage them in conversation. We speak in in English and I ask about their families and life. They tell me how good their wares are. I usually end with telling them that if they want to give me a gift of their wares that would be nice. They then ask if I would like to reciprocate the gift giving with a $10 bill (American dollar of course). Actually one man gave me a small bracelet that he wanted to have me bring to my niece (kalai). I gave him an Obama political button that started up a whole other conversation. Sorry (Dad), but everyone in India loves Obama. Another man gave me some old coins that he found with a metal detector and I gave him some American change and gum for his kids. Nice conversations. Everyone involved in the tourist industry from street hawker to hotel staff is especially kind and thoughtful and friendly. This Mumbai “trouble” as they call it has such an immense impact on the Indian economy with regards to the tourist industry. We travel tomorrow to the Ajanta caves which are further out but even more delightful-which is hard to imagine. We will post every night till departure day on Sunday. Then it’s a long journey home.

Aurangabad: The Definitive Spelling

We have arrived in Aurangabad and are all tucked away at the Taj Residency Hotel. This is a wonderful place. For one thing, they have hot water – something that our last two hotels lacked. We will also be taking the morning off to sleep in, swim in the pool, and otherwise decompress from the events of the last 24 hours. I think we are all just becoming aware of how stressed we have been with the tragic, sad, and scary events that have occurred. This hotel will be a good place for us to all chill out as it has many of the western amenities that we find comforting. Like the bar downstairs that serves black Russians. We are now off to get a good night’s sleep.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Rann Means Wasteland in Gujarati

[Written two days ago]

Maps of India, made prior to the 19^th century, show a large island sitting in the Arabian Sea off the northwest coast. This island, shaped like a turtle, was known as the Kachcch (Kutch). The island was separated from the mainland by a shallow marshy area. In 1819, a monster earthquake hit the area and the sea was filled in and the Kutch became permanently attached to India. This newly created land area is called the Rann. Nobody really cared. The land is salty and desert-like and not much will grow here except cumin and castor. They do grow a lot of both here. Cumin from Kutch is supposed to be the best in the world. Whatever. In any case, this is where we are for four days. We spent the first day at the Rann Riders Camp, where we stayed in huts. It was actually very nice. The accommodations were rough, but the experience was worth it. At night, I saw more stars than I have seen since I was a kid. We got up before dawn to search out the elusive wild asses of the Little Rann. Actually, our guides knew exactly where to find them but they thought we would enjoy riding around the bush in jeeps for a while. We did.

Back at the camp, we got to see two different wedding couples having their official portraits taken. One couple looked like they were in their early twenties, and they looked a bit unhappy. The other couple were 10 and 11 years old. They looked confused. Both couples were nice enough to let me take some photos. They all live in the nearby villages.

Then, we were off to Bhuj, the capitol of the Kutch region. In 2001, this town of 180,000 suffered a major earthquake (yes, another one) in which 90% of the buildings within the old city walls were destroyed or damaged, and approximately 17,000 people died. They don’t know the exact count, as they have not recovered all of the bodies. Some still lay within the piles of rubble that are everywhere. Recovery efforts have been very slow. In parts of the city, it looks like the earthquake happened yesterday.

On the bus today, we learned more about life in the Kutch. I have determined that this area is actually a natural disaster testing ground. In addition to devastating earthquakes, the area suffers from category 4 hurricanes on an annual basis, flooding on an unprecedented scale, and summer temperatures that reach 52C (126F) during the summer. Rumor has it that there are plans to install an active volcano in the area.

Anyway, the reason we are here is to visit some of the many small, and very primitive, villages in the more remote regions of the Kutch. We even needed to get special permits to go to these areas because they are within the security zone near the Pakistani border. The villages are known for their handicrafts – principally weaving and embroidery. I am quite sure that Carol and Puki will be showing you samples of their work when we get back.

