Home in Pomfret

We made it home to Pomfret. Thanks to Josh for meeting us at the car rental place at Bradley Int. Airport, and thanks to Anne Hinchman for the travel tip to get from JFK to home. Josh got a solid dose of India stories in the car ride. Gabe pulled out the new cricket bat and ball to practice in the back yard. Our neighbor came running out to play with kids. He's planning to have a cricket party now that he has more people to play the game with! We are all tired from the long trip, but very happy to be home. We are going to try to stay up until 8 tonight if possible to get try to adjust to the time change. Thanks for reading the blog. You are invited to come over for a beer and a visit at the house to swap stories from the summer.

Traveling home

We left the Footprint B&B at 3:15 pm on Monday. We took a 6:00 flight from Chennai to Delhi. We landed at 8:30; four hours to get our luggage, transfer to the international terminal, check in again for our Air India flight, go through security a few more time ( three check points to xray our bags), and go through India customs . We had an hour to spare to get some food, a drink for Brian and me, and check out the duty free shops. The kids did not fall asleep in the terminal as I had feared, but Garrett got so irritable that I wish he had. We were all asleep before the plane took off (an hour late). We are landing at 4:30pm India time, 7am east coast time. Yves is the only one who is got a decent amount of sleep, and he did it on east coast sleeping schedule. I wish he was old enough to drive us home! I'm so stuffed to the point of nausea with Indian airplane food. They brought food around three times during the flight. The flight attendant woke me up to eat the first meal. I decided to eat something just in case this was our only mean. I should have just kept sleeping. All I want right now is a good cup of coffee.

the croc bank

This "little" fella is called Jaws III. The director of the croc bank insisted that he is a very sweet and gentle crocodile. We were treated to a tour of the croc bank in Chennai by two of the directors. Ashish, our travel agent and host in Chennai, has a connection at the croc bank; his father is one of the trustees. We enjoyed strolling through the place, learning about crocodiles from all over the world. We got to go into the "staff only" areas where they keep the baby crocs and turtles. There was only one American alligator at the place. The kids dashed from tank to tank, yelling with delight at the size or quantity if crocodiles, asking the experts fun "kid questions". After the croc bank, we went to Ashish's parents house for a home- cooked meal. The kids got to swim with his kids, similar in age as my boys. They really enjoyed watching Garrett eat seconds and thirds of everything! Eating a lot is always a good way to please an Indian host, we do pretty well in that department. We were so fortunate to spend our last day with Ashish and his family.

Reflections on how we packed

Damage report:
Three lamps, one shower head, and one saucer

Things we used every day:
First aid kit
Medicine kit ( malarone for malaria, ibuprofen, and Pepto most frequently)
Nalgene bottle
Sandals (could have left the tennis shoes at home)
games: UNO, cards, and bananagrams (not all three every day, but usually one)
journals: mine by choice, boys by force
Backpack: I took mine everywhere with first aid kit, tp bag, water, and snacks
Snacks from home: we had enough snacks for the whole trip, amazing
Books: Brian and I read a lot, the kids used theirs in the last week
Boys blankets: Aunt Stephanie's hand made quilts were on the beds with the boys every night. It was comforting for then to have a piece of home, and good for the car rides. Doggie blanket is an international traveler now too. I was sure that he would get lost somewhere but he's still with us
Extra duffle bag: Brian's excellent idea
Brian's camera
iPad, even when internet wasn't available
India guide book and itinerary from Ashish
Plug adaptors
DSs

Things we didn't use enough to justify packing them:
Tennis shoes ( see above )
Rain gear
Second roll of t.p.
Water purification tables
Extra bottles of hand sanitizer
Charger for the car: most of the cars didn't have a cigarette lighter to plug the charger into
Flash lights: recommended in guide book and by a friend, but we never used them

My India Travel Project

This is the knitting project I've been working on over the last three weeks. It's a cowl neck and hood all rolled into one. Basically it's mindless knitting that I could pick up and put down without any counting. It kept my busy during the long car rides and some sleepless evenings. It didn't come out the way I was hoping ( it doesn't look like the picture in the book). This is my fiber challenge yarn, so at least I have something for the Sept spinning guild meeting. Here's how the fiber challenge works: in Feb we get a half pound of white fiber called roving, we have until the Sept meeting to make something out of it. I dyed the roving using a painting technique I like. I spun two bobbins of single ply yarn, and plied them together to finish the yarn. This fiber is a very soft alpaca, so I wanted to make something that I would wear next to my skin. I needed a mindless project, and here it is. I'm probably going to rip it out and make a hat or a pair of mittens after I share this weird thing with my fiber friends.

