Kolkata

Hi everyone,

So we're here in Kolkata. It's 36 degrees out and it's hot. We never did get to see the amazing view of the Himalayas that Darjeeling boasts about but it's all the more reason to return. We got up at 4am and got a taxi up to Tiger hill to join all the other tourists for this view that is raved about. And it never came..the fog never lifted which was sad. (We have a sad photo of us all). So we climbed back in our taxi (freezing cold having stood outside for over half an hour) and on our way to river rafting, visited a Buddist monastery and a war memorial. The we went downhill for 2 hours (or so it seemed). We got to the Teesta river and met our rafting guide and headed in a jeep up river to launch the boat. Turns our, our taxi driver Ajit (I remembered his name!) got to go with us in our rafting adventure which was super funny. Our safety explanation consisted of..."Here is how you hold the paddle, when I say forward you paddle this way, when I say back you paddle this way..good? ok." So we set off down the river. Ajit had never been rafting before and doesn't know how to swim so the guide dragged him off the boat while floating in a quieter spot and helped him conquor his fears somewhat. :) The best rapids were the first ones we got...the guide had Deb crawl down in front of the boat, while Kristin and I paddled on each side and he hit the rapid right on and soaked us all. And there were a few right in a row so we were spluttering and laughing when we were through...the rest were pretty good too but it was a fairly tame ride. Mostly it was nice to see the scenery from the river. We stopped for lunch on our way back and tried a momo which is unique to Bengal. It looks like a perogie crossed with a gyoza but is filled withh cabbage and spices. Really tasty. We got some again the next day on our way to the airport...All this adventure and we arrived back in Darjeeling at oh...1pm. :) We had a group nap and then just wandered more of Darjeeling. The next day, our new taxi driver, Ajit, picked us up to take us to the airport and did the friend switch so his buddy Rim ended up driving us instead. It's a long ride...takes anywhere from 3-4 hours to get from the airport to Darjeeling because of all the bad mountain roads and potholes and tiny one way streets and traffic jams (cars squeezing by in spots you never thought wide enough). Not a drive for those who are uncomfortable with narrow roads..we called it the Indian road to Hana (and thought it might be worse).


We got to our guest house last night, in Kolkata, in Sudder street area (close to where Mother Theresa lived) and this morning walked over to visit the Mother house where her tomb is. They had a really informative room where you could read all about her life and her journey, you could see the room where she lived, and you can see all the sisters currently living there getting on with life and doing there daily things. Really cool visit. From there, we wandered...it got hot so we went to Big Bazzar (Walmart) which had AC (important when it's 36 degrees out and noon!). We hit a flower market near the Howrah bridge which was really dynamic and had lots of beautiful strings in the different stalls...fun to wander through. We're going to hit a light show tonight in this park somewhat close to our hotel so that should be fun...

Kolkata still has the British influence, seen in the architecture of major buildings..ie the post office, court house, writers hall etc. Gorgeous big buildings of marble and brick. And then there's challenging areas of the city where there's a lot of poverty and oppression. We were walking down the street and saw the cups that the Dalit's use (once used, they smash them on the sidewalk). Deb and I were at Missions fest a while ago and heard someone talking about this so it was really interesting to see it in person. (The Dalit's are a very low caste in India and are under significant oppression). Yeah - reading about the Missionaries of charity earlier (Mother Theresa) just raises awareness of the poor and dying in India and opens your eyes further.

We have one day left! Crazy how time has flown...we fly to Singapore tomorrow night and have a few days there..then back for Easter. :)

Mel

Darjeeling & Kolkatta

Greetings all! (here follows another back-to-the-future post!)

i write from Changi Airport in Singapore! Mel has done a great job of capturing our last few days in India. Darjeeling was such a "cool" experience as we all (Mel, Kristin and I!) enjoyed the lower temperatures, scenic greenery and rafting trip along the Teesta River. Kolkata was an incredible experience for me. Walking the streets that Mother Teresa once roamed, and visiting her place of residence where she served the poorest of the poor in Kolkota was inspiring, to say the least. I wept my way thru the museum as i saw images of her and other sisters of the MIssionaries of Charity helping people, and read vignettes from her diary regarding her personal journey of faith. i had the privilege of returning later on that day to attend Mass (church service). for pics and Kristin's thoughts on our trip, please visit her blog

i can't really believe that the India portion of our trip is over. it seems like it was only just the other day that we were in Changi Airport getting ready for our flight TO Mumbai!

