Post #100

I'm am now in the home stretch. For the last miles in CO and the first miles in UT US 50 is I-70 and I decide to say good-bye to the heartland and just go home. I'm not necessarily saying 'no' to the smaller roads, I'm just going to be taking a more direct route. I left 1-70 at Green River, UT and headed north on US 6 to catch I-15 into Idaho to catch I-84 which will get me into OR. I haven't decide if I'll stay on I-84 or take Highway 20 across OR. That's the straightest route but I've driven that one before and I can't say it would be quicker, though! As the crow flies, I am 475 mile from my destination. That would make it bit longer of a day's drive than I normally would. I am soooo ready to be done traveling, at least for a while but I have delayed my return because the first thing I have to do when I get back is find a place to live! Finally, though, the thought of apartment/house hunting is the lesser evil so I'll be puttin' the pedal to the metal.

Got out of Dodge

It wasn't hard to do. I paid a few bucks to visit the actual Boot Hill Cemetery site. Nothing is actually buried there these days but they have a cut little mock up with some wooden grave markers and boot toes sticking up out of the ground. The price of admission included a visit to Front Street, a reproduction of the town from 18something. I'm right on the edge of the tourist season here so the place was not in full swing and I didn't stick around for the gunfight reenactment. The rest of the day was a repeat of the day before, just driving through the plains where stayed the rains. I called it a day after getting in the requisite miles. I stopped in Lamar, CO which has a really friendly staff at the visitor info center. Aggressively friendly, almost. I have LOTS of CO tourist info if anyone is interested.

As for today's drive---Now that's what I'm talking about. Almost 200 miles, two tourist stops, three for three on letterboxes, (one in each of three towns) mostly sunny sky and a great view of the Rocky Mountains all day long. It's nice having something to do (like steering) while driving. Since leaving the heavily turtled area there's not been much to look for on the road but now that I'm in the mountains and the road has all manner of curves again it'll be oh so much more fun to drive. Plus there are the various 'watch for' signs that pop up now and again just to keep me on my toes.

My boring blog entry

Drive, drive, drive, drive, drive etc. No turtles. Four lane most of the way. When it was two lane it was still 60 or 65 mph. Out in the Great Plains. Nothing to see but fields of green, an occasional cow, a few horses and one small herd of sheep. Missed any Memorial Day parades that might have been. Good driving weather though-not too hot and a really big t'storm after dinner last night. Covered just over 200 miles from Emporia KS to Dodge City KS with a tourist stop at two places in Hutchinson KS (KS is a big state). I visited the Underground Salt Mines. Pretty cool little tour to take if you are into mining and all that kind of big machinery stuff but the really really cool part of the place is what happened to 45 acres of it after they got the salt out. A company leases those acres for underground storage. The place is 650 feet down, constant 68 degrees, low humidity-perfect for storing valuables like an original copy of the New York Herald printed the day after Lincoln was shot, medical records and of course it is THE storage place of choice for the Hollywood artifact archive-the shirt James Dean wore in Giant, the master prints of GWTW and Wizard of OZ. And it is the resting place of George Clooney's Batsuit-the one with nipples.

Stop 2 was at the other end of Hutchinson, I think. The Cosmosphere is a tiny slice of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. It has an IMAX, planetarium and a Bill Nye inspired science lab demo all about Goddard and his engines including fire and explosions and flying things.

And that's the Daily Dull Dispatch from Dodge City.

Caution: Turtle Crossing

That should be the sign posted on the highway for the section of 50 between Union and Jefferson City, MO. GADS! Okay, so it's not like they jump out of the woods and dart across the road. It's just that there are so many of them. I felt bad for the little tiny ones, too. Until you are up on them, they look like just a spot on the road and sadly, they then become a spot on the road. I am happy to report, I did not contribute to the turtle road kill count but there was evidence that lots of other drivers don't care so much.

So I spent the first part of yesterday morning dodging around turtles (are they really tortoises?) on my way to Jefferson City. Letterboxing research showed there to be a whole series of Potter related boxes in a city park there. That sounded like a great way to spend a good chunk of the day. I had the Garmin tuned to the park and found a Hampton Inn just outside the city that had a business center where I was able to get a hard copy of the clues. The directions to parking inside the park were excellent and I was out searching in short order. That's pretty much where the good stuff ended, at least as far as letterboxing. The directions were pretty clear for the most part but after going 0 for 3, I fugured the boxes were retired except from the website.

So I got back out on the road and went in search of small town remembrances but I guess I'll see those today because there wasn't much going on yesterday. I did cover lots of miles (300+) but still no giant ball of twine. *sigh*

No giant ball of string yet

1. A good mileage day but a bust otherwise. I did manage to stay on 50 all day but in this neck of the woods it is mostly a 4 laner/60 mph and shared with truckers as well. There was even an occasional rest area. I tried to visit a couple of roadside attractions but I never found any information on the first one. As far as the second one goes, it was Europe all over again. That is to say, I'm just a little bit off season for visiting some things. I did stop in to visit an Amish Village which was kind of weird actually. It is a cluster of the kind of buildings you'd find on an Amish Farm, I guess. Except for the fact that it was all paved for parking, it sort of looked like the set of Witness, the Harrison Ford film from the 80s. I don't think it was fully open yet but I what I did see looked to be part antique market-part flea market. There's a bakery and restaurant. One of the buildings is called "The Blue Door". It's one of those long low buildings and has three doors on one of the long sides. The center door is blue but oddly enough, that's not the door you enter through. Instead you go along the building to the read door. As you go along you walk past all the antique-y sort of stuff you associate with farms-those large milk jugs, farm implements and stuff like that there. Just as you reach the red door (the one you enter through) there is a sign in the window announcing that this building is a Free WiFi hotspot. Weirdness.
2. Okay, I have no idea where the numbering for these paragraphs are coming from but I experienced computer conundrums most of the evening so I'm not surprised to see them. Anyway, after the Amish Village I just made miles. I finished Indiana and I'm a bit more than halfway through Illinois. I could have made it to the far side of St. Louis but I called it an early day after making the 200 miles. Today's gonna be short mileage tho because I think I'm gonna go or two boxes before I get started and tho' I generally try to avoid the big cities I am gonna go into downtown St. Louis for sightseeing AND urban letterboxing. Wish me luck. I get started in about an hour.
   

Lost in America

Wooo-8 for 9 on letterboxes today! And covered more than 200 miles.

I started the day backtracking a bit to visit Mountwood Park in West-By-God. Three different series of boxes planted by the same person (Safari Man) throughout the park. Great clues, great stamps-the guys a carving wizard. That was most of the morning and I was on the westward way around 11:30. I drove straight thru and was in kind of a groove so I missed the part where US 50 split off of the highway and I wound up taking Ohio 32 instead. By the time I noticed that the highway signs only had one number, I was far enough along that I didn't want to backtrack anymore. Too bad for me, too, because the part I skipped looked like it was the kind of skimpy highway that I was sort of looking for. Ah, well. We're going with the flow on this one. Besides I have 7 or eight more states to get through and I'm back on 50 now. I'm also in Indiana, I think. I haven't scoped out what's coming up but I gonna put letterboxing on hold and try to find some roadside attractions instead. I haven't seen a giant ball of twine or the worlds biggest/smallest anything yet.

Oh, and I've been wimping out on the camping part of this trip and have gone motels so far but that's gonna have to change or else the trip gets shortened. . .theoretically.

Fair seas and tailing winds so far-well not really but good weather is what I'm trying to say.

