one of the monkey guards at the amber palace

THE AMBER PALACE JAIPUR INDIA

HAVE YOU SEEN MY CAMEL?

our new plan, as our plans keep changing. is to do a camel safari in the THAR DESSERT. i will keep you posted. send me emails, i miss you!!

THE STORIES THAT YOU HEAR ABOUT NEW DELHI ARE ALL....

i am so happy that our 2 days spent out and about in new delhi were with the same tuc tuc driver he was amazing, and cheap. he took us to the red fort where we wandered around for a short while, we are done with delhi treasures for a while. then he took us by foot through the giant market that is next to the red fort. i felt like we were in kindergarten and he was the teacher. we followed behind him like baby ducks and he shoed off potential threats and beggers. he would do little motions with his fingers and hand behind his back and it would tell us which way to go, he held traffic and kept us same through the turmoil that is a delhi market.

we are in jaipur now

we left new delhi yesterday by train and it wisked us here to jaipur in the rajasthan state in a short 5 hours. we didnt have a hotel booked or one in mind, which is a huge mistake because when we got out of the train station we were hit apon by so many people. there was a woman who only had a blackened stump for an arm, begging for money and so many men offering us rides and hotels and tours. they are so loud and abrasive and desperate that it is imposible to think. rohmann had told me that i relied too heavily in the lonely planet guide book. and that we should just wander around and find a place. terrible location to start trying this!! rohmann pulled me aside and while he help the men at bay and the stump armed woman stood by, i rooted through the lonely planet guide book and said with urgency to the most persistant man, this is the place where my husband is waiting, we must get there right away!! it took poor rohmann a minute to fall into the new groove. but he was on top of it, if you dont tell these people that you have a paid for reservation or are meeting someone they will take you to their family or friend hotel where they get a comission. i chose this hotel because it was in the budget section and it had an internet sign. it is called the pearl palace and it is wonderful. quiet and peaceful and super clean. free wireless internet and a very good restuant. out room is very small and we chose one that was half the price because the toilet is down the hall. it cost 300rs a day. about 6usd!! i love this place.
it is very early morning and today we will go and see the amber palace and the pink city, maybe even the monkey temple (i dont know if there are monkies there). i am so greatful that we found this place and that we spent the day resting. as delhi was a challenge.

these men made music with the rhythm of their pounding!

A LOVELY TEMPLE

THE FIRST PLACE THAT I DRIVER TOOK US WAS TO THIS TEMPLE. IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND LARGE. WE HAD TO REMOVE OUR SHOES BEFORE ENTERING AND THE FLOORS WERE COOL MARBLE. MY FEET WERE HAPPY AND AFTER JUST A FEW MINUTES OF WANDERING AND LOOKING AT THE PAINTINGS AND READING THE BITS OF ENGLISH....MY SOUL WAS HAPPY TOO. IT FELT LIKE A SACRED PLACE. I FELT SAFE AND SURROUNDED BY GENERATIONS OF FAITH. YES I SHED A FEW TEARS AND SIMPLY WALLOWED IN THE BEAUTY OF SUCH A PLACE. I AM GREATFUL.

OUR DAY WAS A GREAT SUCCESS

NOT THE TAJ BUT VERY BEAUTIFUL

THIS IS AN AMAZING TOMB HERE IN DELHI

THE FEEL OF DELHI SO FAR

WE GOT INTO DELHI AT MIDNIGHT AND AS THE PLANE LANDED YOU COULD SMELL BURNING GARBAGE AND OTHER POLLUTIONS. BUT I HAVE TO SAY THAT FOR MY SENSITIVE NOSE IT IS NOT THAT BAD, JUST THERE LIKE SOME MINORLY ANYOYING BACKGROUD NOISE. IT DEFINATLY REMINDS YOU OF WHERE YOU ARE THOUGH. OUR DRIVER FROM THE HOTEL WAS WAITING FOR US WITH MY NAME IN BIG PRINT AND HE WAS VERY NICE BUT THE TRIP TOOK QUITE LONG. IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THE SLEEPING CITY THOUGH AS IT WAS AFTER ONE BEFORE WE GOT HERE. THE STOP LIGHTS ARE VERY LONG HERE, EVEN IF THERE IS NO TRAFFIC CROSSING. SERIOUSLY. FIVE MINUTES OF WAITING FOR A LIGHT TO CHANGE WITHOUT CROSS TRAFFIC! MANY PEOPLE HONK AND RUN THE RED LIGHT. WHO COULD BLAME THEM. OUR DRIVER DIDNT THOUGH. THE PROBLEM WITH RUNNING THOSE RED LIGHTS IS THAT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING THROUGH THE GREEN LIGHT MUST BHE VERY CAUTIOUS TOO! THE DRIVING HERE IS DEFINATLY AN ART FORM.
TODAY WE HIRED A TUC-TUC DRIVER TO TAKE US AROUND DELHI TO SEE THE SIGHTS. WE WERE GONE FOR 5 HOURS AND IT WAS REALLY FUN.