Our last guided tour in India

We visited the largest Hindu temple in India today, the Meenakshi Amman Temple. The colors, incense, and statues were very different from anything we have experienced so far. 20,000 people come to this temple every day to pray. We could not tour sections of the temple that admit Hindus only. There were interesting statues of the many of the Hindu gods in several incarnations. In the picture we are walking through the hall of 1,000 pillars. The ornate granite pillars depict many of the Hindu gods, others are decorative carvings. Our tour guide tried to explain to us what the statues mean and how believers pray to them. We were having a hard time taking it all in, there was so much to see and so many new names and stories. This poor man was the last tour guide we will have on our three week trip. He brought us through the afternoon in good humor and exhibited a great deal of patience with Garrett's complaining. All the kids wanted to do was get back to the hotel to swim. It's time to go home!

Feeding the monkeys

We made the short drive to Madurai this morning, but we were too early to go right to our hotel. (The kids get up at 6:30 here too! I can't sleep past 5am myself.) Manny took us to a small cave temple with lots of monkeys and peacocks.
After three weeks of my mantra "Don't feed the monkeys, stay way from the monkeys..." everything changed today. Manny stopped at a store to get some bread for the monkeys. We got out of the car and he handed me the loaf of bread. As I opened the package, the monkeys came running. I'll never forget the moment as I stood there with one small loaf of bread watching a swarm of monkeys run down from the hillside. It freaked me out a bit. About the same time, two guys pulled up with huge bunches of bananas for the monkeys. They gave them to the boys to pass out to the monkeys. We fed them so much that they actually retreated back to their perches in the trees to digest. Garrett and Yves started following them around handing out more bananas. It was great fun to finally feed the monkeys.

A day at cardamom house

We stayed for two nights at the Cardamom House, just outside the village of Athoor. This is our last home stay of the trip. We are nestled in a valley, surrounded by steep mountains. There is a small lake a short walk from the house. We spent several hours swimming in the lake both afternoons. This morning we walked around the lake. We enjoyed the birds along the way. We managed to look at a flock of painted storks for a few minutes before scaring them away. Today is our last day in the country. Tomorrow we head to Madurai for one night. (No Internet at the Cardamom House, sorry for the massive posting on one day.)

Ox cart ride

We had a short, one night stay at Shenbaga Vilaasam. This farm retreat was built in 1900 by the local royal family. It has been a home-stay experience for tourists for about four years. This place was so tranquil and beautiful. When we walked in after our long day of traveling, it felt like all the stress and fatigue fell away. We had a wonderful vegetarian dinner of local dishes made from local produce. (Gabe and Garrett wouldn't eat anything.). Dessert was a macaroni dish with warm sweet milk, cashews, and raisins. Total comfort food. We nearly fell asleep on the way to our rooms. If you ever go to India, you have to stay here for a night or two. In the morning we were treated to a walk around the farm. The magnificent house is surrounded by a large working farm. The kids got the tour by Ox cart, Brian and I enjoyed using our legs for a change. The mountains in the distance, the pleasantly cool temps., and the coconut groves all came together into a perfect moment. We headed out around 10 am after they said a prayer to the Hindu god Ganesh for safe travels in a small shrine by the gate.

Train ride in the blue mountains

Tuesday we said goodbye to Dholes Den and the Bandipur National Park. We drove through the three consecutive tiger reserves (no sign of tigers from the car) to the Blue Mountains that we have been admiring for the last three days. The way up the mountain was a narrow winding road with 36 hair pin turns, they were numbered. Thankfully we got a new driver for this part of the trip. Manny drove the road slowly and carefully, not attempting to pass every car in our path like the rest of the vehicles on the road. The views along the road were stunning. At the top we came to a town called Ooty, referred to as a hill station. The town is not much to look at, but the location is fabulous. We caught a train in Ooty for a ride through the mountains. The train was very slow, so we had plenty of time to enjoy the experience. The boys hung their heads out the window for most of the ride. Manny made the drive to Coonoor in about twenty minutes, it took us an hour by train! We all enjoyed the train diversion. Then we hopped back in the car for the drive down the other side of the mountain. Our final drive of the day took twice as long as we expected because of evening traffic in the towns. We arrived at Shenbaga Vilaasam at 8:00 pm, tired and very hungry.