CYABY

"You don't have to be crazy to drive Black Bear Road

. . .but it helps." That's from a recording from way back in the 70s 'bout a pea vine like road goin' up and over and up and over and up and. . .a mountain. Yeah, that's what I did today, too. Route 50 was finally the kind of road I was hopin' for-two lane country driving rolling past the hills and mills sayin' howdy to Uncle Sam. OK-that last bit is from a McDonalds commercial, also from the 70s. At least a good part of it was. It's still kinda interstate-y in some parts. But I'm ahead of the narrative here. Rewind to the start of the day back in Winchester, VA. Using Mapquest, directions from Atlas Quest, Letterboxing directions AND the GPS unit I successfully traveled .1 miles from the hotel and actually found my first letterbox for this trip!!! I then went on and found four more so it was a grand and glorious day. Ain't it grand what a sunny day will do to lift your spirits. A sunny day will also give you a really good case of truckers tan. My left elbow is sunburned. I finished boxing by before noon and covered the requisite miles for the day (200+) by 6 PM. There's still day light left at that time this time of the year so I prepped some letterboxing for tomorrow, too. I'm in Parkersburg, West By-God and will have to back track a little bit but it the weather is right, it'll be a jackpot of an LB day in a state park. It's supposed to be nice-at least that was the forecast for the area I just left. And that's the road report for today

On the road again. . .

I might have used that title before but too bad-it fits well here. After about a 2 month break to deal with one of those inevitables of life I'm back out on the road for the last leg of my RTW+ trek. This segment is starting out in Maryland on the east coast of the US of A and will follow Route 50 across the heartland to Sacramento (if I go that far west) before heading north to Oregon where I will try to locate, pick up and restore the bits of my life and move on.

I started out from Craigtown on the 16th of May and only covered about 40 miles in order to rendezvous with high school classmates for an overnight slumber party. It seems a lifetime since I had seen those folks but I hope not that long before we get to get together again.

The following I covered a few more miles that the first going from SE PA to Ocean City, MD. It was a rainy day but not so bad as to make driving difficult but just crappy enought to put a damper on any letterboxing although I did make a few attempts (that's how I know it was dampered). After three failed attempts including one that was just a walk up to a restaurant, I bagged letterboxing for the day and found a campground. Yes, I decided to camp even in the crappy weather but I did cheat and found a campground with camping cabins so the evening was rustic but not rough. The most difficultpart of the evening was not having the promised internet connection.

Monday I started out late just because. I made short visit to Salisbury but was again thwarted in any letterboxing attempts and have decide I'll put activity on hold until I get to the other side of the 'beltway'. I'm in Annapolis now and luck me, I arrives just in time for the commencement of the Naval Academy! No room at any of the inns. Well, that's what I was told but thanks to the internet, I did find a hotel just off 50. Pricier than what I had hoped to be paying but I'm not I figured the first part of this trip was going to be costly and I'll make up for it in the budget later on. I did take a wee bit of time and strolled through the downtown &/or historic district of the city. It's a bit early for tourist season but because of the visiting parents of the plebes (or are they no longer plebes at this point?) it was sort of a preview of the summer season to come but with more folks dressed in their 'whites'. Kinda of blinding, really.

It is now Tuesday and I'm about to start out towards Washington DC, that is if I can safely get out of my room. Let me 'splain. I was up very early just because I got done sleeping, I guess. It was about 6:00 am. I had just brewed a bit of chai and was starting to do some surfing. The TV was on, tuned to one of the investigative procedure shows. I heard some kind of siren and thought it was on TV. It seemed quite persistent. After a while it was annoying. That's when I realized it wasn't on TV but out in the hall. I opened the door and there was another person out there who seemed as curious as me. We both sort of shrugged at one another and headed out of the building. We gathered with the rest of the guests who thought it was maybe a for real alarm at the front of the building. The security guard was there explaining that he had no idea what it was but since I might be real, we'd all have to wait for the fire department. The FD arrived in just a few minutes and in less time than it took for them to arrive they allowed up back in to the building. I asked one of the firefighters what had happened. He said the building's system was so old that the wind can set the alarms off. We all headed back into the building toward the elevators but found them not working. They automaticall y shut down when the alarm goes off and had not been reset. We eventually found the stairs back up (interior entrances to the stairwells are not readily available on the ground floor). I got back to my room to find that the show was over and a movie was now showing. The movie--1408. It's about a guy who gets trapped in a haunted hotel room. Any woo woo type folks want to read anything in to that. . .keep it to yourself, eh?

Okay, I'm outta here for now and hope to catch you on the far side of DC when next I writ.

It ain't over yet

One trek has ended but another journey has begun. Not exactly how I had hoped my first rtw would end and I'm not looking forward to the journey ahead. Let me explain. Before I began my last guided tour, the part through SE Asia, I had decided that it was time to be done. I was ready to get back and begin to assimilate back into the real world and had made my plane ticket changes accordingly. A few days before I was to depart Hanoi, I emailed my brother that I was now going to pass through San Francisco and I would wave hello to him as I flew in and out. He lives near there, you see. He emailed back that Mom had a bad turn health-wise and suggested that I deplane in SF, meet up with him and we could then fly back east to be with Mom and that's where things are at present.

And now the end is near. . .

(singsingsing) I did it my way with some help from Intrepid Travel. Anyway, this particular adventure is drawing to a close. I'm looking forward to landing and staying put for a bit and maybe even finding a shallow rut to get into for awhile but I'm not sure I'll get to do that right away because it appears I get to hit the ground running when I get back to Corvallis and the PNW Juggling Convention group!

But before I get there, I'm still here and here is Viet Nam. We flew out of Saigon to DaNang and then took a bus to Hoi An which is a great little town. The major thing to do there is to go to the beach except since we had traveled north quite a bit we have left the hot, humid weather behind and were into more cooler, almost cold stuff now. The other thing to do there is to find a tailor. Lots of shops for that kind of activity and I went with the flow and now am the proud owner of two tailor made suits although I have no idea where I will wear such fancy duds. After just two nights in Hoi An, we hopped the bus and headed north back through Danang to Hue. Here we did regular tourist stuff-a tour of the citadel and then a motorbike tour of the countryside surrounding the city, a visit to an Emperor's Tomb and a guided boat tour on the Perfume River. Hue was two days and one night. The other night was the night train to Hanoi. I had some bad take-out on the train so my first day in Hanoi, I was driving the porcelein bus and missed the surrealistic tour of the Ho Ch Minh complex. I still have time here so I might be able to fit that in. Having mostly recovered from my tummy ills, I rejoined the group for the bus ride to Ha long Bay and an overnight stay on a boat on bay after a kayak tour to some of the found there. After the boat on the bay we bussed back to Hanoi and then had a farewell dinner as an Intrepid Group. I do gotta say that I was tired of eating by that time! Except for the bad choice of a take away sandwich (that was my bad, I'll own it) the food has been great here. A few of the places where we have had meals provided as part of our tour package don't know when to say when, though. I've had lots of 4 and 5 course meals on this trip and they've been really good, too. I still skip the bits that are too weird or not quite identified but mostly I try them.

Between the India part of my trip and this part I treated myself to a 4 star hotel in Bangkok and it was great. I had hoped to go out that way here and booked into another 4 star but I guess the stars are of different standards. It's not a bad place, it's just not as posh as the Rembrandt was. However, I'll be checking out the pool tonight so who knows, maybe the stars will align!

Gooooooooooooooooooooood Morning Viet Nam!

Yes, it's a cliche but if the shoe fits . . . My time on the road is winding down a bit faster than originally planned and my thoughts recently have been towards what happens when I get back because the big question is "What happens when I get back? I'm cutting my trek a bit short and will have to leave my other planned stops for another trip. I'm out of energy for what would follow and if I stayed the course I would be completely out of funds. As it is, I think I'll have enough to get set up someplace but finding that place is where most of my concerns are these days. It's those thoughts which keep me from thoroughly enjoying where I am. I'm not completely preoccupied with what lies ahead and have been having a good time in the moment over here. These last few days have been spent in Ho Chi Minh City formerly Saigon. The tour group has changed leaders and members much like the trip through India. Yesterday we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels. I started to venture down into the actual tunnels but suddenly had a case of claustrophobia. Later, we did a boat trip into the Mekong Delta. Supposedly some of the channels we rowed along were the same channels used in the filming of Apocalypse Now. The whole day was strange considering my only point of reference to this country is from the 60s and American movies. Televised coverage of the war and the protests. Now it's all a tourist attraction. Today put the exclamation point into that phrase after a visit to the War Remnants Museum. As part of the tour group the time to examine each of these places was limited. I haven't decide if that is good or bad.