INDIA, OUR FIRST DAY HERE

OUR FLIGHT HERE WAS PRETTY GOOD. KLM DOES NOT HAVE MUCH ROOM IN THEIR PLANES THOUGH. I HAVE BEEN IN MUCH BETTER BUT THEY KEEP YOU FED FOR THE ENTIRE TRIP. WE SPENT ONE NIGHT IN AMSTERDAM AND THAT REALLY BROKE THE TRIP UP NICELY AND I THINK HELPS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE LACK OF REAL JET LAG THAT I FEEL. THAT AND THE VITAMINS THAT I AM TAKING. IT IS GOOD TO FEEL HEALTHY SO SOON AFTER LANDING.

WE LEAVE FOR INDIAIN ONE WEEK

THIS IS ALL VERY EXCITING. BUT I AM ALSO NERVOUS. I HAVE BOOKED ONE NIGHT IN AMSTERDAM AND THREE NIGHTS IN DELHI. HAVE MY INDIAN VISA, TRAVELERS CHECKS BANK CARDS AND MASTER CARD AND VISA. SHOTS ARE COMPLETED ON FRIDAY. WHAT MORE DO I NEED?

MY TRUCK THAT I WORK IN ALL SUMMERTO MAKE MY MONEY TO TRAVEL ALL WINTER!!

I LOVE MY TRUCK!

New Plans...

I am planning my winter adventures now.
It goes like this.... India for 6 weeks in december.
Returning on my birthday, January 27th.
Then flying into Bali and 2 months later flying out of Manila Philippines.
I am pretty excited about these adventures.
If you have any ideas, tips or comments I would love to hear them.
I will be taking my mini computer and my camera so i can share it all with you.
VIOLET

ABOUT EGYPT....the pyraminds are much bigger than i expected, the sphinx is much smaller and the red sea looks much better close up!

I AM COMING HOME!!!!

i was on the bus yesterday, heading to cairo from the western desert villages, and the bus went past the great pyramids of giza. i sat in the bus looking out the dirty window at these wonders that just a month ago i was so excited to see. and so many pictures ran through my head. of so many things that i have seem and heard and smelled and felt here. so many images....madness! and through all of this, as i looked at the pyramids that now seemed like a normal sight to me....i knew that i was ready to go home. 2 months away is enough this time. i got a nice hotel room in cairo and e mailed my daughter meg, who, as per normal, got my tickets all changed and done. (she is such a blessing) so i fly out in about 12 hours and i will be joining the rest of the vancouverites in bitching about the the weather!!

see yah!

THE MUD BRICK VILLAGES

it was a wonderful experience to wander through the village and wander through time. it feels like no one lives there and then you hear a baby crying and you know that this is still home to many.
to us it looks uninhabitable. but to them it is what they have always known. i notice that in the desert and in many parts of this country people work slow and steady. they are resting at least as often as they are working, dividing their day, keeping their strength.
i can understand how they cant believe the pace that we generaly move at! it seems as bizzarre to them as theirs does to us. but of course we all have our ways and the joy of travelling is seeing and understanding 'their' ways.
nameste

THE MAN IN BLACK IS MY NEW FRIEND SAM. HE SHOWED ME ALL AROUND THE VILLAGES...and all he wants in return is to marry my daughter!!

Just had to catch the bumble bee in action!

some of the faces of people who live in the old desert villages....beautiful, friendly people

seriously, one of the cleaner unisex public bathrooms!!