Independence day

Today is independence day in India. This year they are celebrating 65 years of independence from British rule. Even out here in the country there were modest celebrations. We saw streamers hung in the villages, gatherings for public speeches, and dance performances. The most notable thing about the weekend was the number of visitors in the park. Most Indians had a three day weekend and took the chance to get away. We met a nice extended family who was staying at our hotel for the weekend. On the drive up to the temple, we experienced the full crush of the holiday weekend. We drove up a narrow mountain road all the way to the top. There were so many cars up at the top and people lined up to get inside the temple. We enjoyed the amazing views and headed back down. On the way down we passed six tour buses! There was barely room for a car to turn around up there, I have no idea where the buses were going. Gabe thought they would back all the way down. We heard some fire cravers in the evening from the village.

My melt down

I would be remiss if I left out the story about my meltdown. We all have our breaking point, and I reached mine on Sat. Here's what happened. We rolled into the Dholes Den, our mountain lodge just outside Bandipur National Park, right at two. We ate lunch, settled into our rooms and read the schedule of activities here. To sum it up, there is nothing on the schedule between nine in the morning and one in the afternoon, then lunch, another hour of down time, then entertainment from 3:30 to 9-ish. So we jumped on the safari that first night, watched the documentary, went to the campfire, ate dinner, and voila, we had done everything there is to do here. So I asked the manager for a park map for some hiking trails. No such luck, no hiking here. Next I asked about other things to do around here. There's a temple that's a forty minute drive. Ugh. We just got out of the car, not sounding good. Ooty is a nice hill station two hours away. No good, we're going there when we leave here. I was getting very anxious and upset. Nothing to do for six hours in the morning is equivalent to my own personal hell. If my sisters are reading this, you can feel my pain. Did you ever wonder why I have so many hobbies? This is the point where I have a freak out session right there in the lobby of the hotel. "What are we going to do here for two more days? We've done everything there is to do and we just got here this afternoon. There's no pool, there's no tv, how am I supposed to keep the boys entertained all morning?!!". I'm just about in tears. Brian, very calmly said "Don't worry, it's going to be okay. You haven't gone for a run for two weeks and you're very irritable. I'll watch the boys in the morning so you can go for a run. You'll feel much better.". I couldn't argue with his point. I tried to pull myself together, and basically pouted for the rest of the night. In the picture, I'm frantically combing the guide book for ideas and alternate plans. ( Thanks, honey, for documenting the WHOLE trip on film.) After breakfast the next morning I slept for three hours. The kids and Brian enjoyed a lazy morning strolling the property, petting cows, swinging in the hammock, and just plain hanging out. We made it through day one. Today we went on the car trip to the temple. It was way up on the top of a mountain, a very nice outing. Day two, check. Relaxing is not on my list of top ten things I do well. I never went on a run, but I took a walk by myself to the village and back.

Not a camp elephant

This is an actual wild elephant, it just happened to be hanging out with the camp elephants near the park ranger station. The camp elephants are kept near the camp with a chain on the ankle. This one was free to wander around and may be a family member of on of the camp elephants. So cool to see it.

Bandipur National Park

Here we are at the Bandipur National Park. When I read about this part of the trip I was looking forward to nice hikes in the woods to go along with the jeep safaris in the evenings. I was sadly disappointed to find out that hiking is not permitted in this park. The park is part of a large area of protected forests for the recovery of the tiger population. It makes sense that hiking in tiger territory would be considered dangerous, especially with small kids. We are staying in a mountain lodge way out on the edge of the park. We have a stunning view of the mountains from every window of our cabin. There's not much around here except for small villages. Many of the villages were established by the government to resettle the forest dwellers, another attempt to encourage the recovery of the tiger population. The tigers have been hunted to brink of extinction by poachers. Many of the tiger reservations in other parts of the country were completely devoid of tigers. Slowly they are making a come back and being reintroduced to the forests throughout the country. Our chances of seeing one on the jeep safari is pretty small because they are very shy animals who avoid human contact. Also, they have plenty of food in the forest so there is little reason for them to wander out here. We have seen elephants, Indian buffalo, spotted dear, monkeys, and lots of birds. This morning the lodge road was loaded with fresh leopard tracks. Leopards come to the villages frequently to eat stray dogs and cattle. The people here say that they are a very dangerous to have wandering around. We have one more jeep ride into the forest this evening, maybe we'll get lucky!

a visit to a Buddhist Temple and monastery

We visited the Namdroling Monastery in the small town called Bylakuppe, just outside of Coorg. The monastery was built in the 1950's as a refuge for Tibetan monks. The monks are visible in town as you approach, easily identified by their yellow and maroon robes and their bald heads. ( The bald look has not made it's way to India.). The highlight of the visit is the Golden Temple, an ornate Buddhist temple. Inside there are 50 foot gold-plated statues of Buddha (a young and skinny Buddha) and two other figures. While we were in the temple, the rain started in earnest so we used some of the guest cushions to sit in the quiet. We could hear some of the monks drumming in another building. We saw monks of all ages walking around, some who looked to be as young as 8. None of the boys wanted to join the monastery.