I've been doing the local food for the most part. I did have dinner the other night in a Mexican restaurant, tho'. I think it's fair to try ethnic when you're away from the home version of ethnic. Besides, I was tired of slicing the heads off the shrimp in the seafood dishes I've been having lately!

Today we are leaving the city and going out into the countryside, my favorite part of each country so far. And the bus is getting ready to leave. See ya!

Angkor What?

Wow! the time in Cambodia has just zipped by. I can't believe I'm leaving today when I just feel like I'm getting my Cambodian feet under me. Yet another location to put on the MUST REVISIT List. The first few days were visits to the Angkor area and the temples there-Angkor Thom and the elephant ride, Angkor Wat at sunrise and Angkor Something where Tomb Raider was filmed. These last few days have been in the capital city Phnom Penh and some of the sites here have been a bit more sobering-The Killing Fields and The S-1 Museum (aka The Genocide Museum). But there is also the National Museum (get a guide if you can) and the Royal Palace. I managed to not go to the two big markets and that's the only way I'm going to get through the rest of my trip, I think-avoid the markets.
Some of the things not to be avoided are the places set up to provide safe haven and education for kids. We had a very cool dinner and show at a restaurant that feeds kids from an orphanage. After dinner the kids perform the same traditional Khmer dance we saw on the first night in Cambodia. I like the kids version better! The next day lunch was at a restaurant that provides training in food service to street kids. The food and service was great. Next door is a craft shop and all the stuff was made by locals and the $ goes to the orphanage, too. There are lots of opportunities to help out like that throughout this region. I don't mean to soapbox but it couldn't hurt to checkout a couple of ways to support these kind of programs. Come 'on-it's all just a click away from where you are right now. when I get home I will change this line of text to a hyperlink to one of the sites. Please check this entry later. thanks.

In less than an hour, the journey out of Cambodia begins. There be a boat awaitin' dockside for a five hour voyage down the Mekong River to the border. As quick as this entry is, that's how quick my visit to Cambodia has been. Waay to short.

Bye Thai

My all too short a stay in Thailand ended with a private bus ride to the border. The border crossing was uneventful which is a very good way for border crossings to be I think. Though uneventful, it was colorful what with a hugh market place buzzing. We had to leave the bus, exit thru Thai immigrationand walk across the No Man's Land bridge to the Cambodia immigration office. There is a two sided flag in the middle of the bridge, one side displays Thailand colors and the other side Cambodia. From Bangkok, we (I'm with a new Intrepid Tour group now) went to Siem Reap via the Dancing Highway. In recent years due to highway improvement projects it's a slow dance most of the way now but gets a bit more lively the closer to the city we got. Siem Reap is a very lively place and I'm thinking the tourist trade is what livens it up. There are lots of fair complexions in the market places. I had a 70s flashback when we stopped at a small nightclub after browsing the night market. The singer was doing covers of old Eagles stuff and some other things I recognized from my days at ACC!



Today was a full day at some of the temples in the Angkor area and included an elephant ride around Angkor Thom. I thought I was templed out after my recent tour through India but the Cambodian temples live up to the standard set by the Reclining Buddha I visited in Bangkok. They are extensive and although they are ruins they are in a good state meaning they are looked after now and there's some restoration going on. Of course there are the ever present hawkers and one guy in our group is a kid magnet so that gets the rest of us off the hook. We also have a great local guide for our Angkor temple visits. She's one of the few female guides and has all the kind of guide info you'd want but doesn't sound like she's stepford guide. In fact, after today's official touring was complete, she took me back to one of the temples to do a little bit of letterboxing! Woo hoo-it was a success, too. I found a letterbox in Cambodia!

Best of Cambodia & Vietnam

I have left the comfy confines of the 4 star Rembrandt in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok. I've only been gone a hour or so and miss it all ready. I'm now in the Chinatown section and will venture out to explore it in a bit. In the meantime, I'm getting checked in to my digs for the night and later will meet and greet the new group and group leader for my tour through Cambodia and Vietnam. In just my short visit to Bangkok, I know that I very much want to return to Thailand for two main reasons. First, to visit the beaches. Any and all other travelers I've met who have been or are going to Thailand talk about the beaches. I won't get to see them on this trip. The other reason is to compare the rest of the country to Bangkok which is clean and modern and very congested. I'd like to visit the countryside and small towns, too, but again it's not on this trip.

I did pry myself away from the Rembrandt for a little while the other day and visited the temple of the Reclining Buddha. If that temple is an example of the kind of places one can expect to visit throughout Thailand then there's another reason to visit. The temple grounds are extensive and include almost two hundred stupas, no two decorated alike and then of course there's the Reclining Buddha itself. It's massive...and my time is up.

THIS SUCKS but Thailand doesn't

So last night I'm just hanging around at the airport in Kolkata waiting for the time when I can checkin. Around 11:30 PM, that procedure began. It was smooth process but long because there were lots of people. I made it to the ticket counter and was issued my boarding pass and I proceeded to immigration. No problems. I made it up to the gate and was looking for a seat when I heard what I thought might have been my name being called. Kinda hard to tell what with the accent and bad acoustics. I saw the guy making the announcement and approached him. I had my passport out and said "Are you talkin' to me?" OK, I didn't say that but it was my name he had called. No big deal. It just looks as though THE REST OF MY PLANE TICKET HAS BEEN VOIDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't leave India. You know my attempts at using the phones on this trip haven't met with the greatest succes and last night was no exception. Caling US 800 numbers doesn't work and I didn't have the local number for United Airlines. I wound up trying to call my travel agent. That made the most sense because while it was 1:30 am local by this time, it was 11 am in Corvallis but apparently they take an early lunch at that place because I could only get the automated switchboard and when I tried to use their employee directory to get the desk of my travel agent, it appears she no longer works there AND the option to speak to an operator was and invalid entry. I really really hate automated phone stuff. I wound up buying a ticket to get here and although I still have not resolved anything about my ticket (which is really bad because I have to have proof of an onward ticket to enter Vietnam) for the moment I'm trying to let it go after having finally sent out distress calls to a couple of places. I want to enjoy Bangkok if I can and not spend my time stressing over this ticket. After India, Bangkok is like entering another world. One the taxi ride from the airport to my 4 star hotel (hee hee hee) there was a stretch of just two blocks where I saw two Starbucks and a Burger King! I'd been up for over 24 hours by that time and seeing that combined with this whole airline ticket fiasco, I just started giggling.

And that was my entry into Thailand.

My passage thru India

(Apologies to E.M.Forster) Alas, all good things come to and end. My time remaining in India is now counting in hours and those are airport hours to boot but at least they have good internet here.

So I promised to tell you about the Taj Mahal. In a common colloquialism of the area-Not Possible. Sorry, that's a place you have to see for yourself to understand the granduer. It's not just the structure. It's the location, the grounds, the fountains. . . It's the Taj!
The evening of the day of my visit was a nearly full moon. That would have been great had prior planning been done. The five days around a full moon the city of Agra goes into a lock down from sunset until 11 PM. Folks who have planned ahead can book a visit to a the Taj to see it in the moonlight or book a reservation at one of the rooftop restaurants. For that booking you get a half hour on the roof during the moon time. On our last night, we headed out of the restricted area before lockdown and were able to get seated at a rooftop restaurant and had hoped to get our moonlightshots but we were thwarted by the first cloudy night in Agra since the monsoons!

