Wednesday, February 29, 2012

JAIPUR

JAIPUR Jaipur is  know as the Pink City, as the buildings in the old town are all pink The original buildings were sandstone, but with the visit of the British Prince Albert in the 19th century, the City decided to paint the buildings pink to honor his visit, not sure why pink, but they remain this colour even today. Took us about 4 hours to get here from Pushkar.  We are staying in a very modern high rise hotel, The Vesta International which is in the new City.   On our first afternoon here we went to visit Jaigarh Fort which overlooks the famous Amber Fort. Yes folks....a lot of forts and temples in this country. Notwithstanding this, they are all unique in nature, but one common feature is that they are huge and their surrounding walls cover several kilometers.  Wonderful views of the City from here, including the lake.   We then drove by and stopped to take a picture of the Hawa Mahal or The Palace of Winds. This is a famous structure which is simply a facade which was built in 1799. It is five stories high with an ornate facade and only one room deep and projects windows and balconies with perforated screens.  We see these perforated screens everywhere, mainly in marble. They allow a breeze to come through, yet provide privacy for the ladies looking through the screens. They can see out, but one cannot see in. Almost impossible to stop by to get a picture as the traffic is insane, as usual!  We stopped at a couple of  jewelery stores and Robin was very generous and bought me earrings, ring and pendant in Peridot, a lovely light green semi precious stone...there goes the kids inheritance! Also stopped to look at some beautiful pottery, no purchases though.  It's funny here in India, children are taken with Caucasians, always shouting out ..."hello, hello, quite charming. On our way back to the hotel, a motorbike with a father and 4 kids passed us, they all waved and smiled. We got a lovely picture of them.  Suzanne and I are having fun noting the misspelled signs....All king of scrap, prohably, Spenish, scrumbled eggs, chilld beer, batrey, hair dresar, air break or air braik, departmantel, kwality.....o.k. too much time on our hands in the car! We love looking at the people going about their every day lives, carrying their tiffins ( metal lunch container incorporating a series of tins), driving crazily on the roads, women in saris working in construction, in the field and brick-factories.  We have seen beautiful stone work which we would love to have in Canada. One thing that constantly crosses our minds is what the artists themselves would be paid vs. the final seller! Probably the same in all third world counties.   During our second day in Jaipur, our guide brought us to "Jantar Mantar" which is an observatory built between 1728 and 1734 by Maharajah Jai Singh. We found this complex so interesting.  The Maharajah himself was a keen astronomer  and was aware of the latest astronomical studies in the world. The complex is made up of 16 instruments which forecast time, the location of stars and planets, the arrival of the seasons, the latitudes etc. Our guide was very knowledgeable and we found these instruments amazing, considering the time in which they were built and the precision of same, even today.  Next, we visited the City Palace. Once again a beautiful series of buildings which incorporated a museum of textiles, armaments  and pottery of the day.  The present Maharajah is only 14 yrs. of age and is attending school in Ajmer, so no flag flying on the Palace. One of the most incredible features of the palace are two large silver vessels , said to be the largest silver objects in the world. They were made to carry water from the river Ganges so the late Maharaja  could drink this water on a trip to England.  Then onto Amber Fort which is built of white marble and red sandstone and was constructed in 1592. Beautiful carved walls and exquisite gardens and  another mirror room. One of the most interesting features of this fort was the construction of large underground cisterns which were filled with water and provided cooling for the fort, very ingenious.  Today the tuk tuks were on strike, which was part of a National strike by more than eleven unions to protest taxes; so not as many vehicles on the road. 