The morning with the elephants

Today we visited an elephant sanctuary for fourteen lucky elephants who have retired from carrying lumber. The visit started with a short boat ride across a swift and very wide river to the sanctuary. Then we rode in a jeep over extremely muddy roads, very fun. When we reached the interaction area, we started off by " helping" to bathe an elephant in the river. Two men vigorously scrubbed the elephants while they rolled in the mud. Our job was to pet the elephant, splash water on them, and marvel at their magnificence. After we had our fill of the washing procedure, we went up to watch them feed the elephants. The men prepared huge millet balls the size of soccer balls to feed them. The procedure was simple, they placed the food balls directly in the elephant mouths. It was cool to see this up close. Then we took an elephant ride, Brian sat this one out.

Comparing north to south

It feels like we are taking two vacations back to back. The experience in the north is so different than the south. I'll try to explain. As I mentioned in a previous post, 2.5 million tourists do the trip we took in northern India around what's referred to as the Golden Triangle; Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. Tourism in those cities is a major source of income. The tour package is very business-like: the drivers know the way to every stop, the restaurants and shops the tourists like are well defined, the hotels are efficient. It's a machine that works really well. The stops along the tour are larger than life and unbelievable ( Taj Mahal, palaces, ornate mosques, markets). We were among many other tourists every day, even in the slow season. On a more practical level, the cities are crowded and busy. Honking and street noises goes on all day and night. There are more people there, including street venders and beggars. The heat was intense as we made our way around the attractions.

Now we are in the south where life is more peaceful and not as rushed. The terrain is mountainous and lush. The weather is cool and rainy. The tourist stops here are populated by Indian tourists on vacation, very few foreigners (it's the slow season here too) . People here are curious about us, several have asked where we are from and engaged us in pleasant conversation, but no one is tripping over themselves to serve us like in the hotels up north. Our hosts here at the home stay are gracious and kind, but not over the top. They have given us suggestions for things to do in the area, restaurant recommendations, and help with our difficult driver. We went out to some of the local sights yesterday. I was left with the inner question " is that it?". I'm adjusting my expectations, not every building is the Taj. People come here to enjoy the outdoors and the animals. Trekking is very popular here, I assume that means backpacking. The nice part about this phase of the trip is that we are getting more time to relax. Our time is more flexible, and no one is in a hurry anyway (except our driver).

Picture at the Coorg home stay

Yves is enjoying the swinging chair on the front porch with his cocoa fruit. He picked it on our walk today around the coffee plantation. The cocoa tree is a volunteer, not planted to be harvested. In addition to coffee, they grow pepper here. This is the first time I've seen a pepper vine.

Welcome to Bangalore

Our itinerary for today said "long and tiring travel day". We took a 3 hour flight from Delhi to Bangalore ( aka Bangaluru). When we stepped out of the airport we all smiled at the pleasant 25 C temperature! What an unexpected and pleasant surprise. It felt like we had just landed in San Diego, well more humid, but very pleasant. We both thought that the south would be hotter and more uncomfortable. We met our new driver, I still can't get is name right, something to work on tomorrow. The drive to Coorg was very long. About a third of the way there we stopped at McDonalds for lunch. Yes, there is only chicken, veggie, or paneer (type of cheese) burgers served at the big M in India. We wolfed down a belly full of chicken nuggets and fries and headed out again. The roads here are wider and less crowded than in the north. The people in the towns seemed more relaxed, even the cows look a bit plump here. Our new driver is no Vinah. We didn't know how good we had it with him. Brian said that he had several "butt clenching scares" up in the front seat on our drive today. We drove for what felt like an eternity. The kids took it all in stride with the DSs going. We had to stop and ask for directions several times, and he stopped in the middle of the road to read the map. We turned off on a muddy dirt road that really required a four wheel drive. We bounced along for a while and came across four guys walking, so we asked for directions again. I passed forward the contact numbers to call for directions but we were out of cell range. Did I mention that the road was very narrow and along a hill? We stared to look for a spot to turn around. I was concerned. Once he found a slightly wider spot to turn around, I just bowed my head and prayed to God that we didn't get stuck out here on this remote dirt road in India. We made the turn, returned to cell range and found the gate. We were on the right road all along. We arrived at an adorable house set in the middle of a dense forest/coffee plantation. We are spending three nights at this home stay. It was totally worth the drive. Once we got settled, we took the kids out back to swim in the pool. It was drizzling a bit, but this is the rainy season and the monsoon really means something down here. I pulled out my extra layers, just as I was beginning to think that I didn't need them. We had a home cooked Indian meal out side on the porch. Our kind host included some mac and cheese on the menu for the kids. Dessert was flan with a sweet coffee syrup. What a wonderful treat. We all stuffed ourselves. We will sleep well tonight as we are lulled to sleep by the chirping bugs and frogs, and the light dripping of water on the roof.