We departed Agra on the night train bound for the holy city of Varanasi which sits on the Ganga (you'd say Ganges and you'd be wrong!). Our Temple On The Ganges hotel was not exactly a temple nor on the Ganges but we could see the river from the rooftop. After an washup from the train ride we took a walk along the ghats and to the market and that evening took a boat ride down the river to see one of the holy ceremonies. Lots of offering to lots of goods, music, prayers, incense and fire. As we headed back up river we hugged the shoreline because it was easier for our two rowers and this also provided us with a close up view of the many funeral pyres burning on the nearby shore. This is what I meant by saying the Veranasis is just to die for. If you die in this holy city, your soul goes directly to Heaven and you are released from the cycle of reincarnation. Your earthly remains are burned on the pyres and your ashes thrown into the holiest river Ganga. I think you can bring deceased persons who died elsewhere to Veranasi, too but their souls will follow the reincarnation route until further notice, I guess.

The following day I saw more funeral pyres alight. It is a very busy place for this activity. There's lots more to do in Varanasi but I tried to restrain my spending except at the Bread of Life Bakery and Restaurant. They served pancakes! As a holy city Varanasi has restrictions on non-veg, alcohol and such although, the nice little Mormon Grandmother in our group manager to score a bit of hooch for the younger set (they were all of legal age!)

Our last day in Varanasi, I avoided the ghats and funeral pyres and instead found a beauty shop for an overdue haircut. The good thing about a haircut is that even a bad one will grow out.

The last night train of the trip brought me to Kolkata that you'll want to call Calcutta. Whatever. Our group was greeted at the train station by the sight of a deceased man lying on the sidewalk. I've seen lots of folks lying on sidewalks throughout India. It's sometimes the most convenient place to take a nap. This man was not napping. Nuff said

From that sobering sight the only place that seemed appropriate to visit was Mother House, the home and last resting place of Mother Theresa. A walk through the comprehensive museum of her life can make anyone think about how little they have accomplished!

So, it was quite somber end to my visit to Incredible India (that's from all the tourist literature) and I think it's going to take time for me to process it all. Throughout Europe, I had some sort of based to start from to absorb all that was around me but not so India. I've got a new book and movie list to begin when I return home to help put some of this in some kind of perspective. In the meantime, I'm going to keep moving ahead because I have six more equally as alien countries and I'll be covering those six in about the same time as I did for all of India. I fly out tonight at 2 AM bound for Bangkok where I'm going to treat myself to three nights in a 4 star hotel (It'll cost about the same as a Super 8) before I begin my next Intrepid Tour. In the words of Beans, the Muleskinner "Pray fer me".

The Crowning Touch

When last I writ, I was in Pushkar one of the holy cities of India. It is a smallish place but more than a village. I liked the market area and of course I contributed a bit to the local economy. I really gotta stop doing that. Although I'm getting pretty good prices on things because I will barter a bit now, my pack runneth over! And I've got more than a month and six more countries to visit before I head home!
I visited the temples that I wanted to visit including Sitivri which is the temple of Buddha's first wife and is waaaaay at the top of the hill and you have to get past a bunch of monkeys who can tell if you have food in your hands so don't walk up there carrying munchies! and since I had made my contribution to the local economy at the markets me and a few other Intrepid travels decided to try out the pool at the hotel neighboring ours. It cost a few rupees but we took the plunge. I remember seeing some folks swimming in the Atlantic Ocean when I was in Biarritz or Bilbao way back in November or December. I think I had them beat temperaturely speaking with the dip in the pool! WOW.
After thawing, I decided I'd stick closer to home (the hotel du jour). The Kishna Palace has a sort of 'dinner and a show' sort of thing. That is to say they have a big screen TV that they set up in the rooftop dining room (every hotel has a rooftop dining room!) and they show movies. I finally got to see Slumdog Millionaire. And here's a bit of fun news-one of the other members of our group is the cousin of the editor of that film and that fella just won the BAFTA award for Editing so congratulations to Chris Dickens from your one of your cousin Mike's fellow travelers!

After Pushkar there was a bus to Jaipur home of the Amber Fort. Some of the forts and cities I have visited have been named based on the color of the stone the city/fort was built from. Not the case with the Amber. While there is a kind of pale yellowy tint to this fort's stones the word Amber has a Hindi pronunciation because it is the name of a god and not a reference to color. The king of this fort had two wives and each queen had her own space in the palace inside the fort. According to our guide the king flipped a coin each night to decide who to spend the night with. Other entertainment involved alcohol and elephants and surprisingly the alcohol was for the elephants. I guess they are angry drunks and like to fight.
Jaipur is also home to the largest movie house in Asia and I went to my first Bollywood movie! As far as the spoken language was concerned I only understood the few bits that were in Hinglish but the story was fairly easy to follow. Also, one member of the group is very up on the Bollywood scene and was able to provide some fun insites into the film in general pointing out the kind of things that you'll always see in them such as references to Charlie Chaplin and how often to expect a song and dance.

From Jaipur there was a one night stand in Bharatpur, home of the Keoladeo Ghana Bird Park. I've visited a more than a few bird parks and sanctuaries in the States. This one probably tops the lot of 'em. I don't know what amazed me more-the quantity of birds or the variety of species. I saw so many storks and herons gathered together that the place looked prehistoric. Hundreds of Painted Storks perched in trees looks pretty strange if you've never seen that kind of rookery before. I saw some massive pelicans and wee small owls plus several kinds of deer and a monitor lizard. Our guide went in search of a python and I've not decided yet if it was good or bad that he didn't come back with one!

From the birds it was onto the jewel in the crown of India. Agra and The Taj Mahal. We arrived in Agra early enough in the day to do a bit of touring. First I went the Red Fort and because I foolishly didn't get a guide I can't tell you much about what I saw. I have to Wiki that one when I get home. From there I vsited the Baby Taj which is a similar mausoleum but was constructed for the Grandfather of the Lady buried at the Taj. The Taj Mahal's designed is based on the Baby Taj. From the Baby Taj I traveled to a scenic viewpoint to see the real Taj Mahal at the golden hour, the time just before sunset. I was on one side of the river, the Taj was on the other and the sun was waaaaay off to the west and obscured by smoke, pollution, clouds, haze or whatever but it didn't really cast any kind of a golden glow but it was my first view of the Taj and it was still majestic. The next day was a visit to inside the real thing. I'm at a loss as to what to say to the grandeur of the Taj Mahal. And I gotta go anyway. Check back to see if I can get the words together in the right order to tell of my visit and also to learn why the city I'm in now (Veranasi) is just to die for!

Cultural relativisim

When last I writ I think I was mending my saddle sores from the camel safari. It all seems sooo long ago but it was just a few days wasn't it? The camel ride took place our of Jaisalmer. Since then I've spent a few nights in Udaipur. The claim to fame there are the abundance of miniature art schools specializing in miniature. I took a two hour art class and created my own work of art. Remember the ads with the picture of pirate or something that said "Can you draw this?" It was that kind of art school. I was gonna do a camel but everyone else was doing that so I did a horse and then bought a painting of a camel. . .and a horse. . .and an elephant, too! In the hindu culture the horse is a symbol of power, the elephant is a symbol of luck and the camel is the symbol of love ("if you can love a camel you can love anything"). Udaipur is also home to several palaces. I visited the City Palace and hired a guide. One of the things about hinduism is the number of gods they can worship-there are hundreds. The story goes that once an Indian king visited Rome and saw a special devise there. He asked the Pope what it was. He was told it was a telephone for talking to God. The king called God and spoke to him and when he was done the Pope told him it would cost 1000 Rupees. Sometime later the Pope visited the City Palace in Udaipur and saw a special devise there also. He asked what it was. He was told it too was for talking to Gods. The Pope called and talked for a bit and when he was done he was told it would cost 2 Rupees because in Udaipur, it is only a local call.

Udaipur has a couple of lakes with palaces built out in the middle but I couldn't visit because the water level is too low for boats right now. :-(

Five hours by train from Udaipur and I'm now in Pushkar, a holy city. There are about 40 temples here. Fifty-three Ghats surround the holy lake in the center. Ghats are the steps down to the water where the Brahmins go to say prayers and take cleansing holy baths. I was allowed to participate in a Punja and that got me a Punja Passport, a special thread bracelet to wear which keeps the scam artists from coercing my into attending unofficial Punjas. I guess it works because no one else has tried to cleanse me since. The bracelet doesn't stop the merhants from inviting me into their shops "Only to look, madam. Free to look" A lot of the shops have the same kind of things in all the towns and cities but each town also has shops that have items that are unique to the town. In Udaipur, it was the miniature paintings. Here in Pushkar, it seems to be the leather bags. So far I have resisted the leather bags.

