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!