Carol here. The embroidery is spectacular. The finest needlework I have ever seen. Today we visited a women’s co-op that was established to give the women direct access to the market for their work. Originally the husbands or men in their life would sell their embroidered clothes without much money reaching its way to them. Now they can bring their designs to the coop, get money for supplies and sell their work directly to the western market. In addition they get health care and education. Like Mike said there is devastation from the earthquake everywhere. Buildings in rubble piles and new construction in pockets around the heaps. The villagers that survived have made great efforts to get their city back together again. The government also has provided incentives for industry to establish in Gujarat-possibly to the detriment of the handicraft arts that have been here for centuries. It will be interesting to watch what happens to the small villages as car manufacturing (the TATA Nano car), etc. takes hold of the work force. Many of the craftsmen will lose the next generation of craft artists.

Tonight we wandered the bazaar and looked at the silver workers and goldsmiths working by kerosene lantern light. A small girl was crying as her mother held her for her first earring piercing. Little does she know that the gold put in her ears tonight would be the beginning of many pieces of fine gold jewelry she will wear up to and including her wedding night. The young newly married couples Mike mentioned from the Rann Riders Camp in Little Kutch were wearing large strands of gold medallions that the families proudly pointed out to us were real gold. (see photo) The bride wears her dowry in full view for the wedding. At one of the craft villages we learned that in the tribal communities the married women wear close to a lb of silver on each ankle in the form of ankle bracelets and another lb of silver on her necklace . At certain anniversaries the weight goes up, and this in effect becomes her retirement money-always worn day in, day out. I guess it would take a lot for a woman to run away with all that weight on her…

Off to a “cocktail” party in the Abo room for the group. Luckily two other travelers got permits today for vodka and gin. The permit process was very much like Mike’s experience-taking multiple employees and government workers and about 45 minutes to complete. Though we have all gotten in the habit of speaking in terms of “units” of alcohol (you can buy 10 beers per week on one permit, but ony 1 large bottle of vodka per week on one permit) we are diligently upholding the tradition of cocktail hour, sharing my Trader Joes “mixed nuts”, the mango juice someone else buys on the streets, and the Lay’s potatoe chips “American Style” that another will find at a truck stop. After a few drinks we thoroughly enjoy replaying the day’s adventures.

Mumbai Shuffle

We made it to Mumbai domestic airport and we are now waiting for our connecting flight to Auragabad (suspect spelling). As we sit here we can watch the final assault on the Trident Hotel on our choice of 6 wide-screen tv's. It's a bit unreal. They also have free wi-fi so I have my laptop on my..uh, lap. It's getting really warm. Anyway, we will post again once we get to our final destination. With pictures!

Latest News

We will be continuing with our tour, but with some modifications. The Mumbai airport is still open, so we will be flying to Arungabad (I have no idea how this is spelled) through Mumbai as planned. However, we will stay in Arungabad for two extra days and then return to the Mumbai airport to catch our scheduled flight home. We will miss the two days of touring we were supposed to do in Mumbai, but that would not be much fun now. If the situation changes, the tour will make all necessary arrangements to keep us safe. Thanks to everyone for their notes of concern. Be assured that we are in no danger here. I will post more in about 12 hours.

PS - The Taj hotel in Mumbai that was attacked is not the same one that we were scheduled to stay at.

We're Safe

We wanted to let you all know that we are still safe here in Bhuj. We are scheduled to fly through Mumbai later today on our way to Aurangabad, but now those plans are up in the air. As we learn more about the situation (and you in the states know far more than we do at the moment) we will let you know.

Quickie Update

We are still in internet hell, but I thought I would let you know as much as I can. We had a great (but long) day. We went north to the tribal areas and visited some primitive villages (handicrafts). Since we were within the security buffer at the Pakistani border, we needed to get permits to go there. We saw tanks! Much more later. I sure wish I could post some of the photos that we have been taking. We will surely be able to do so tomorrow night.

This Sucks

We are in Bhuj, the capitol of the Kachcch (Kutch) district, and we have no internet. The manager of the hotel here has dial-up internet, but this is hardly the same thing. In any case, we will be very hard pressed to post anything until we reach Arugaband in two days. There, we will be staying at a Taj hotel. Taj hotels always have internet. This is too bad, because we have lots of great stories (like the wedding of the 10-year old girl and her 11-year old groom - I have pitures!). And the wild asses, and the Rabati tribesmen, and other stuff. Lots of fun. What is not a lot of fun are the last two hotels that we have stayed in. Total dives. We are not happy. Paul and Puki are not happy. We will be happy in two days. And we will have lots of stories and pictures. Pray for us.