Well, knock wood-all of the various maladies seem to have worn themselves out trying to get me to succumb completely. All my digestive ills have long since stopped. The cold that I finally did catch didn't develop into the dreaded cough. My camel saddle sore is healing nicely. I only have to survive another 10 days or so here in India . . .and then I get to do it all again as I venture into Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I should probably go look up 'diarrhea' in my English/Thai dictionary just to get ready!

Can I smoke on camel?

India is a large country but it's going by very fast! I'm not gonna try to keep up with all that I've covered in last few days but will again stick to the highlights or at least the parts that stick out in my mind the most and I'm not even gonna pretend I remember in what order any of this happened. The biggest thing is, of course, the Camel Safari which wasn't really a safari in any term I associate with that word. It was a camel ride out to the duney part of the Thar desert and it was a blast even if it wasn't a real safari. We spent most of the day in the fort city of Jaisalmer which is a pretty cool place all by itself. Remember how much I liked all the walled cities and castles and such throughout the European part of my trek? Jaisalmer is the same kind of place with the added attraction of not having been bombed and rebuilt several times, cows and goats still roam around through the streets like maybe they did way back when and while you can by stuff like SIMS cards and internet access, you still buy it from a merchant who adds up your bill on any scrap of parchment (OK, it's really paper) he can find. So after wandering around Jaisalmer and finishing up any personal stuff like laundry and getting to the PO we packed up a smaller version of our bags for and overnight stay in the desert. First our gear was loaded into a jeep for the ride out to meet the camels. Then grabbing only protection from the sun and water we mounted our desert ships. Mine was named Raj, hindi for King. There was at least one other Raj, a Tiger and a Michael Jackson. I'm guessing the names were only for our benefit. We rode for about 2 1/2 hours. Most of the time, the ground was more like the desert I'm used to seeing in Oregon-hard packed earth and small rocks although there was a lot less vegetation in the Thar than in the high desert of Central and Eastern Oregon. Towards the end of our journey we did come onto the sand dunes that you would normally associate with camel caravans. I have sat atop a horse now and again and as I recall as a horse moves from on walking surface to another an inexperienced rider such as myself doesn't notice much difference in the ride. Not the case with a camel. My recommendation--If you ever have the opportunity to NOT ride a camel on pavement-TAKE IT! The discomfort of a camel saddle is directly proportional to the firmness of the ground beneath said camel. We arrived at Camp Camel well before sundown. The camel drivers took care of our steeds while we explored our home of the evening. There was a low L shaped wall of sorts made from branches and dried weeds or something and there were webbed cots that made up our dormitory. I had brought a set of juggling balls and a collapsible frisbee and pulled those out. The frisbee flopped but the juggling balls were great entertainment. Mind you, I never got around to juggling because once the camels were attended to the camel drivers had nothing to do and simply playing catch was enought for them. After watching the sunset, we gathered around the fire and when it got really dark, the musicians and dancing girls showed up. I kid you not. We didn't get the dance of the seven veils but the was lots of hip movements, footstomping and bells jingling to some nasaly bagpipey like music. We were invited to dance along and everyone including myself got up to shake some booty. No lighting was needed to discern the western people from the locals! One thing about Indian music-their songs are really long!
After the floor show, came dinner prepared by some of the camel drivers, I guess. There might have been a reason why the dinner was served after dark but it all tasted pretty good if maybe a bit sandy. And they prepared it relatively mild and offered the traditional spices on the side for those of us without cast iron stomachs. There was a bit more singing including the Camel Safari song which was an Indian rap wrapup of our days journey and the next days itinerary!
The final event of the evening was not really an event at all but at least equalled anything else that had happened and that was just simple the night sky. With no city lights to wash it out all of the billions and billions of lights were visible. I know. I counted. hee hee hee.
The next morning it turned out we had had visitors in the night and they were still with us. Desert dogs, I have no idea where they came from, were sleeping in our camp. One of them was IN the fire pit. The other one had curled up under one of the cots and in doing so had pulled the blanket off the occupant! They were friendly pooches and hung around while we packed up for the morning camel ride out of the desert. The ride out was only about an hour and a half and we were given the reins of our steeds at the end and permitted to open them up to what they could do! It wasn't exactly the Run for the Roses but. . .
Anything after a camel safari is going to pale in comparison but some of the other things I've been up to: a 19 hour overnight train ride, fort tour, shopping (I've been very bad!) eating (I've been doing pretty good) and just wandering through the cow towns (a new image comes to mind when I hear the term these days.)

Halfway thru India

I'm at the midway point of my passage thru India. The tour I'm on is actually a three part Circle of India tour of which I'm only doing the first two parts. Some of our group including our group leader are leaving at this point to go their separate ways. They are each now going off to explore more of India and/or other places like Thailand and Singapore on their own. It seems no one just does these kind of tours but use it as a kind of springboard to more adventures. I'm using it as a kind of respite letting someone else make the decisions for while then I'll go back out on my own again.

Last night we had a little farewell dinner for the folks who are leaving the tour. It wasn't at all a tearful event because everyone has so much more to think about. It was probably the most expensive meals I've had on my entire trip and by home standards still only cost about as much as an OK lunch! But it means the New Delhi is expensive by India standards and since I still have two more months ahead, I'd better be careful.

Speaking of Delhi, as far as big cities I've visited in India this one is by far the best. It could be that I just didn't see the more modern areas of Mumbai or the other places and we did get a more extensive walking tour of New Delhi including using their metro which far and away nicer than most of the metros I used throughout Europe. It looked brand new so that may account for most of the niceness about it. The people seemed a bit more friendly in Delhi, too.

Most of the cities and villages we have been visiting are not exactly on the beaten track of western tourist attractions. Delhi, of course is an exception. We visited one of the main downtown shopping districts and as it was lunch time, went to a restaurant. Turns out it was really a bar. It was a tourist attraction but I think it was for Indian tourists or maybe it was the Indian idea of where westerners might want to go to get a touch of home. The place was called Rodeo. The walls were covered with enlarged news clippings of famous western people. People like Billy the Kid, Wyatt Earp and Jesse James. The wait staff all wore cowboy boots, cowboy hats and even six shooters (wooden facsimiles of Colts). The menu boasted tex-mex fare. AND the bar stools were saddles! It was a crack up. We stayed even though the buffet we thought we were going to was not to be seen. They more or less had the idea of tex-mex but I guess some of the ingredients just aren't available so they would substitute the closest thing from an Indian kitchen. I enjoyed the lunch and I will say I have never had quacamole with quite the bite this one did!

Our guide had taken us to the shopping district and then cut us loose. We just sort of naturally grouped or paired off and wandered around. I was with Sheila the Scotborn Utahan. After window shopping, bookstore browsing and the tex-mex lunch we headed to the metro. Sheila has had her arm in a sling since Omkareshwar. That was enough to have about 1/2 the metro coach offering her a seat. Since we were only going a few stops she politely refused. As we approached our stop, I knew that we should start making our way toward the door. As I started making tentative moves to the door, I caught the eye of a young guy and he asked if this way our stop. (I think that's what he asked.) I replied just saying the name of the stop I wanted. (I was happy that I could pronounce it so I used it when I could.) So the young guy took over clearing our path to the door. Of course, we had no idea which exit to take to the street level and once up there nothing looked familiar enough to venture walking off so we hopped into a bicycle rickshaw and for about 75 cents had a nice ride back to the hotel.

One and half days remaining in Delhi and then we are on the road again with a new group and new group leader. "More misadventures?" "Adventures, my friend, adventures!"