While waiting in the departures terminal in Kolkata to board our flight to Singapore, i was approached by a tourism official and was requested to fill out a survey about my experience in India. i found that fitting, as i sat and pondered about the last few weeks in India. we went thru a flurry of questions ranging from what sorts of transportation we took, to the average cost of food, shopping, accomodation, what we thought about the airports etc...and then came the question, "what was most impacting thing about your trip for you?" Without hesitation, i seem to spit out the words "the hard working people have made this country into what it is today...good work ethic is hard to come by." whether motivated by poverty, sincerity and diligence, bartering and taking advantage of tourists... i have to say that people's work ethic here are of a calibre i have never seen before...determined, persistent, and in most cases, very helpful.

i have been privileged to share the last month with Mel. she has been a dream to travel with. there are few people in life you can share 25 days with, straight. and i'm glad she put up with me for that long! we have lots of pictures, and stories, and new recipes, so looks us up when we're back...we'll do visits as a pair, by request :)

thanks for journeying with us. it's been pleasant to take this trip along with our readers.

much love,
dL

Darjeeling & Random

Hey everyone,

We're here in Darjeeling, having pulled out all our warm weather gear and we're looking oh so fashionable in it! :) I'm finally using the toque I brought, my rainjacket, fleece, still wearing the Kurta but also with my yoga pants, socks and the hiking shoes I've worn once while in India (to make room in my pack while taking a train). And we’ve have had rain 2 days in a row now! On the way up to Darjeeling yesterday, and then again this afternoon it's rained. Such a contrast from the rest of our month being in the mid 30's and now we're in a place where they built us a fire in the fireplace in our room to stay warm last night. First impressions? Love it. It's such a great place....and it's a place to relax in. It seems less hectic and well, less like everyone is out for your money than some other places we've been. So we've just had a great day wandering around and taking it easy and are not on our guard (nice break).

So since we last posted...few things. One was that I have been mildly stressed about trains just because there is potential for stuff to get stolen, we're women and overnight trains are not known to be the safest. When we're meeting locals who are chaining their bags to the bunks, it lets you know what the reality is. So we had originally anticipated being able to train straight from Varanasi up to Darjeeling and we were waiting on our tickets while in Varanasi. Our wonderful travel agents (in Pune) weren't able to get them for us so booked us on a train to Kolkata and then were anticipating booking us on a train to Darjeeling from there. Because of our limited time, we opted for a flight from Kolkata up to Darjeeling so we could maximize our time. So we were prepared for a 24+ hour travel day, leaving Varanasi (one 14 hour night train, one 5 hour airport wait , one 1 hour flight and one 3 hour taxi/jeep ride to Darjeeling). We walked into the Varanasi train station after our exhausting morning (see Deb's post re Varanasi ghats - lots of brain activity going on in both our heads), anticipating our usual mode of being on our guard. And the best thing happened. There were tourist police. We walked in and because we didn't see our train listed on the board, we asked an official looking guy and he directed us over to a side wall to sit with some other travellers (about 10 of us in all). While this isn't what we've usually been doing (heading to where the foreigners tend to bunch together), we did this time. And after a few minutes we started to notice a pattern. If any guy was standing too close and just staring, the police would yell at them and they'd move off to somewhere further away. If any one approached us begging, the police would send them on their way. And they kept a solid 10 foot wall of empty floor around us as a barrier..by the end of the time we were there, there were probably 30 + travellers, all in this one area...all grouped by the police based on which train we were on. When our train finally arrived, they let us know which platform to go to. And then found us when it changed and let us know to go to a different platform. Overall though, they were such a welcome surprise so that we could relax a bit, prior to our 14 hour train ride. On which we shared a compartment with a sweet grandma, her grandson, a guy Deb dubbed as an Indian George Kostanza (his name was Nitin - I called him Nimbit, thinking of a timbit), this sketch looking priest all dressed in orange with crazy wild grey hair and 2 other guys who joined us later in the night. Anyways - nitin was helpful and was good at explaining different things happening on the train and helped the pass the time.

