October 2006 Update
May 15 | June 15 | July 1 | July 15 | August 1 | August 15 | September 1 | September 15 | November | December
We spent the past couple of weeks in India -- which is not an easy country for tourists. It was hot (32 to 35 degree Celsius) – and big cities (Delhi, Jophur, Pushkar, Jaipur, Agra and Varansai) are not our thing – there are just too many people, too many vehicles, too much horn blowing, too much pollution, and too many hawkers and beggars.
But we loved our time at Chandelao Garh (Fort) which is near Jophur in Rajistan. The owner (a prince) started restoration of this heritage hotel about 10 years ago. Village craftsmen and women are now converting what were stables 250 years ago into beautiful guest rooms. And next door, there’s a craft center under construction, where women from the village will do embroidery and weaving These projects and others in the town have been undertaken with the help of Basecamp Explorer . This tour company in Stockholm, Sweden is for travelers who truly want to experience the everyday life of villagers in rural areas.
Our camel ride in the Thar Desert is something we won’t ever forget – we had to seek shelter in a sheep herder’s hut during a terrific wind and rain and hail storm. Later at Dera (Camp) Eco, we looked up at the Milky Way – then slept in a tent during another terrific downpour. But the rain made the sand dunes easy to climb – and views from up there were fabulous. We saw gazelles and a fox -- and listened to peacocks.
We also enjoyed our time in McLeod Ganj – part of Dharmasala – where the Dalai Lama and lots of Tibetans live (including 3,000 children in the Tibetan Children’s Village). We trekked up to Triund at 9,325 feet, where in one direction, we looked up at 15,000 foot peaks – and in another direction, we looked off into the distance at the many layers of hills in the haze. We watched the sky change color as the sun set – looked up at the Milky Way again -- slept in a tent again – and at 6 am, watched the sky light up as the sun came up over the mountains.
We saw 500 year old forts in Jodphur, Jaipur and Agra -- lots of temples and bazaars-- the Holy Lake in Pushkar, the Ganges River and the Taj Mahal, which is beautiful – all white marble decorated with lots of black onyx, carnelian, malachite and gold leaf.
Thank you God for everyone and everything you’ve created – and for taking care of us on our journey to these out-of-the way places.
Relaxing at Chandelao
A Ride in the Desert
The View From Triund
Marilyn at Taj Mahal