PUSHKAR and AJMER

PUSHKAR and AJMER Arrived in Puskar from Udaipur some 285 kms.  which  took about 7 hours.  Once again we were on a crazy highway. So many trucks and our driver Singh weaves in and out of traffic; very nerve racking at times. There are thousands of these trucks on the highway. Whenever you go through a town, the big trucks simply stop on the side of the Highway blocking part of the lanes, very hazardous.  The drivers stop in these small towns to eat, bathe  and rest. They just strip down to their underwear and bathe and wash their clothes in large cement cisterns. The trucks themselves would certainly not pass any safety regulations in any developed countries. Half of them are overloaded and the majority of them have tires that appear to be retreads and coming apart.  On top of this people, animals and other vehicles  are trying to cross or trying to get on the highway.  Driver certainly has to be alert.  Arrived at our hotel,  Aaram Bagh ( Bagh means garden). The hotel was surrounded by mountains and about 5 kms. from town.  The rooms are two unit rooms which are made to look like tents. Beautiful sunset here with the mountains in the background. People on camel rides in the hills behind our hotel, lovely scene.  Pushkar is a pilgrim town with more than 400 temples and Pushkar Lake in the middle of town. We drove done to the Ghats (there are 52 separate ghats here- steps to the lake) and Robin went to give a puja ( an offering which can be food, money, flowers, etc). He threw a flower into the lake, then a holy man gave a blessing for our family and Robin was given a colorful string to put around his wrist.  We also walked through the local bazaar and accosted by all the vendors, most of whom we ignored.  Claire managed to buy some local Indian bangles. Paid 100 rupee....sounds expensive....actually $2.00. The vendor told me that this was his best price, his Indian price. Suzanne and I had quite a laugh as his sales pitch was made up of banging the bangles on a cement wall to show us that they were indestructible and told us that they were also washable. I think this means that you can bathe with them, but think I will pass on this. By the end of the day, I had sparkles all over my clothes, face and the car!  Our driver told us that we only need to spend one day in Pushkar as do most tourists, except for the young kids that come here to smoke hash and opium. In one of the shops that was selling hookah pipes, I heard the sales pitch that the vendor was making to a young European girl. He told her that a certain pipe was better for opium! The kids we saw here all had that spaced out hippie look...lots with Rasta  hair....are we sounding old! The town is also known for its famous camel and cattle fair/sale which happens once a year. We are told that some 2 million people descend on this town when the fair takes place. Not sure where they would all stay, as a very small town. Apparently all the pilgrims who come for the fair/festival take a dip in the local lake during the full moon.  Next day, on our way to Jaipur, we stopped in Ajmer, which is the holiest Muslim pilgrim centre in the sub continent after Mecca.  We visited Anasgar Lake then headed to Jaipur.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Udaipur

UDAIPUR On February 24th we travelled from Jodhpur to Udaipur some  255 kms. which took about 7 hours as we travelled through winding mountain roads. The terrain has certainly changed considering we were in the desert a couple of days ago.   The mountain range is the Aravalli mountains. Poor Suzanne, still under the weather, so a seven hour car ride not the best. She started feeling better yesterday, Saturday Feb 25th.  Robin  also came down with a cold, but is recovering. So neither of them really enjoyed this particular drive.  On route we stopped at Ranakapour Temple, the 2nd largest Jain Temple which is located in the mountains, a very beautiful setting. The carvings on these temples are simply works of art, telling a story of the history. Arrived at our hotel, Udai Bagh which is located about 10 kms.  from Udaipur.  The hotel is surrounded by a mountain range ;  very different from where we have been to date. Power goes on and off about 3 to 4 times a day for short periods, another sign that the Government simply can't keep up with the demand of power. This has happened in every city we have visited. The City of Udaipur is known as the "City of Lakes and Palaces" due to its many lakes which were hand constructed (dammed) centuries ago and the various Palaces that the Maharana's built....main palace, summer palace in the mountains and winter palace.  All of these are magnificent, but only able to visit part of the main Palace.  The City Palace towers over Lake Pichola. The rooms we were able to visit were decorated with miniature paintings, a local art work which is very detailed, beautiful glass, mosaic and mirror work on the walls. This palace  had a theme of peacocks which mean happiness.  An upper part of the palace is said to have been the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. A part of the palace is occupied by the Royal family and a large part is an upscale hotel. It seems that this is the norm to convert a part of the palaces to generate some income to maintain these structures.  On a man built island on the lake stands the Lake Palace Hotel ( a picture is posted) which was used in the James Bond movie, Octopussy.  Unfortunately one is not able to visit this hotel unless you are staying there....not in our budget!  We did visit the other island on the lake, which is also a hotel and beautiful gardens, which we did visit by boat. These premises and gardens were apparently used by the Maharana for pleasure. He kept his concubines on this island.  We also visited Udai Sagar Lake where we are told young couples go on dates. One thing that we noticed right away, is how clean this city is (relatively speaking) compared to anywhere else we have visited. When we asked our guide about this, he told us that Udaipur is a city of locals and they are proud of their City and ensure their lakes are kept clean. Finally found out the difference between a Maharajah and a Maharana. The  Maharajah  is a good leader and the Maharana is a good warrior.  In the afternoon, we visited various art shops. Beautiful miniature paintings, textiles and jewellery in this area. We, as well as Colin and Suzanne bought miniature paintings. It is not the painting itself that is miniature, it is the style of painting. Ours is painted on camel bone.  Udaipur is the furthest south that we will be during our trip in India. Weather today was 34, but comfortable due to breeze from mountains and lake. We have had local guides in the last 4 cities that we have visited and they all have the same trait.  They are like elementary school teachers chastising us if we are not paying attention or if we don't follow them. Quite amusing.  Off to Ajmer and Pushkar on Sunday. Apologies to those reading the blog due to the lack of spacing and paragraphs. It seems that the blog does not recognize this when we use the IPad.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