Side note - I'm having a terrible time with names. For some reason, I can't remember them AT ALL. I hear it, it can be spelled and I can even repeat it a few times but my brain doesn't catch on. So Amin from Goa, I called him Abu. Jugdish, a guy from Udaipur, I called him Jughead. Sandeep from Pune I called Sanjeev...I messed up Deb's middle name the other night. So my brain seems to be fried or something. :)

Also - an observation I've made being here...foreigners frequently are wearing pants we've dubbed as TAS pants (take a .... pants) as that's what they look like. However I've only noticed the foreigners wearing them and haven't seen any local women from any region wearing these yet which makes me think that it's a misconception that it's "clothing to fit in with". The biggest thing I've noticed is that locals prefer clothing that covers your butt.

Another observation - the men here are really affectionate towards each other. They hold hands, will drape around the others shoulders while walking down the street, and will even hold pinky fingers. It's so cute! :) But I still haven't gotten used to it. :)

Also - I ate a green chili pepper in Varanasi, thinking it was a green bean and had a delayed reaction in realizing what it was. But then...oh my gosh...I was frantically trying to find a napkin to spit it out in as I had chewed seeds and all. It took my breath away for a bit but overall I survived. But yikes....don't want to do that again. UUGH.

Right...back on track. the trip up here. We got in, met Kristin and found our taxi driver who was going to take us up to Darjeeling. His music selection was hilarious. There was some Bon Jovi, Sting, and random R&B songs but my two favourites...Enrique Eglesias (not that I should admit to this but it brought me back to my highschool days - and I knew the words still! yikes!) and the ultimate? Celine Dion - Titanic. So there's this cool little dude (looked like he was 18), driving his slightly suped up car, blasting Celine with us the in the car. It was a memorable ride.

We're staying in this place called the Swiss hotel and it's a chalet. I love it. I've quite decided like being taken care of. :) The guy brings us tea in the morning to our room, lights the fire for us. It's fantastic. We have a view, we just haven't been able to see it yet as there’s a cloud cover but the room is really quaint and we feel like we’re in a chalet or something, all bundled up in quilts and sitting by a fire, drinking tea. :)

We visited a tea plantation this morning and wandered all around the grounds, then went to the Happy Valley café and this woman made us 5 second tea. From there we wandered into lower Darjeeling and then took this long long cobblestone road uphill to get us back to the main area. We’ve booked a rafting trip for tomorrow as well as a trip to see Tiger Hill in the am. So we’ll be getting up at 4am tomorrow with hopes of seeing the impressive mountain view we came here for. :)

Right now? We’re headed back to our cozy chalet to eat some tasty dinner and try to get to sleep early.

mel

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

hello all,

we've spent the last couple of days in Varanasi. unfortunately, i was hit with a 24 hour bug and was without food (can you imagine me...without food?!?!) while Mel feasted. one upside of my being sick was the resting and relaxation we found in lazing around the hotel... this rest proved to be helpful for our 5am wake-up call today.

this morning, we took a sunrise boat trip along the Ganges River. noted as the most sacred of cities in India, Varanasi is the site where Hindu pilgrims come to accomplish a number of things. coincidentally, i had charged my battery but forgot to put it in my camera, (Mel's camera can't post pics cos we don't have the cord) so i'll attempt to describe to you what i saw this morning...

we were warmly greeted by our guide, Tripati, at 530am. without inquiry, he let us know that he was a brahmin priest, and the highest of all castes. i suppose tour guiding was his daytime job as he taught lessons in the Hindu temple on sundays as well. we arrived in the Old City, and learned that the layout of the city was intentionally made so that each street would inevitably always lead down to the holy Ganga (hindu name) river. as we walked the stone streets, weaving thru alley ways we saw a handful of people beginning their morning prayers chanting in the temples, clanging their bells, lighting the incense and throwing orange, yellow and pink flowers at various gods and goddesses. we reached the steps of the high banks that overlooked the Ganga and began our descent towards the river. with each step, we moved closer towards a floating wooden boat that awaited our arrival.

lined along the Ganga are around 80 ghats - river front dwellings. in these ghats are where people wash their sins, their laundry, themselves, perform cremations, and a number of other activities. as our boat curved its way thru the river, we heard the eery chanting of a small child as it echoed thru the river banks...this chanting was soon followed by a deep resonating voice of an adult male. there are 2 ghats where cremations take place, and we rowed past both of them. we learned from our boat guide that the first one performs both "electric fires" and "good [riverside] fires". for 500 rupees (about $1.00CAD), you can have your body cremated in the electric fire. for about 2000 rupees (about $4.00CAD), you can have your body cremated by the river. what's the big deal about being cremated along the Ganga, you might ask? hindu followers believe that if you are cremated in the Ganga river, you will achieve moksha - a breaking of the cycle of life (reincarnation) and enter into nirvana (an eternal state of bliss with no more suffering). we later made our way to the other ghat where only river side cremations took place. the smoke, the dark grey ashes...there's not much else i can say about that sight.