I Come From Obama

People here are always asking us where we are from. When we say: USA, they almost always reply: Obama! Now, we just tell people that we come from Obama. This seems to make them happy.

We have spent three days in Ahmedabad. Not my favorite place, mostly because the hotel sucks. Anyway, tomorrow we are off to Dasada, which is out in the country somewhere. We will be staying in huts in the middle of a game reserve. The highlight of the reserve is the presence of wild asses. I'm not really sure what the big deal is, but we will be going on both an evening and then a morning safari to see the assess in their natural environment. These must be very special assess. Anyway, I doubt that we will have intenet service until we get to Bhuj the day after tomorrow.

Ben Kingsley Was Here

Ahmedabad was the home of the Mahatma Gandhi (Bapu to his friends). It was from his ashram across the river that he began his famous Dandi march in 1930 to protest the salt tax and to win independence for India. We got to visit the ashram today and I must admit that I was a bit disappointed; it doesn’t look like the one in the movie. I suppose, though, that things might have changed over the past 80 years. For instance, I think that the museum dedicated to Gandhi’s life probably was not around back then. Ditto the gift shop. Still, it was actually moving to see the room where Gandhi lived for 10 years while he plotted the overthrow of the British Empire.

You may recall my mentioning that Gujarat is a dry state. It turns out that there is an exception for foreigners, who are permitted to consume alcohol in their hotel rooms. This explains why every hotel contains a fully-stocked liquor store. How convenient. Not quite. In order to purchase alcohol, you first have to get a permit. This process starts by going to the store and showing your passport and filling out a form. You then take the form to the hotel reception desk to get the form stamped by the hotel manager and to get a photocopy of your passport and visa. When you return to the store with these items you must then fill out another (two-page) form. Then you must return to your hotel room and wait. The liquor store manager will then call the liquor control agent who will come to the store and approve the application. When he is satisfied that all is in order, you get the summons to return. The agent then determines that you look like the fella in the passport, fills out some more forms, and the asks for 70 rupees for processing the application. He does not give change. With the permit in hand, you can now buy a single bottle of alcohol. Note that a beer is the same as a liter of vodka. I went for the vodka. So, 40 minutes later I now have a bottle of Smirnoff, but no mixers. The liquor store only sells liquor. Hopefully, Carol will show up shortly with the tonic.

I am including a picture of the Taj Lake Palace Hotel that was taken from our room at the Fateh Prakash Palace Hotel in Udaipur... simply because I really liked Udaipur and our room there. Sigh...

I am also including a picture of our bus. We basically live on this bus so it is a big part of our lives at the moment. It is a good bus. It has no Christine-like personality issues, like the bus on our last trip.

We Got Video

I just realized that I had made a short video of the Aarti ceremony in Varanasi on Carol's point-and-shoot camera, so I thought that I would share it. You have to go back to the post titled "That Varanasi Feeling" to figure out how this video fits in. Hope you enjoy it.

Playing Catch Up

With our 3-day interruption in internet service, our postings have gotten a little out of order. For those of you who prefer your travelogues presented in a more linear fashion, I thought I would provide a bit of a recap of our trip over the past few days. We left Pushkar on the 14^th and travelled east to the Ranthambhore National Park, where we spent two nights. From there, we travelled south to the city of Kota (no, I had never heard of it before, either), where we stayed in a palace that was owned by the last maharaja of the area. Half of the palace is now a hotel while the maharaja’s 96-year old daughter lives in the other half. It was a very nice place, but I don’t think they have updated the facilities since it was first built. I like to think of it as primitive luxury. We saw the fortress at Kota, and then saw the fortress at Bundi the next day. Nice fort. But what I really liked was the vista of blue houses in the town. I’m sure the blue has some deep significance but I’m clueless as to what it might be. We also stopped at a small unspoilt village that was far off the nearest road. I got some pictures that I really like from that place.

From Kota, we travelled to Udaipur, stopping on the way to visit the fortress of Chittor. This is one monster fort, covering 8 square miles. It is so big that it includes a town of 3000 people, a complex of palaces, and a wildlife preserve. Over the past 8 centuries it was attacked and overrun four times. It’s my personal theory that these attacks were all successful because the invaders could get inside the fort before the defenders even noticed they were there.