JODHPUR

Jodhpur - We arrived in Jodhpur on February 22nd, which is 294 kms from Jaisalmer and took us about 6 hours.  Along the way we came across a camel and horse sale in the middle of nowhere. All sorts of rock quarries and people making bricks by hand.   We have noticed that a lot of woman do manual labour such as carrying bricks and dirt in bowls on their heads. We were told that women make about 80 rupees for 8 hours of work. That folks works out to $1.60 for eight hours of work. They get paid in cash on a daily basis so that they can buy food. If men do this type of work, they get paid 100 rupees, about $2.00. The amazing thing to see is that women wear their beautiful  saris while working in the fields and in construction.  Often time their young children are in the fields or streets with them, very sad to see. In reading The India Times, we noticed that their inflation rate is 7 1/2%. This country is booming, but their infrastructure simply cannot keep up to their needs....roads, schools,  transportation, regulations, etc.  Chaos seems to be the rule, but the Indians seem to be able to live this way. We are staying at a lovely heritage hotel called the Ranbanka Palace which was once owned  by a Maharajah and converted to a hotel. The nicest hotel to date, probably a four star, rest have been 3 star. Robin and I relaxed by the pool and enjoyed a massage (me) and Robin had a foot reflexology at the spa located on the hotel grounds. Had dinner at the hotel, our most expensive meal to date. The next morning Colin met us for breakfast without Suzanne. She had succumbed to something and spent the day in bed. I complained at the outset of our trip that I had spent a fortune at the Naturopath. Well so far I haven't gotten sick and keeping my fingers crossed so the expense definitely worth it to date! The three of us headed out for a day of touring with a local guide, Michael  (from the Goa area- southern India) and our driver.  We drove to the highest point of the City. Jodhpur is known as the "Blue City" as many of the homes are painted blue, using Indigo. This is done to keep the houses cool in the heat of the summer and to repel mosquitoes. A population of 1.2 million people, about the same size as Calgary.  The second largest City in Rajasthan which is known for its walled fort which has 8 gates.  Our first stop was the Jaswant Thada, a huge cenotaph made of white marble, which is the memorial for the Maharajah of Jodhpur which was commissioned by his wife, the Maharani and built in 1889.  Next stop was the Meharangarh Fort which rises above the City. A very spectacular site. This has been the largest and best preserved of the forts we have seen to date. It is said you can see for 80 kms. The fort was built in 1459, but successive Maharajah's added to it.  Polo was a game that was played in the early days and Jodhpur pants are still worn today in this area by a few of the wealthy people. Men of the Rajasthan area are also known to wear studded earrings in both ears.  Then went to the existing Maharajah's palace. The extensive palace was started in 1929 and took 15 years to build. It is said that the Maharajah decided to build this palace during a famine in this part of  India and 3,000 people each day would come to work at the palace, paid, then the next day a different 3,000. So he provided some assistance to his people. At the present time, the Maharajah and his family only live in 25% of the palace and the remainder has been transformed into a high end Taj hotel ($1,000 per night minimum). We then drove down to see the Clock Tower then on a walking tour of the local market and surrounding streets. Once again, hard to explain the smells, explosive colours of fabrics for sale and women's clothes, the cows walking through the streets, the garbage in the streets, the tuk tuks weaving in and out and the constant honking! We visited a textile manufacturer and we bought a lovely Patchouli  bed spread/wrap (chin hair of the Yak...really).  A great day of sights and sounds. Unfortunately Suzanne still under the weather and she did not join us for dinner.  We are on to Udaipur tomorrow.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Jaisalmer