as we rowed north, the sun began to rise on our right-hand side, and it seemed like our senses were competing between the ghats on the left, and the sunrise on the right. as the sun rose, so did worshippers from the river...arising from the Ganga, they would position themselves towards the direction of the sun and chant while pouring holy water on themselves. further up the banks we saw laundry being slapped against rocks. we learned that a lot of the laundry being done here was for local guests houses and hotels. hmm...did we sleep on holy bedsheets, we asked? it was quite a sight to see the white handwashed linen draped along the banks as it waited for the sun to rise and dry it out. as the sun rose, the banks were lit with a golden hue. we welcomed this warmth as it always ensured that the mosquitoes buzzing in our faces would soon flee.

we rowed for about an hour, but have at least 10 hours worth of conversation, im sure. we carried on afterwards to one of the largest Hindu Temples in Varanasi (there are around 22,000!!). respectfully, we walked thru the temple where i had somewhat of a theological discussion with Tripati til the end of our trip. he assured me that he knew what he was talking about, as he was a man of the cloth :) these conversations have left many thought in my mind, which im sure i will chew on for the next 14 hours on this lovely train we have coming up. curious what i talked to him about? be sure to ask me when im back, and i'll gladly fill you in.

one can't come to Varanasi and not contemplate spirituality/faith/the afterlife. you can't avoid it. in fact, a promotional brochure even called it "a trip of self-discovery". while Mel and i didn't come hear to achieve any sort of enlightenment, we did discover a number of things about this country that has hosted us so very well for the last few weeks. my observations have lead me to the belief that faith and culture are very much intertwined here...from the socio-economic structure, to the political arena, and the everyday conversations people have with each other (or don't have because of castes), we are walking amidst a culture that reverently lives each day in the presence of the spiritual. is that good or bad? well, i guess that's up for each of us to decide.

see you in Darjeeling,
dL

Mel's post re Indian food

So it's been observed that I haven't talked about food much. This blog post will change that. :)

I find it pretty funny that I anticipated coming to India and getting rid of my sweet tooth...ummm...well...that hasn't really happened. First off, there are the masala chai teas (we like the ones with cardamom)...which you may have read are everywhere. We've been getting them regularly in the morning and when we were at the village and city schools, we got them at 10:30am and at 2 or 3pm also. These are chock full of sugar. And we notice when they're not sweetened because we add sugar! But they're amazingly good...and will be one thing for sure I will continue to enjoy once I get back. mmmm...chai (and it doesnt taste anything like starbucks or a teabag...it's just pure goodness). Sometimes they're made mostly with milk, sometimes just the black tea with milk added at the end but either way...soooo good.

On occasion, we've also been enjoying mint tea (mint leaves and hot water, possibly add honey), and also honey, lemon ginger tea (one we tried had real lemon in it and was tart but really tasty - took away our sore throats we were getting from the train). Other drinks we've ordered are the lassi's, mostly the mango one which is a yogurt base. These are really smooth and tasty. We also found a street vendor who had a juice maker and we drank a glass of pomegranate juice on the side of the street. That was really refreshing. So refreshing in fact, that it's all Deb could think of for the next 24 hours...Here we are on a boat tour, walking through these amazing castles in the middle of a lake in Udaipur and her primary thought? :) "Oh my gosh..I can't wait until we get our pomegranate juice. Should we go get it right away when we're back or get the shopping done first then go straight there? Or get the gulab jamen first?" But my favourite...is the lemon nana. It's a mint and lemon drink..some are blended, some are more yogurty but the one I had today was utterly amazing. It was like lemonade (but less tart) combined with a mojito (with no rum). I could have downed two at once.