A short (and quite possibly inaccurate) history lesson.

As the British expanded their influence in India beginning in the 17^th century, they discovered that it was impossible to exert direct authority over the whole country. So they cut deals with many of the local rulers (of which there were hundreds). The maharajas agreed to pay taxes to the British and keep the peace. The British, in turn, paid the maharajas a salary. Everybody was happy. In 1947, when India became independent, the new government agreed to continue to pay the current maharajas their salaries during their lifetimes. Most everybody was happy. One person who was not happy was Indira Gandhi, and when she became prime minister, she reneged on the deal and cut off the salaries. The maharajas were not happy. It turned out that most of them were also broke. They still owned palaces and fortresses, but no longer had the financial means to maintain them. The more enterprising maharajas cut deals with the luxury hotel chains and turned their palaces into resorts and their fortresses into museums. This is how we came to stay in the palace at Kota, as well as the one here in Udaipur.

Tonight we will take a boat ride on the lake and tomorrow we leave the state of Rajasthan where we have been for the past two weeks and head to Ahmedabad in the state of Gujarat. We are supposed to spend three days there so I can only assume that it’s for a good reason.

UPDATE - I have just learned from our guide that Gujarat is a dry state - no alcohol may be consumed there. I expect that my postings may suffer as a result.

Holy Cow

Let’s get something straight: cows are not holy. No one worships them. In fact, everyone pretty much ignores them. This is because the cows do not belong to them; they belong to somebody else. A lot of the cows seen roaming the streets are the property of someone. For a poor family, the cow may be their most valuable asset. That doesn’t mean that they take care of them. Usually, they can’t afford to feed them – especially when they are not producing milk. So, during the day, the cows are set loose to fend for themselves, usually eating garbage, or whatever else they can find. In the evening, they will find their way home again. If they are producing milk, the family will usually find a way to provide fresh hay and feed. Things are even worse for the bulls, who really only have one job to do, and it’s a part-time one, at best. The end result is that these animals wander the streets all day, clogging traffic, eating garbage, sitting in doorways, and generally behaving in ways that would make Gary Larsen proud. The free-roaming days of the cows may be coming to an end, however. At least in the big cities. There is currently a lawsuit pending in the Mumbai (Bombay) courts that will determine if the owners of new high-rise apartment houses can legally prevent renters from keeping cows in their apartments. I think it has something to do with the elevators.

Sorry 'Bout That

We have been in the internet wilderness for the past few days and have been unable to post (or read email). We have now come back to civilization complete with full wireless connectivity. We are, as I write, sitting in our lakeside room in Udaipur at the Fateh Prakash Palace, overlooking the lake palace. We have a bunch of things to write about but, for now, we are too busy spoiling ourselves with the view, the food, and the gin and tonics. We will have more posts for you by this evening.

Quick note to Erika: we have not seen any more Rhesus macaques since we were in Agra. The Langors, however, are everywhere. I got some baby pictures for you.

Tiger, Tiger, Wherefore Art Thou

Carol here, we are in Ranthambhore tiger preserve on our way to search for tigers the first night. Having arrived 2 hours late (bad roads again) for the afternoon safari, we dashed to our Condor ( a large open topped bus that seats 19) and rushed into the park barely missing a few cars, pedestrians and boars along the way. 1 hour of viewing beautiful lakes with ruins of a massive fort (actually, a royal hunting lodge) in the distance on the hills and we had to leave the park or get locked in with the tigers. We all opted to leave. But the next morning our group headed back into the park at 6:00am. The main group got zone # 3, Abo’s and Ross-Rainwaters headed off in a smaller jeep to go to zone #6 for bird watching. Only there weren’t many birds-it was a savannah environment with stone outcroppings that the jeep zigged and zagged over. Beautiful quiet morning ride. Then we came upon the hyena’s. Huge and prehistoric looking-almost the size of deer-they were beautiful. Our guide made hyena noises so that they would turn towards our cameras. They seemed quite serious. After they suspiciously wandered into the woods we went in search of other game. Saw Sambors(the largest Indian deer(kind of like elk) and much smaller spotted deer. The huge Blue Bulls-which is one of the world’s largest antelopes. Then more driving and strange animal noises from the guide. Lots of tracking (a tiger was in the area, but not to be seen yet…) We saw gazelle, crocodile, boar, and one fresh “kill” with tracks…tiger was not to be found this morning. (Mike here: We were not that disappointed in our morning’s outing until we heard that the rest of our tour group saw a female tiger close up. The tigress posed for pictures, gave a brief description of her life in the park, and then signed autographs. )