On Tuesday, the 21st, we drove from Bikaner to Jaisalmer, some 330 kms. which took 6 hours. As you can tell, it takes a long time to get anywhere. With bad roads, train crossings, traffic jams in small towns and pit stops takes longer than one would expect. We arrived at our hotel late afternoon and took the rest of the day to simply relax. Our hotel, Thar Vilas, was located some 15 Kim's from the town and is quite new. Robin and I lucked out and got a corner room with a seating area. When Suzanne saw the room, she exclaimed "bloody hell"! Jaisalmer has a population of 80,000 and is only 120 Kms. from the Pakastani border. 80% Hindu, 15% Muslim, 1% Jain ( a branch of Hinduism) and the rest various other religions. They have not had any rain here for the last three years and it is very dry and temperatures can reach 50 to 60 degree C in the summer. Water is delivered by tanks drawn by camels or tractors. The water source is the Indira Ghandi canal which brings water 1,500 kms. from Kashmir. This area was also along the Silk Road route. Jaisalmer is also known as the Golden City, as most of the buildings are built with yellow sandstone. An underground nuclear test was done in the area in 1998. As you approach the City you see Sonar Fort which is located on the highest rock hill on the plain and has a one km. wall surrounding it. About 3,000 people live within the gates of the palace, and a lot of the houses have been transformed into hotels, restaurants and shops catering to tourists. This has placed pressure on the water system and now due to high volumes of grey water simply flowing down the streets, some of the walls are collapsing. Their is a project under way with Unesco to rebuild the retaining walls. Some wall paintings here as well in the Havelis ( rich merchant homes). We also visited a Jain Temple (12th to 15th century) within the Fort walls. Quite small but intricate carvings. The City is known for its' silver antiques, camel leather and camel bone goods. We had a young guide take us through the Palace and the surrounding area for views of the City below. He wanted to know if we wanted to take a Tuk tuk up to the palace, but we said we wanted to walk to get some exercise. Colin mentioned that he walks 5 km. per day, so the guide wanted to know why Colin had such a big belly if he walked that far on a daily basis! He also took us to some shops, but we did not appreciate the fact that this is usually a set up to get you to buy something, which we were not interested in. Once the guide realized we were not going to buy anything, he totally lost interest in us! We then took a side trip to Gadisar Lake where the locals take picnics. Beautiful buildings at the Lake and the Palace are circa 1134 A.D. One evening we drove into the Thar Desert. Quite amazing to see. Lots of tourists in tent camps and locals giving camel rides, which we declined. Simply enjoyed the views of the desert. A few observations of the surrounding area.. - Numerous "English Beer and Wine Shops" which we found amusing. Wine is expensive here as is not in great demand. Most of the wine is produced here in India and is of a decent quality. Even saw one of these shops in a Muslim town! - Camel dung is dried in the shape of large round pancakes and is used for fuel - When driving along the roads, they drive on the left hand side of the road. As Suzanne says...only in a manner of speaking! - The Indian people do not like to give a negative answer to anything. They have this way of shaking their heads and not sure if this means yes or no! Quite amusing. - Seems like the major tourist group here are the French. One evening in one of our hotels, they had entertainment (actually pretty bad,) and the children sang Frere Jaques! - Goat and sheep herders everywhere along the roads Enjoying India with its clamor, colours, frustrations, traffic, animals, smells and people everywhere.

Monday, February 20, 2012

MANDAWA AND BIKANER

We left Delhi at 7 a.m. on Saturday morning for Mandawa, which is 240 km. away. A trip that anywhere else in the world might take you 4 hours, took 7 1/2 hours. One cannot explain the traffic on the "highway" ; which turned out to be a parkway on several occasions. Although frustrating, this is understandable, considering the rapid growth of the economy in the last three years or so. The infrastructure simply cannot keep up. Cars make their own lanes, which we thought was just a Delhi phenomena, but this also took place on the highway. At times going across the meridien and going through service stations to pass vehicles and get further ahead. You simply cannot imagine. We took a few pictures of the traffic (which we will post at a later date, as this internet connection very slow) but not sure they would do it justice. Our driver Singh is very good and he predicted at the outset it would take 7 to 8 hours.