For breakfast, I've been thrilled to notice that museli and curd (yogurt) is served a lot of places over here. It's a nice change that I welcome...so I don't have to eat Indian meals 3x a day every day. :) And I do miss my homemade granola with my allspice and yogurt so this makes a very reasonable compromise while travelling. A few places cut up fresh fruit it in also which was a nice treat. Deb likes her Indian breakfast of curry and chapati or naan. :) For me, the sight of blended spinach curry (palak paneer) first thing in the morning..well, it doesn't make me ill but doesn't look appealing either. :)

The difficult part I've found travelling is lunch in these types of cultures. We both brought granola bars to eat which have helped but it's difficult in such a communal culture to find pack lunches. Street food of the fried dumplings and stuff are available but while Deb has been eating them, I've avoided just as a precaution to not get sick. So I usually eat minimally at lunch if at all as the culture is all about sitting down to eat this meal and sharing..ie going to a restaurant which isn't so feasible when you're on the go. So this is my challenge mostly..finding food to eat on the go during the day.

Dinners...I've found a few good ones and Deb is very proud of the expansion of my knowledge of Indian food. :) Chicken biryani..really yummy...any biryani is good actually. (Rice and veggies mix - like fried rice). Also, raita is really tasty. It's a vegetable salad served with meals which is pretty refreshing...usually in a yogurt sauce. We've tried pineapple raita and cucumber raita so far. Jeera rice is a good accompanyment to any curry...(rice with cumin, ginger, garlic)...and a really good curry I've been enjoying is called Nav ratan korma. It's a combination of cooked veggies and fruit. Some have included banana and cashews and raisins..the one I liked best had papaya. The sweet combination was really good with the veggie. Dahl is a really tasty dish as well (lentils), and we've had a few really good chicken curries in the past few weeks. (Or rather, I have since Deb is a vegetarian). :) Also a really good one, when we were in Mumbai - I had a pumpkin curry that was amazing...reminded me of Thai away home and the pumpkin curry there. And finally, we've been ordering Thali..which is an assortment of curries for one person so we can try a few in one meal but of smaller portions. As we've moved west, the portion sizes have dropped a bit so while we were both ordering individual portions at first (deb would finish hers, and I could never finish mine), now we're ordering and sharing so we can try different ones. I have also learned the difference between chapati and naan and their texture...both are good though. :) When we were at Lauren & Jonathan's, Deb ate one cold with sugar for breakfast. lol So when we're in Singapore, this is a mission of ours, to find warm chapatis (or naan) cooked in butter with sugar. (You see what I mean about the sweet tooth? :)

Dessert...I never liked the gulab jamen in Vancouver but here it's so good. (It's the dough balls that are soaked in honey). They're really really good. We got some street side when we were in Udaipur and enjoyed them in while waiting for the pomegranate juice guy. And then went back for more to supplement our dinner. :) The other thing is Kheer..(rice pudding). We've had some good ones..and some interesting ones too. Our last order wasn't the best we've had but some have been really tasty. Again - Deb ceases to speak when she's enjoying one of these..and can think of nothing else when it's potential is in reach. :) And today I found a chocolate brownie sundae...it had these chocolate wafers and actual brownie chunks in there and just hit the spot.

So yes - I'm enjoying food here also and it's been fun to notice the small differences in taste as we move through the different areas.

We're in Varansi now, moving onto Darjeeling tomorrow. We have the last of our epic train journeys starting tomorrow at 4pm..which will be a 14 hour train trip to Kolkata then we fly to Darjeeling for a few days. Our last train journey was really good..prayers were answered..we both managed to sleep well (as well as expected on a train) and got about 7 hours or more of sleep. We were in a 2AC, meaning 2 high, each side and it had more room and a curtain for privacy. Not that that means anything here as people open every curtain they pass just to have a look at who's inside..

we also had a sketch situation (it was fine..) at the train station which put us a bit on our guard. we arrived in at 2 or 3pm and stepped off the train and a second later there was a guy who picked us up right away. He followed us up the platform..not being subtle about following us at all..(at first I thought he was looking for opportunity to get our bags) but then he turned out to be a really persistent rickshaw driver. we stopped in a official office to ask directions to a pre-pay booth and thought it might discourage him..nope. he found us again (apparently we're not very good at imitating Jason Bourne) and it didnt matter how many times we said "nay nay" or "no thanks", he kept pace with us, right on our heels. Right up until we were at the prepay taxi, he got in a slight argument with a taxi driver but accepted we were not going with him. but still hung around. then surprise, we saw him later at our hotel...I guess he drove someone else but it was a little sketch to see him again. Just one of those things while travelling that keeps you alert and on your guard. But no harm and no danger. The train stations are a place to be wary of but they're not so dangerous as I had anticipated...lots of people there so not much can happen. Just lots of opportunity for men to stare at you. :)

ttyl
mel

Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Greetings from the home of the Taj Mahal!

what a day it has been! i'll keep this post short as the pics will explain it all. we got on a train from Jaipur to Agra this morning, and have spent the day in Agra. our agenda had one thing on it...sit and bask in awe of the Taj Mahal. we accomplished just that. nothing else, aside from eating (!!), was on our agenda.