goodbye to Delhi

We made the long drive from Jiapur to Delhi on Tuesday. The drive took five hours. We traveled along the highway for most of the drive. There was a lot of construction happening as they work to make overpasses and entrance ramps. We were welcomed back to the Thikana B&B with the comment "Oh my God, they're back.". We all had a good laugh. No mistaking the sound of my three children entering a room! It felt like coming home after traveling around for six days. It was nice to see some familiar faces of the long-term guests, the owner, and the kind staff. We decided to go back to one of the boys favorite spots in Delhi called Jamali Kamali. There are ruins that have been excavated and partially re built. The kids enjoyed climbing around on the structures and letting loose a little. The highlight of this spot is the well. You have in your mind a typical water well, right? This well has that right in the middle, and then a big structure built all around it. It looks like it had bathing and swimming areas when it was used back in the day. There are lots of "secret stairways" that lead to new and interesting levels. Just as we began to explore at the well, we were swarmed by a group of school boys, looked to be about Yves's age. Do you know what they noticed first? Brian's tattoos! I heard the words dragon and snake mixed into their Hindi as the jockeyed for position to get a closer look. Then they followed me all around the well very closely. They seemed more interested in me and Brian than the kids. Once we had provided enough entertainment to the kids, we headed back to the car and called it a day.

Today we bid farewell to Vinah, our fearless, kind,and safe driver who took us all the way around the Golden Triangle. God bless him for spending 10 days in a car with the Geyer family. He's heading back to his home in Jaipur because this is the slow season for tourists. As we flew south, I was struck with a bit of melancholy because this is probably the only chance I'll have to visit these beautiful places in India. I spent some time reviewing in my mind all the amazing things we saw.

Trapped in Samode Palace

We are trapped in the Samode Palace. Samode is a small village about an hour drive from Jaipur.  The village consists of a lot of goats, a few people, and some houses along the road.  It's tucked into a valley in this mountainous region of Rajasthan.  At the end of town you come to the Samode Palace, an old palace that has been turned into a fancy hotel.  It all sounded great on paper, but the problem is we are a captive audience here.  There are no restaurants in town that would be safe for us to eat. There's not much to do here either.  This stop over was added in as a rest day for us and a little bit of a splurge.  There are two fabulous pools here, which we will make good use of today.  Actually, we went to one yesterday and basically cleared out the place in about 15 minutes.  Let's just say that there are many kids here.  This morning we hiked up to the Samode Fort that is at the top of the hill behind our hotel.  The ascent was up a long flight of stairs, 376 to be exact.  From the top we had some wonderful views of the scenery and the two forts on the next hill over.  The picture of the palace was taken from the hill top.  The trail down went behind the fort and past a group of villagers making a reservoir using hand tools.  Two men followed us up the stairs and chatted us up the whole way.  They were trying to get us to visit their shops in town, one even gave Brian a business card when they parted ways back at the hotel gate.  The whole place is filled with men tripping over themselves to get us stuff, at a charge of course.  The overpriced restaurant is uninspiring.  We have the same dull choices for lunch and dinner.  We are rationing the water here because getting a bottle of water is a huge ordeal.  You  can't just go to the bar and get one.  You have to order it from the front desk, wait for someone to bring it from the far reaches of the hotel on a tray, then sign for the water and service fee.  There's no wireless internet in the room, one thing that is free if you don't mind wandering around the courtyard in search of a signal.  Okay, enough complaining...  We are off to splash in the pool for the afternoon and try to rest up for the second half of our trip in southern India.  We fly out of Delhi on Wed. to Bangalore.