But we had an afternoon safari with the group still to come. Who by the way, all saw a female tiger walk along side their Condor vehicle that same morning, spray the nearby trees and wander over the hill-so the ross Rainwaters and Abo’s were feeling a little left out…We headed off with the knowledge that since the morning was a successful tiger safari, the early evening safari would primarily focus on birds. Heh, we love birds (but oohh that tiger spotting would be nice too). Lucky for us we saw owls, osprey, sea eagles, kites, furry necked storks, sandpipers, kingfishers, stilts, red wattled lapwing and yellow wattled lapwing, Indian Darter, crows, pond herons, vultures, pea fowl and of course peacocks. Thank god. The group was somewhat sated with their birding and the guide was able to listen for the Langer Macaqes danger calls. Of course I had a secret weapon in one of our group (Steve) who has wonderful tiger energy-spotted it the first day of the tour. I asked him to Please….get us another tiger-he offered the guide 1,000 rupees if he could find one. 1 hour before the park was to close on our last night in Ranthambhore we went speeding off to a lake filled with rushes and tall grasses. Inside this vegetation a large male tiger was wading, quietly approaching the far shore and some prey( well it’s a good theory anyway). First I saw the tail. Then one ear. Then part of a rear end with beautiful orange striping. Then nothing but reeds. Then part of Mike’s shoulder and then another ear of the tiger. As he moved through the grasses my mind filled in the gaps-he was huge and we were very happy. A wonderful day in Ranthambhore.

Tigers? Not So Much.

We spent a day in the bus, Mike and I, trading spots on the back bench for naps. Lots of small villages, bad roads, crops (mustard is a biggie) and women working. Everywhere the women are working, from hauling water in pots on their heads, to rock carrying for road work, weeding and hoeing the fields, tending the animals and making cow pies into wood stove fuel. The men sit in circles and smoke, hang around the shops and watch the village television and take naps on woven beds that sit outside beside the house doors. Occasionally you see the men urinating beside the road. We discussed the inequality of work at great length on the bus, but Mike and the other fellows thought we were being sexist.

8 hours later after a delightful potty stop beside the road in the bushes(only a few of those thistle thingies stuck to my pants) and a surprisingly good Indian lunch at a tourist bus stop, we arrived in Ranthambore and hopped on the condor vehicle for our safari into the tiger park. Unfortunately we were late getting to the hotel and so had to speed at breakneck pace through town honking at all traffic coming our way till we got to the park for a quicky 50 minute tour before dusk drove us out. I guess you wouldn’t want to be stuck in the park after dark so they have strict rules. Mike and I have arranged for a private jeep tour into another area of the park where we hope to have some photographic opportunities that might be a bit less hectic without our fellow 16 travelers along.

Right now we are listening to gypsies performing outside our room (we are so lucky to have drums and singing so close-yeah, ask me in an hour how I feel), we’ve had a very good dinner and have sorted the laundry for tomorrow. Off to bed. Hopefully will be able to post some delightful tiger shots or at the very least a few Sambor or spotted deer photographs that will take your breath away. Tomorrow we have a 6:30am safari and an evening safari with shopping and swimming in the pool in between. Kind of a relaxing day comparatively speaking of course. –Carol

Mike here: We just got back from our morning “safari” into the Ranthambore National Park. In order to keep the tourist jeeps from outnumbering the animals, each vehicle is randomly assigned a zone within the park in which may travel. We got zone 6. We did see hyena, antelope, gazelle, etc., but no tigers. Still, it was a very pleasant drive and we hardly saw any other vehicles. I will post again after our afternoon safari.