[classic shot of the Taj...]



[just to give you an idea of how huge this thing is...here's Mel sitting]



[pretty!]



[Deb and Mel, doing very well!]



[goodnight, Agra!]

we're off on an overnight train to Varanasi in a couple of hours.

see you there!
dL

Jaipur

Deb and I are here..waiting to get on our 11:30pm night train to Varanasi. we've had more adventures and have some photos we can post. :)

Few funny things from the past few days..
-we saw a billboard advertising cheepsh (chips) this morning..so our joke today has been to ask if we want cheepsh for a snack
-we had a snorer our first night train that was so bad you had to laugh...he would start with a long loud inhale snore...then do some sort of wheezing on his exhale. I almost got out my camera to video it because it was so unbelievable. deb is describing in more detail...
- we decided the next guys to ask for a photo with us were going to be told it would cost them 500 rupees( ($10 bucks - pretty cheap!). we tried it out today in the Taj Mahal and the guys who asked had a good laugh...it was a good way to say no thanks with a smile. :)

Things that let me know I'm getting used to being here:
- I no longer flinch when I'm walking down the road or in a rickshaw and another rickshaw or car passes me with inches to spare. I also don't jump or turn around when they honk but just slowly move further to the side of the road.
-I am accustomed to seeing cows wandering in the middle of the road...and watching cars or rickshaws just drive around them.
-I don't expect to find toilet paper in any washroom, public or otherwise
- I use hand sani on average of once an hour.
-I will order sweet cardamom chai whenever I can get it
- I've started saying yes yes or yeah yeah in response to questions...I've also been using the common phrase "no problem" with a little head shake
-It doesn't surprise me to hear the call to prayer anymore (although hearing it this morning at 5:30am leaving Jaipur when it was dark and hearing the call when the streets were empty and no-one was around - it was really eerie sounding).
-we're now able to figure out who's married, who's single and who's a newly wed based on their dress and jewelry

So Jaipur...we got in...tired after our restless night on the train with the snoring guy..managed to offend rickshaw drivers who were pretty persistent in the train station as we arrived....tired and looking for a pre-pay option..we were followed by about 10-12 drivers all trying to get our business and we ended up being pretty direct telling them to buzz off. :) We got to our hotel and settled in to come up with a game plan. We ended up heading out to a block print factory museum, just outside town to watch how they've been doing these amazing prints we've seen on Sari's all over the place. Really facinating. http://www.anokhi.com/anokhi/anokhi-museum.html. Both Deb and I got to try....From there...we headed back to get on a half day guided tour trip of the city. We loaded into a 4WD with a family, ourselves, a guy from Delhi and a guy from China. We were aided greatly by the guy from Delhi as he spoke english really well and was able to translate from our driver. (He should have gotten a commission). We drove through the old city, painted pink as pink is the colour of joy, and ended up at this observatory where there were all these old tools used for math and astrology etc. A really old sundial, compass...that sort of thing. There was a guide provided to us, who wore a cowboy hat (Deb called him the mexicano), he was older and he singled deb and I out as the english speakers in the group. he would call us over "madam, madam! come here...move to the front, come here...". this is in a group of 15-20 people...and Deb and I were the ones who got his attention. I was offered hindi lessons from him...hmmm...so Deb and I started slacking in the group as his english was really bad,his accent was really strong and he yelled. constantly. :) so having him yell some explanation you possibly get 30% of understanding from, while the rest of the group is all watching you, we became slackers. When we got in the city palace, he directed us to get headsets to listen to...thank goodness. see photo below in observatory..and my facial expression as I'm trying not to laugh while he's shouting explanations at me in front of the group. (It reminded me of being at church when I was younger and sitting right in front of a preacher...the area we used to call the spit pit) :)
From here we went to a textile shop where I entertained the shop keepers (and the family on the tour with us - they took photos), by trying on a sari. It was gorgeous. From here we went to the Amber fort...did some exploring. Really beautiful...