P.S. A family from England joined us at the pool in the afternoon, parents and a teenage daughter.  The kids are so desperate for non-Geyer company that they swarmed them like a pack of sharks in a feeding frenzy.  I had to call them off the poor people twice!  after the pool, we watched Men In Black 2 on tv.  During the movie we had our first rain storm worthy of the name monsoon.  The skies opened up for about 30 minutes.  Very impressive. Luckily we skipped the walk to town that afternoon!

Sent from my iPad

Picture to go with Trapped in Samode Palace

Sent from my iPad

A post for Josh

Jaipur is the home of the worlds largest sundial. Jantar Mantar is an observatory that was built 1728 by Jai Singh. Along with this his huge sundial, the park has large instruments to track the progression of the sun through the zodiac signs, the positions of the sun, and the angle of the sun. It turns out that the time in Jaipur, calculated by these sundials, was 32 minutes slower that the standard time in India. The sun was shining while we were here, a mixed blessing because the temperature spiked, but we could get good measurements from the clear shadows. Can we take the freshmen here on a field trip? I'll volunteer to chaperone.

a post for Grandma Geyer

This is a picture of Gabe diving in to a plate of butter chicken with naan. This dish is Indian comfort food. We have ordered it in almost every restaurant we've eaten in because the boys and I really like it. It is a tomato based sauce with mild spices and chunks of chicken. You eat it with naan, the flat bread, or steamed rice. Delicious! There are subtle differences in the dish in each place we've gone. In Delhi they make it with cream in the sauce, in Jaipur it is more of a red sauce and a bit spicier. Gabe refused to eat anything but naan for lunch and dinner for the first six days. Finally, on Saturday he tried a bite and he like it! (Sam I am...) He was so proud of himself for eating the butter chicken and I was relieved that he finally at something with protein. The sad thing is we decided to go to a vegetarian restaurant that night. Gabe had his heart set on more butter chicken, which led to a huge meltdown at dinner. The restaurant at Samode Palace doesn't offer butter chicken on menu, grrrr. More reason for us to celebrate driving down the road out of town. Just a side note here: Gabe eats scrambled eggs for breakfast every day. He's not starving to death. Sadly I left the jar of peanut butter at the first b&b, hopefully it will be there when we return tomorrow for our last night in the north. The boys and I have adhered to the advice to avoid all fresh fruits and vegetables. Brian has been slightly more adventurous at his own risk, putting the garnishes on his food. I have a quick trigger finger on the bottle of Pepto.

Picture to go with Cows in the Road

Sent from my iPad

Yes, there are cows in the road here

Everyone says that there are cows in the roads in India.  It's true.  The cows are not afraid of the cars, and we have actually seen a cow sleeping in the middle of a busy four lane road.  We didn't see any in Delhi during our first four days, so I had my doubts.  One of our tour guides told us that the city is too crowded so most people have moved their cows out to the suburbs.  Once we started traveling around the Golden Triangle to Agra and then Jaipur, the animals in the road became a regular sight.  It's not limited to cows, we've seen goats, sheep, stray dogs, camels, horses, and elephants all moving along with the traffic.  The animals are a nice source of entertainment for the boys as we drive around the towns.  I'm amazed that we haven't seen an animal get hit by a car yet.  I'm so glad that we have a driver because neither Brian nor I could negotiate the chaotic streets.  I would describe driving here as a cross between driving a slalom course and playing chicken with moving vehicles. Honking is constant and expected as you pass all move vehicles and people. The animals don't respond to the honking.  I find it best to look out the side windows.  (side note: 2.5 million tourists travel the golden triangle route every year)

Brian and the heat

This picture was taken at Fetahpur Sikri, another Mughal palace on the way from Agar to Jaipur.  Brian is standing in the enormous mosque that was built to honor the Sufi saint who blessed emperor Akbar, which led to the birth of a son.  The sun came out from behind the clouds just as we entered the mosque, just as Brian was given this pink cloth to cover his legs.  It was very hot.  He was not happy, but he handled the discomfort with grace as we made our way around the mosque.  In the middle of the mosque is a small temple where you can tie a string to receive a blessing for more children.  I skipped this step.  We were warned by Vinah, our driver, not to touch any cloth in the temple because you have to pay for the good luck you just received from touching the cloth.  This attraction had the most aggressive street vendors we have encountered so far on the trip.  I got a lot of compliments on my three sons in this mosque, not a surprise because of the reason it was built.