Rupees, Chocolate

I believe Rupees and chocolate are the first words some of the youngsters here learn. They are certainly the words they practice most often, at least by some. Hello and where are you from are the next most common phrases. One member of our group has a certain rock star air about him as he is the tallest, blondest and most blue eyed member of our group and attracts the most attention.

We are now in the town of Orchha and this has a bit of a touristy feel to it. We have also seen more westerners here than in any other place we have visited. The town is very small, though. Population is probably in the few hundreds but there are quite a few temples, palaces and one fort close by which brings folks from all over though not in the numbers of the tourist sites in the west. Today's itinerary included a tour of the fort which has four palaces in it, a temple from the 17th century and a cooking class. Much like the paella cooking class in Barcelona (was that a lifetime ago?), it was more a cooking demonstration and ended with a home cooked meal which we all shared. Wow! I have only been dabbling in tasting Indian fare because of periodic bouts of mild intestinal distress but after sampling Vandana's cooking, I don't think I will be able to enjoy the food from any Indian restaurant as much as I did hers! She gave us the recipes as she prepared the various dishes that go into an Indian thali. A thali is standard Indian meal consisting of four different things plus a 'bread'. We had vegetable palua, aloo palak, dal, rice and chapati (the bread). The list of spices used in just one of these dishes was longer than the total ingredients list of anything else I've ever seem prepared (mild exaggeration only). Oh, and I forgot-we started the meal off with the winter chai tea. A very grand day even with the winter temperature somewhere in the low 60s F ;-)

Our transportation varies from day to day depending on how far and where we're going. We've been on trains, local buses, motorized rickshaws called tuk-tuks, taxis and private taxis that are usually Land Rovers. We did have one private bus, too. The roads are better in some parts of the country than in others and are shared with mostly trucks and motorcycles. I have seen very few private vehicles. They drive on the left side like in England although it really seems to be arbitrary. Horns are used constantly but not instead of brakes as some folks would have you believe. The horn is not used in angry, alarm or fear and I've never heard it followed by the horrid metal crunching like I do back home. Here the horn is simply a notice to those around you that "I'm here and I'm passing you" or "I'm moving into that lane with you" or "Please, cow, be so kind as to step out of my path thankyouverymuch". Do you want to cross a busy street? Don't wait for a break in traffic because they don't happen. Any space between cars will fill instantly with tuk-tuks, motorcycles or bicycles. To cross the street you just step out and do the weave. One thing about the traffic in both the cities and out on the highways, no one seems to be speeding and that I think is the saving grace. The cars are kinds of underpowered so the phrase 'speed kills' doesn't apply to the roadways here.

I really like the small towns waaay more than the cities here so far. Of course I feel that way about all the places I have visited so that's no surprise. The nicest thinkgs about the little places are that the shop keepers are not quite as persistent, the beggars are fewer, the bad smells are not present and there's more opportunity to interact with the locals who are very friendly.

Tomorrow is a visit to a sort of co-op where they make paper products. I could be in souvenier trouble there. We will end the day with a night train to Delhi. I did a few night trains in Europe. I think this will be quite different!

Where to begin?

There's no way I'm going to be able to catch up on all that's come to pass since I last blogged. I'll try to hit the highlights but I haven't even been taking notes cuz it's a bit overwhelming.

I'm still dealing with the stomach upset but it comes and goes and mostly goes so I'm hanging in there. What really sucks about this whole food thing is that for awhile I wasn't really eating and it's not fair that I should not be getting to eat any of the food but I don't appear to be losing any weight either. That ain't right! I have been introduced to a great drink call 'lassi' and I take the sweet version of it at least once a day. That seems to be the greatest thing for the stomach bug. The lassi is a kind of yogurt drink available at all meal times.

So we left Mumbai (me and my queasy stomach) by train. This was a bit better train ride than the one to the Kanheri caves because we had assigned seats although we had to wake up the people who were sleeping in them when we got on the train. Our first stop was Aurangabad and a visit to some more caves like the Kanheri ones I had seen but also a fort with a series of about 9 different defences including a maze of passages filled with bats and a self sacrificing camel impaled on the door. From there we went to an island temple in Omkareshwar. We did a mini punjab, received the colored dot and were sprayed with holy water. I don't think I need to do that again. The boat ride around the island was interesting, though. None of the gates had been opened on the dam just up river so we had to portage several times while the captain and his two mates (one of the was all of 12 years old maybe) maneuvered the boat through the shallows. We nearly lost one of our group who fell even before getting into the boat. Subsequent medical attention revealed a fracture of the wrist.

From Omkareshwar we traveled by car to Mandu which had been my favorite place so far. A wee small resort (loose term by western standards) and rented bicycles to several archeological sites in the area-The ship palace built between two lakes and with its reflection in the lake looked like a ship; a mosque/tomb and the maharina's palace. The palace provided a great viewpoint but the days are all hazy so the views have not been too great so far. We are traveling north so the evenings are getting cooler. I may have to find something besides a T-shirt to wear soon. :-)

From Mandu we went to Bhopal for an overnight stay and all agreed that that was one night too long. From there we stayed at yet another resort (closer to the western definition) in Sanchi near some of the great Stupas of India. These are shrines to Buddha and exhibit some of the finest examples of Buddhist art. The stupas are also reliquaries of some of the greatest Buddha followers. The resort has a pool and fitness club and a few of us availed ourselves of those facilities. It was mostly good except they don't have the concept of the hottub down too well just yet.

Today we arrived by train and rickshaw in Orchha where tomorrow we will visit a fort, some temples have a cooking class and maybe go to a papermaking cooperative kind of place.

I wish I had time to give more details about the food, the group, the rooms and the modes of travel but I feel lucky to be able to go online and say Hey, I'll alive and mostly well. Oh, we did have an inauguration party last night!

I think it was something I et.

I forgot to mention the police raid of my hotel room last week but I'll get to that later on. In the meantime, I don't think I can fully cover the last day or two (is that all it's been?) because I think it was something I et. Yes, I fell ill in Indian. I know. It's shocking and practically unheard of (NOT) to experience intestinal distress but somehow I managed to do so. I think it might have started during Friday evening. I just wasn't particularly hungry because of the heat and I didn't have dinner. Saturday I arranged a tour to some local caves and I wasn't feeling all too great that moring but I figured it was cuz I hadn't eaten much the day before. I order up some dry toast, juice and a bottle of water for the days excursion. The toast was slathered, the juice was Indian tea and the water never showed up. On a good note, I started my day. I met the guide (picking up a bottle of h20 along the way) and we hopped the local train. Quite a different experience that the European trains. Here it's not necessary to wait for the train to actually stop before you get on or off. In fact the longer you wait to do either makes it more difficult so don't be annoyed by the person behind you who knows the ropes and wished you did, too! From the train to a bus to the entrance to the park. A short stroll thru, a visit to the nature center and then back to the park entrance to catch another bus up to the caves. These are not wild caves but are temples and monasteries carved out of the rock by monks in the early parts of the first millenium AD. The entire rock outcrop is exposed and this, I think, added to my rumbling stomach-a touch of heat stroke or something similar. After I got back to the hotel I had the headache, the chills and a bit of nausea. I tried to eat a bit of dinner and got about half way thru before I decided it would be better not to finish. For most of the next two days (Sunday and Monday) I was feeling like crap and couldn't even think about eating. What a lousy way to begin a tour! I was actually kind of afraid that if I was not up to snuff they might not let me go but at the tour group meeting on Sunday evening, there was another person who was not up to scratch and I overheard his discussion with the tour leader. They have ways of making allowances for such situations and I decided to follow his lead which was basically 'wait and see' kind of think. The next day we departed Mumbai by way of long distance train which is closer to the European trains. We even had assigned seats. I still hadn't anything to eat that stayed where is was supposed to but I feel fortunate (if you can call it that) that my problem was that things wouldn't stay down and not that they rushed through if you catch my meaning. (Have I mentioned that they don't use TP here in Indian and therefore it is not supplied in the hotels. It can be purchased however.) Well, I survive the train trip on water (I don't want to risk dehydration and water sits OK) and even tried a milk like drink. It was cold and it seemed to sit well so I had another. Ooops, I was rushing things. We arrived at our new local, Aurangabad, unloaded our gear and ventured off to. . .some caves :-( These were only similar to the Kanhers caves in that they had been carved by man. They were older and more elaborate AND mildly nestled in some shady parts. Here also we had a guide. He was on of the first Indians whose accent was such that I could understand him however he chose to stand in the center of the caverns, asked us to site along the perimeters and shouted out the historical facts which echoed throughout the rooms. So what can I tell you about the caves? They were older than the other ones, more elaborate and shaded! They were pretty cool though, both aesthetically and temperaturely.