Finally arrived in Mandawa about 3 p.m. It is a very small town which is know for its'' Haveli's (stately home owned by a wealthy merchant). The houses are very large and have intricate sculpted marble windows and wonderfully painted frescoed walls. The paintings depict their present world (God and Goddesses and heroes) mixed in with their changing world (the British, railways and the army) symbolizing an emerging society in the late 19th century. As you enter a home, if it has one elephant painted this means "welcome"änd if two elephants it means "Good Luck".

We stayed in a 200 year old Heritage Hotel which was also a former Haveli. The paintings here were also very beautiful, but you could tell the hotel needed some work, yet had a unique character in its own way. They had wonderful outdoor areas on both the first and second floor, where we spent some time and watched the sun set. We walked through the village and local market accompanied by a young local boy who took us through the Haveli's. He was smooth talking character who would try to sell you anything.

The Village of Mandawa has a population of 25,000 of which 10,000 are Muslim. We were awaken at 6 a.m. by the Iman call to prayer. Actually an interesting alarm! It has been very cool in the mornings and you have to wear a sweater for the first hour or so, then warms up nicely. Mandawa is a little off the beaten track so not too many tourists. Certainly must say that we are stared at walking through the Village. A bustling, dirty, shabby place, with buses, cars, tuk tuks, camels, cows, donkeys and humans sharing the streets. The women in the Rajasthan wear colourful saris, even when working on the streets and fields. Something interesting to see wherever you look.

BIKANER
Next stop was Bikaner, some 188 kms from Mandawa. Singh said that the road to Bikaner was "very good"", but we weren't sure what his definition of very good was. As it turned out, the road was o.k. and not too congested and only took 3 hours. Along the road we came across some "Jungle Cows", which look like a large elk with a cows head.

We went to tour the Junagarh Fort, which was built in 1593 by Raja Rai Singh. The last Maharaja was involved with the Raj (the occupation by the British) and fought in the first world war on the side of the allies. The palace contained a number of his artifacts as well as a significant collection of 18th and 19th century arms. This red sandstone fort is huge and is encircled by a moat. It has beautiful balconies and pierced screen windows which is where the women would watch what was going on, as they were not allowed to be outdoors.

Then went to visit a camel farm which is run by the government and is involved in the study and developement of superior breeds of camels. Some of the camels are exported to Arab countries and are also sold dometically for use as draft animals. Had some camel ice cream and it was quite creamy, but not very flavourful.

Next stop was a visit to the family Mausoleums of the local Maharajah's. Very impressive structures made of marble and red sandstone and intricatelly carved.

Today, Monday we drove to Jaisalmer some 331 kms. from Bikaner and took us about 6 hours. Will report on Jaisalmer in our next post.

Unfortunately, we cannot upload any pictures at this time, as the internet connection here in the desert is very slow.

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Touring in Delhi

Our first stop in Delhi was Humayun's Tomb. He was the second Mughal emperor and was the inspiration for the Taj Mahal. See the link on the left hand side of the blog captioned "India Pictures" of the places we visited. Then off to India Gate which is a memorial to the war dead and is located at one end of the Rajpath, which is a 2 mile long avenue ending at the Parliament building. The memorial is made of sandstone and is reminiscent of the Arche de Triomphe and the Marble Arch. Along each side of the avenue are government buildings, including the Office of the Prime Minister. Then off to visit the Lotus Temple, which was built by the Bahai. The central theme of the Bahai is that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for unification in one global society....what a concept! On our second day we visited the Red Fort built by Emperor Shah Jahan in 1639. He also built the Taj Mahal. It is built of red sandstone, thus the name and the walls extend up to 2 kilometers in length. It houses the Hall of Public audiences, where the Emperor would receive his people, Peacock Throne room and several outer buildings mainly made of marble with intricate carvings and inset stones and pierced screen panels. A very impressive historical site. Finally went to visit Mahatma Ghandi's memorial set in a beautiful park. The memorial consists of black polished granite with an eternal flame. He was the Father of the Freedom movement, culminating with India's independence from England. He was a modest man and we wonder what he would think of this memorial.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Diverse Delhi