Elephants, camels, and dancing snakes

Today the boys were thrilled to see more animals in town. Jaipur has many of the sights that are stereotypical of India. We saw our first camel of the trip mixing in with the traffic, it was pulling a huge cart, as we drove into town yesterday. This morning at our first stop we were amazed to see a guy on the street with dancing cobras in his basket. It turns out that they are all around town, but it was a thrill for the boys every time. We didn't have enough small change to actually pay one, so the full experience will have to wait until tomorrow. We also took an elephant ride to the top of Amber fort. And the monkey population is more visible here. The kids shrieked "monkey" many times as we drove through town. By the way, Amber fort was amazing to see.

Unwinding at the Devi Niketan

The Devi Niketan is a family run heritage hotel that was built in the 1930's.  The owner grew up in this house.  It feels like stepping back in time when you walk in here.  The rooms have high ceilings, there are beautiful wooden doors, and pictures from the same era.  Even the locks on the door are brass slide bolts and old padlocks.   After a full morning of site seeing, we were very grateful for this wonderful pool.  

This is how we roll

Anyone who has spent time with Garrett knows that he moves at his own pace. This pace of his is usually slower than the rest of the family. The main reason for his label "the delay fish" is his extreme curiosity about how things work, the second is his need to sleep a lot more then the other two. It will be no surprise to you that "Garrett and guided tour" are not always compatable nouns. For example, he is extremely curious about the water features that are typical in the Mughal architecture we have seen all week. Basically, the square gardens are divided by a network of small channels that feed into pools and fountains in the center. Garrett and I have explored in-depth the water channels at each site we have visited. He is also operates in two modes: happy and affectionate to anyone he meets OR cranky and fussy. Every stop is a turn of the roulette wheel and we can not predict which Garrett will show up. I am determined to NOT be the parent who yells at her kids on vacation, so I usually hang back with him until his exploration is over and then we catch up with the others.

Picture to go with The Taj!

the Taj!

Sent from my iPad

Wow!  OMG!  I was absolutely awestruck by the Taj Mahal, affectionately called the Taj by the locals.  It was huge and sparkling white.  The building is even more impressive when you look closely at the inlaid marble artwork that decorates the tomb both inside and out.  The kids were hoping to see a monkey there, we heard a story from another traveler at the b&b in Delhi who saw one there.  No monkeys in sight here, but we saw two at the Agra Fort, our next stop(look for the monkey in the picture).   The fort was actually a series of ornate palaces and courtyards enclosed by a huge red sandstone wall.  The fort was as amazing as the Taj because of the size and beauty. Plus, there amazing vies of the Taj Mahal from the fort.  We had our first rain of the visit, which was a blessing as we walked around outside all afternoon.

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Gandhi's Spinning Wheel

Today we visited Ghandi Smriti, the room where Gandhi lived the last 144 days of his life and the site where he died. The room has been preserved the way he left it. I was so moved by the extreme simplicity of his life and the power of his message. The spinning wheel in the room still has a bit of cotton roving attached to his hand spun yarn. Outside there are concrete steps that represent his last steps. Garrett and I followed the steps to a small memorial site at the place where Gandhi was killed. When I explained this to Garrett he said "That's sad." It was the same thing I was thinking. The other three sat in the shade while he and I paid our respects to this great man.

The Kids Are Alright

I'm sure you are wondering how the kids are doing on the trip. So far, the kids have been excellent travelers. They were all excited to get on the plane, and endured the long flight very well. They are interested in the differences they see here, but not frightened by them. Garrett, of course, will talk to anyone he meets which has been received well by the people we have met so far. I'm most surprised that they aren't asking more "why" questions. Right now they seem to be taking in the sights, sounds, and smells without the probing questions. Today we ended our sight seeing at the National Railway Museum. After some "near melt down" moments earlier in the day from Garrett and Gabe, the boys eagerly ran around the grounds climbing into the engines and cars on display. Even in the heat of the day, they wanted to look into all the trains, play with the switch levers, and ride the "toy train" around the grounds. Thankfully, there was an air-conditioned building to tour as well that contained a cool collection of model trains. This evening we played a couple hands of UNO with another boy who is also staying at our b&b. They are getting adjusted to the time change quickly (better than me, it's 4 am and I'm up for the day). Brian and I are ready to abandon any item on our schedule if needed, and we're keeping the expectations reasonable. The comfortable B&B has helped get this trip off on a positive note.