Back at the hotel we had time to freshen up and then off to dinner. . .not me. Still not up to snuff. I asked my roomie (Sheila, Scotborn Utahan) to pick up some bananas if it was convenient to do so on her way back from dinner. Bless her heart, she returned with a bunch. I tentively had one and glory be it stayed put. I didn't want to rush things and there were still some terrible stomach cramps but I had solid food! This morning I followed up with cornflakes and for lunch I had some soup. Tonight, "I'm doing waffles!" No, not really but a nickle to the person who can identify the quote. I am going to dinner with the group tonight but will keep it mild. In fact our tour leader has suggested that we do that anyway and he is taking us to places he knows and trusts for westerners as most of us are, I think. Australians westerners?

I don't know how often I will have internet access from this point on because we are going into some hinterlands and such for much of this trip. Our group is 10-three Aussies, three Americans, 1 Brit, 2 Danes and 1 Canadian stands alone. I gotta go, I just got booted off.

It's HOT here

Before I get into today's non events here's a few things that I've just not put anywhere else or forgot about or are just general observations. I did mention the difference between Mumbai and other cities is the number of people. And here's the thing about all these people--NOBODY IS WEARING BLACK. The city has color everywhere. It is the most spectacular thing to see. It was so blah walking in all those supposedly glamourous places in Europe and see nothing but black and shades of black on all the people and in all the store windows and that was even during Christmas! Come on, fashion world, get over it all ready! Colors are cool, fun, natural and just darn purty.

Uh, excuse me while I step down off my soap box.

A month or so before I came here to India, there was an incident that caused me a bit of hesitation about this leg of my journey. After some research and discussion, I decided to leave my itinerary as it was and now here I am. I don't know if the number of uniformed people was at this level prior to that incident or not but I gotta say, considering the number of security folks in evidence, I feel quite safe here. The biggest threat to me is me and my inability to bargain. There are security people in the pedestrian subways, outside the movie theaters and all the hotels. OK, they look like doormen but even the little place I'm staying out has folks outside the lobby and that place, if it upgraded a little bit could be a Motel 6.

Speaking of movie theaters. I went to the movies late yesterday afternoon. It cost 400 rupees. That's about 8 bucks. About what I's pay at home for the evening show. But wait, there's more. That particular showing of Australia was 150 Rupees more than the evening show because the showing I went to was in the lounge. You start out in a small but well appointed bar where you have your choice of beverages and, for lack of a better term, tapas. Then you are shown to your assigned seat which is a barkalounger with electric footrest and recliner adjustments and a blanket. I made the mistake of getting all settled down and snug in my big comfy chair after the hostess took my drink order (a Big Orange). Just as the lights went down everyone stood up. I followed suit. (My herding instinct makes sheep look like independent thinkers). The Indian national anthem played. I was moved. The anthem ended, we took out seats, the movie started, our drinks were delivered and I snuggled back in to my seat. Towards what I thought was the end of the movie, it appeared the film broke. The lights came up and a few people got up and went out. I figured someone was going to tell management. Nope. It was intermission. More drink orders were taken and then the lights went down and the film resumed. I gotta say, they do good cinema here.

Today I was out and about with a tour guide because I wasn't really seeing much on my own and really didn't see that much to day but did arrange a tour for tomorrow to some caves. Today, I visited the Gateway of India which isn't as impressive as I hoped but that's because like a lot of things I saw in Europe, it is surrounded by scaffolding and draped for repairs and security reasons. We did visit some buildings from the British Time which is pretty much most of the buildings.

This time on my own in Mumbai, I'm just more or less existing in the city because starting on Sunday it's going to get a bit more intense as we begin a 36 day journey across the subcontinent. During that time, I'll be getting the culture classes and history lessons and so on. Tomorrow's visit to the caves is just recreational.

You've noticed that I haven't mentioned the food other than the McD's. I've been taking most of my meals at the hotel which has really inexpensive room service and it's local fare, too. I'm sticking to the chicken dishes and so far haven't encountered anything that I haven't seen before. There's an Indian place at home that I've gone to a couple of times and the food here is just like that for the most part. I haven't yet tried any of the street vendors but that may be and option as the tour begins. Oh, one thing I kept forgetting to mention during my time in Europe was a warning to those of you who enjoy Mt. Dew. If you travel to Europe, bring your own. I never saw it anywhere. Pepsi's there, but no Dew. Mumbai has the Dew! Yes, I've traveled 1/2 way around the world and I'm talking about a soft drink. I just think it's funny sometimes to see something so familiar in such non familiar settings because those things are always tucked in with the local bottles and cans.

Now in Inja's sunny clime. . .

(Who knows the poem?) Day one in Mumbai. . .I sort of slept thru it. :-( I have several reasons. I had been more or less awake for the previous 36 hours and had had only an on board meal with the last 18 or so. And I was a working up the chutzpah to venture out. My research on India and Mumbai consisted of an article/interview with a filmmaker and the few comments heard from folks to whom I had mentioned that I was going there. The comments were mostly in the area of "Oh wow!" with a variety of emotions attached to that-jubilation, incredulity, excitement, astonishment, concern (mild fear). There were a few other comments I'd read or heard that were not real favorable and that may have added to my trepidation. I still had no map or guide of any kind so had I gone out, I wouldn't know where to go and the room was tiny but way cooler than the outside temp.

So wallowed the first day but was over it by day two. Day two, I was out the door. First order, get ride of my euros. I asked at desk if there was an foreign exchange in the area and I gotta say my trepidations were not totally without merit. We were both speaking English but I have no idea what the information was that I was given. It could be that the English I was speaking was as difficult to understand as the English I was hearing. By the time I finished asking for info, I had just a vague idea that what I was looking for was somewhere out the door of the hotel and probably off to the left somewhere. So that's where I headed. I headed out walking with a determined stride as if I knew where I was going, occassionally peering into store fronts. I found a city map that way and the clerk was able to show me the general area of where I was on that map. I continued my wanderings and came to a bank. Upon entering I immediately found the foreign exchange teller but as I had no account with the bank, I wasn't able to sell them my Euros but I did find out where the money exchange place was. "10 minutes by cab" said the teller. Hmm...OK, let's hope the driver knows the area a bit better than the first guy. I've got to get better at the bargaining business 'cuz I'm making it harder for all those who follow. My 10 minute cab ride (directly to the place) cost more than 1/2 of the ride from the airport which even if it had been direct was a lot longer than this day's ride.

Ya know those other unfavorable comments I mentioned? So far, totally unfounded. The major difference I see walking around in Mumbai from walking around any of the other cities I have visited is that there are a LOT more people.

Rupee's in hand, I stepped out to attempt task two-find a cyber cafe. Well, we know how that worked out, huh? In fact, that was such a goody that I'm at the same place now and I have my own account. My third task was getting a map and serendipity had taken care of that. I sort of felt that I had done pretty good for the day because in addition to taking care of some business I also located a McDonald's which I might stop in today if only out of curiosity. I thought cows were sacred here so I'm wondering just what be in the Big Mac because the 'two all beef patties' just don't sound right, ya know? I also found the cinema. It's at the end of the block from the hotel so not a real hard find. Where my hotel is located is not an area tourists are likely to venture so all the stores and shops are where the regular folk shop for toothpaste, electrical tape, printer cartridges, cranberries etc. Where the money exchange is more of a shopping district. Window shopping in both places is equally interesting and I'm gonna have to work hard at not going beyond the windows. I don't want to test the theory that things are way less expensive here than elsewhere because my bargaining abilities won't get me a great savings and I'm all ready overflowing my pack. In fact, I may be abandoning some stuff here (weather gear) and hope I don't need it for spring time in Japan.