From when we awoke on February 14th to when we arrived in Delhi on the 15th, we were awake for 30 hours and spent 19 hours flying. The time difference between Calgary and Delhi is 12 1/2 hours. The airport is quite new and we found things very efficient. We did notice a lot of armed guards and wondered if that had to do with the fact that the Israeli embassy had been recently attacked. We finally hit the sack at 1:30 a.m. on the 15th, but wide awake at 4 a.m. What does one do when you awake that early? Read, exercise and watch Indian soap operas on T.V.! Met up with Suzanne (Robin's sister) and her husband Colin from England the next morning and we started our two day tour of Delhi. We have arranged a private three week tour of the Rajasthan area, with some side trips outside the area, and we have our own driver, Singh, who is available to us for 8 hours a day. Following are some of our observations of our first couple of days in Delhi. The city is the eighth largest metropolis in the World and the population is over 16.7 million. What a colorful and hectic City. TRAFFIC The first day Singh told us that we would be visiting three sites. We thought this was unusual, but by the end of end of the day we understood. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the sites, which in normal traffic should only take about 40 minutes. For example, if a roadway has 3 lanes, there is about 6 to 7 lanes of traffic. The road markings are simply a suggestion. Constant honking is normal. Traffic is made up of cars, tuk tuks, large trucks, bicycles, people, donkeys, camels and oh yes, the odd elephant. It looks like a "dance" with the vehicles, etc weaving in and out of the traffic. It is a wonder that there aren't constant accident's. When we were first driving in from the airport, we noticed the signage on the back of trucks that said "Blow Horn". I thought what a funny name for a trucking company....all right, I was tired. A lot of signage on the back of trucks such as..."blow horn" "respect" "please honk" "use dipper at night"' which means dim lights. They actually want people to honk at them, so they know someone is near them or passing. Singh tells us that there is three things you need to drive in Delhi...a good horn, good brakes and Good Luck! PEOPLE Most women still wear traditional saris and very intricate colorful jewellery. People are occupied whether that be working in hotels, driving, providing tourist services, repairing roads and buildings and going about trying to survive. Have even seen people sorting through garbage trying to find anything of value. Work is divided amongst several individuals so that more people are employed. Although this might seem foreign to us, something that we have seen in developing countries.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Ready To Go

Well folks, another adventure to a part of the world that we haven't been to yet. We are off to India for three weeks on Tuesday, February 14th, (19 hours of flying) and we will meet Robin's sister Suzanne and her husband Colin who live in England. We have arranged a private tour through Holiday India and will be stopping in the following cities....New Delhi,Mandawa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Pushkar, Jaipur, Agra, Jhansi, Orchha, Khajuraho, Varanasi, Sarnath and back to Delhi. The four of us will be touring by private car with our own driver. We felt this was the best option for us vs. taking a large tour so that we have more flexibility. As most of you know, Robin and I "don't do large organized tours".  We return to Delhi on March 5th.




Ran into an acquaintance today and she asked if we were going to visit an Ashram.  For those of you who might wonder what that is, the definition of an Ashram is  "a secluded building, often the residence of a guru, used for religious retreat or instruction in Hinduism". Robin simply rolled his eyes, so I think the answer to that one is "no". Actually, he said "Claire could certainly go if she wants, but that I will find a pub".....do they have pubs in India?
On March 6th, we fly to Nepal for 3 weeks visiting Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Nagarkot, Chitwan National Park, Bandipur, Pokhara, Jomsom, Marpha, Kagbeni, Muktinath then back to Kathmandu. Will be doing some trekking for about 5 days during this trip. For those BMO bankers that we used to work with, we will be meeting up with Elsie James during this time; she helped with this part of the trip.




You always think you know the costs of the trip, but that is before you go see the Travel Doctor and he tells you....well you need some shots to protect yourself, so you drop a bundle there. Then you find out you need pictures for Visa's and trekking permits. Oh, then there is tipping for drivers, porters, guides, etc.  Then I decide to visit my Naturopath as my immune system seems to be in the tank (I get sick everytime we visit the grandaughters!). Well, I paid a cool $400+ to get natural herbs/tinctures to help me get through this trip. As one of my nephews says..."It's not about the money, money, money.....kaching, kaching, kaching!"

Packing for the trip is a bit of challenge, considering we need hiking gear for Nepal but not in India. Warmer weather in India...different clothes for both sections of the trip. Good thing we are flying with KLM as they allow us 2 free bags each....and they wonder why we don't fly Air Canada !  We won't tell our Sister-in Law, Brenda that we are taking 3 bags as we always give her a hard time about the size of her luggage.....ooops, I think she will probably read this blog!

We will be doing regular updates and hopefully posting pictures as we go.