Old Delhi

This is a picture of Garrett, Yves, and I riding a rickshaw in Old Delhi. This section of the city has very narrow streets. As you approach Old Delhi by car the traffic begins to blend together into a chaotic flow of scooters, bike carts, richshaws, and cars (all the vehicles honk constantly). The driver seemed to know the rules of the road, but it wasn't obvious to me. We stopped to walk through the largest mosque in India, Brian was given a cloth to cover his legs. We all removed our shoes at the gate and walked on a network of mats that weren't as hot as the red sandstone (I read in a guide book to bring socks along but didn't remember until arriving at the mosque). Then we took our richshaw ride through the markets. Each avenue of the market got narrower than the last. We passed the wedding market with colorful beads, flowers, and wedding saris (so beautiful!) and many food shops, a row of book shops, and other vendors selling just about anything you can think to buy on the streets of India. The kids and I really enjoyed the ride, Brian was cramped in the little seat and
couldn't see well because of the cover just at eye level for him. The electrical wiring
in Old Delhi is also famous. Above the streets you can see a tangled mess of wires that run
in all directions. As we drove out of this part of the city , I appreciated much more the
sidewalk we took to the metro yesterday, that seemed narrow and crowded then, but now felt
like a stroll through the park.

Our first outing

Today is listed as "recover from jet lag" on our itinerary. After some discussion with our hosts about the neighborhood, we decided to venture out to a market called Deli Haat, an artisans market. We took the new metro, opened last October, two stops. We walked in the
wrong direction a while, asked for direction from a nice cab driver, and made our way into
the market. It was fun to see the goods for sale and chat with the artists. Gabe was unhappy
about the smells, food and incense, that were prominent. I haggled for the price of a small
paper painting. Once the heat got to be too much we headed back to the B&B.

Waiting for our flight to Delhi

Sent from my iPad

I'm OK to go.

Okay, flying to India is a little different than traveling into a worm hole...  Here we are at the JFK international terminal waiting for our flight to Delhi.  We had our send off meal at McDonalds in the terminal.  We walked around a bit, looking at all the people from all over the world gathered in the terminal.  Everyone is very excited and in good spirits. The gate is filling up with people, many families ( I counted five babies) joining us on this fourteen hour flight to Delhi. We enjoyed watching other international flights landing and taking off at JFK. Ours is next.

A Set-back with Gabe today

Today we started the malaria prevention meds. These come in pill form. None of the kids have taken pills before today. We are very lucky to have healthy kids; but the ability to take pills is a handy skill for kids to have as I learned today. None of the boys could swallow the pills. The scene that played out included shouting, tears, unhappy kids, and frustrated parents. We'll get this down over the course of the month that we have to take the medicine. Gabe, who has not been excited about the trip, got very upset (again) about going on this trip. He cried on and off during the day. I hope that he will enjoy the trip once it starts.

Route Map

Here's the route map for our trip to India.

Trip Planning Time Line

Here's a look at the planning process that has brought us to this trip.  Anyone who has done this type of international trip before can skip this post.

August 2010:  we decide that India is our destination
November 2010:  Brian contacts Ashish, the travel agent in India
Email exchange between Brian and Ashish continues for several months, we get the first draft of the itinerary  in March.  After three revisions, we agreed on our trip plans.
March 2011:  apply for passports for everyone
April 2011:  apply for travel visas to India, our new passports are in the application materials
May 2011:  make a deposit on the travel itinerary from Ashish, purchase our plan tickets,  and get our booster shots updated and receive the typhoid vaccination (ouch).
June 2011:  receive helpful travel advice from friends and colleagues, start reading the travel guides
July 2011:  fill prescriptions for malaria prevention meds and antibiotics, compile a list of essential items to take to India (next post), wake up at wee hours of the night hoping that this trip is a good idea, continue to answer the question "Why India?", figure out how to get to and from JFK airport, start a travel blog, enjoy the last few days of pre-India summer.

India, Not Indiana

In one week, my family is leaving for an adventure in India.  The funny thing about traveling to India is that you seem to need a compelling reason to go there.  We have been asked many times "Why India?"  Here's how this trip evolved. 

Brian and I have been saving for an international trip for several years, and waiting for the children to get old enough to be good travelers.  Last summer we decided that the time was upon us, in both categories, so let's go somewhere.  I wanted to go to a country in which we would be the minority and where life is very different than in our home in Pomfret, CT.  As we were discussing the possibilities, Brian's friend from college went to India on a Fulbright in the fall.  His experience there sparked our interest in visiting the country.  He gave us a recommendation for a travel agent in India, and as they say, the rest is history.  We have an exciting three-week itinerary that will give us a taste of the culture, history, and wildlife in India.

The children, in their excitement to tell friends and teachers about the trip, often got the comment "You mean Indiana, not India."  With some insistence, the kids convinced the kind adults at their school that, yes, they were actually going on summer vacation in India.