Now is Day three and I'm still getting my India legs. The short cab ride yesterday is actually a walkable distance so I strolled here today. Of course I took the wrong street to get here. I thought I knew where I was going but now I have a map so I easily set myself right. However, my walk took me through a street market that I totally missed from the cab. If I can't find the other street I took to walk home yesterday, my avoidance of spending is going to be taxed beyond my limits. I had not main objective today, just to get more comfortable and explore a few more blocks and perhaps check out the massive train station (It is a tourist attraction) not too far from here. So that's what I'm gonna go do now, explore a bit more Bombay (I've been trying to stick to calling it Mumbai but I've heard locals call it Bombay, too).

Arrivederci, Roma!

My departure from Italy didn't happen at all like I had planned, hoped or expected. My last day started out well there as I did and abbreviated trek to some of the film sites for Roman Holiday. These sites coincided with some places I wanted to visit anyway so that worked out well although everything was rather spread out. Rome has only two underground lines so that's easy enough to figure out and at only 1 Euro a pop, quite the bargain so I covered the ground pretty easily. So easy in fact that it was only mid afternoon when I had completed that mission so I decided to hop on the sightseeing bus and just ride around listening to the history until we were nearest my hostel. I hopped on in the middle of the tour route and just a half hour later we were at the beginning of the route. We had to wait there for the next scheduled departure time but it was at a busy place so people watching from the comfort of a heated bus was OK. At last we started off and we rapidly zipped our way out into the late afternoon of the last Sunday of the holiday weekend in rush hour Rome. 2 hours later I arrived at the stop I wanted. The bus arrived just moments later but was packed to overflowing so I walked the last half mile almost keeping up with the bus and actually beating the second bus if I had bother to wait for it. Back at the hostel, my plan had been to do my final Roman update, pack up, catch few hours sleep before the cab to the airport. That didn't work out either because there internet was down at the hostel! I went up and packed and readied myself for the 3am taxi and tried to sleep but couldn't because I have no alarma and I was afraid I'd miss the taxi. Eventually I got to the airport, early like you're supposed to but too early and they don't make those places comfy for hanging out in. All my flights were on time and uneventful, the best way to fly. I arrived in Mumbai with no local currency, no guide book, no map. Customs was quick and totally painless, baggage claim was the same. While waiting for my bag I had asked where the ATM machine was. None in the airport. Hmmmm. . . I had planned to get a few rupees out in order to pay for my taxi to my hotel. Now what? Oh, lookee there! There are money exchange desks open right there after baggage claim. I did a quick exchange and prepared myself for what I thought was going to be my first bargaining exercise and course in dealing with crowds of people wanting me to use their service. Never happened. There was a booth set up where you prepay for your cab. They issue you a little slip with a cab number. You go out to the large cab parking lot and locate the cab with your number on it. Hand the slip to the driver and he takes you to your destination. In theory. I had my slip, found my driver (with the help of a young man I was supposed to have tipped but I only had 100 rupee notes and he didn't look as though he was prepared to give change). Then the adventure began. He didn't know where the hotel was. I had been told that in London any cab driver can tell you the exact route he will take to anyplace you say in London. Too bad that was not one of the skills the English left here. The location of my hotel was a debate before we left and as it turns out, was still debateable once we did leave. We drove around enough the I actually began recogizing places! Finally we landed, after midnight in front of the hotel that appeared to be closed. However a doorman appeared from who knows where and raised a large garage door to revel the hotel front. While I am staying in an actual hotel here and not a hostel, the caliber of the venue is about the same. That is to say it ain't the Four Seasons. But it's home for the next few days until I meet the tour group and tomorrow, I'll try to find this internet place again and tell you all about my first day in Mumbai.

Rome wasn't built in a day. . .

but I visited most of it in a day. OK, not most of it but most of what I planned to see. Half of what I wanted to see will be closed tomorrow so I had to see that today but it didn't take as long as I thought it would so I visited most of tomorrow's schedule as well. It's all stuff you've heard of-St. Peter's Basilica [I didn't bet to climbed the dome :-( ], the Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, Forum, Collosseum, Pantheon. There's still quite a bit of the city left to see and it's kind of spread out so tomorrow will be busy as well. And the weather is trying to cooperate. It was raining when I started out but there wasn't a lot of umph behind it and it had mostly given up by late afternoon.

I've met lots of folks in my travels but I didn't think I'd ever meet the same person twice. Once of my roommates from Florence is staying at the hostel here as well. I think she might have felt slighted that I didn't remember her right away and I would feel bad about that except I never remember people and one this trip there are just sooo many new faces and places, I can't tell any of the players without a program! I have to look at my notes and pictures to remind me which hostel was where!

Well, my blog here is a skimpy because I'm sort of preoccupied with thoughts of what's ahead-INDIA. And, I'm gonna be on my own in Mumbai for the first 5 days. The excitement level is ratcheting up at a rapid pace.

When in Rome. . .

The not so good weather has caught up with me &/or following me. I had never planned to go into the city (Perugia) while I was in the area. That's why I chose to stay at the hostel called Perugia Farmhouse. The description said it was away from the crowds of the city, it was relaxing and quiet etc., and it was all that, more or less. The group of young Italians enjoyed themselves during their holiday stay. Anyway, my plan had always been to just walk in the countryside on New Year's Day because any place I would want to visit in the city would be closed anyway. My walk in the country wasn't so country except for the gravel lane to and from the hostel itself and it rained the whole time which was only about an hour. I got back before I started getting cold. The rest of the day was spent reading and chatting with some of the other hostelers and a bit of juggling.

This morning it looked as though the weather was going to cooperate again. It was sunny and blue skies. There was just an edge of ice in the puddles and the fields looked all silvery with the frost as I walked to the bus stop. I was able to get a direct train to Rome. Not long into the 3 hour ride, I nodded off. When I woke up it was all cloudy and stuff and that turned to rain as I arrived in Rome and started making my way to the hostel. It's been raining every since so it looks like the notsogood weather is following me. I didn't get in until too late in the day (by my scheduling) to attempt any tourism so I'm crossing my fingers that this is a one day rain here like it was in Perugia and my good weather days will return but considering the kind of days I've had so far, I don't suppose I can be too upset about it if it isn't better tomorrow.

Buon Anni to one and all!

Happy New Year from Perugia! It's been many a year since I have stayed awake to welcome the new year at midnight. I wasn't sure I was going to do so this year either because I thought all of the other hostelers were going to go into the city (the hostel is located several miles outside of Perugia). The last bus back from the city was around 10pm so if you went to town, you were there until the morning busses started up again or you paid the huge taxi fare. Anyway, turns out there were a handful of us liking a more mellow ringing in (or had early trains the next morning) so we did a potluck dinner and snack spread, juggled a bit and played some ferocious foosball until the witching hour. The we bundled up and headed out to the back of the farmhouse. From there we had a view of the city lights and at the stroke of midnight witnessed a pretty spectacular fireworks display. The way we were situated above the city, we had an almost 180 degree view of city lights and fireworks were going off at every degree. The city sponsored a professional display but everyone else contributed their own version as well. I'm not sure how long it lasted. It went on for quite a while. Finally, there were just a few pops scattered about and we went back into the house. I faded shortly after that. I did wake sort of when the rest of the revelers came back in but have no idea what time that was and even though I'm in the mixed dorm situation, this time it didn't matter because the roommates were a) more repectful and b)speaking Italian so even if they weren't respectful, I didn't have to hear about there exploits! However, considering that they all slept soundly, I think they had as grand a time as I!