Dublin - Day 1

My last trip of my 2018 gap year has begun! First stop - Dublin. This is my first trip to Ireland, although It has been on my list for awhile. Just going to see Dublin this time around, but hoping to come back and see more of the countryside when the weather is warmer. And so far I am in love with it!  

I arrived today and am functioning on basically no sleep, so this post will be brief and possibly incoherent. As usual I did my research in advance (thanks again Rick Steves).  So upon arrival I immediately found the location to buy a multiple day transportation pass, and it’s already paid for itself in just one day. It gets you transportation to and from the airport, use of the Hop On Hop Off bus for the length of your pass, and unlimited use of the city busses and trams. It’s called the DoDublin Travel Card. It worked out perfectly for me today because when I got on the wrong bus it was no big deal to get off and find the right one. It pretty much is a given that I’ll do that at least once or twice each day. Doesn’t cost me any extra to take the scenic route😁

A delicious scone and tea......because I’m in Ireland!

I dropped my luggage at the hotel and headed out to find the Hop On Hop Off bus. Got to enjoy part of the tour befor I got off to see my planned destination for the afternoon - Kilmainham Goal. Highly recommended to see, it's a historic jail used by the British as a political prison. It was built in 1796 as Dublin’s county jail, and many who fought for Irish Independence were held or executed there.

An excellent museum and guided tour.  

It is recommended to book your ticket in advance for the guided tour, but since I wasn’t sure when I would be going I just took my chances. It’s not a super big tourist time here now and since I was just one person I was able to get a ticket in the last tour. The guide was really good - lots of information but some humor too. We were allowed to take pictures and he said if we took pictures of ourselves they would be cell-fies. I thought that was pretty good!

96 individual cells in this block - also my attempt at a Wes Anderson-like photo. If you don’t know who he is you’re missing out!

That took up a good part of my afternoon but I learned a lot about Irish history by going there. Lots more for me to see in Dublin over the next few days. And Dublin is definitely all decked out for the holidays! 

I have a packed agenda for tomorrow so planning on getting an early start. Now time for some 💤. 

Tampa Trip

Bratefest 2018 in Tampa Florida...... how could I not attend? As many of you know my nephew plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so it was a great reason to all head there for a long weekend and attend the game. And since many of us live in colder climates we didn’t need much of an excuse to head to where it’s warm. Plus I’m blessed to have a family that is always fun to be with. A little crazy but a lot of fun. 

This is how Florida does Christmas! 

The main event was of course the game on Sunday. Tampa Bay versus the Charlotte Panthers. The stadium in Tampa is very cool. Since the weather is usually great there’s lots of fun things outside the stadium pregame. This year they added a fun beach with music and comfy chairs. We were excited to once again get pregame passes to go out on the field and watch the players warming up. Thanks Cam!

Jack always seems to track down cheerleaders for a great fun photo. Lots of Brate 84 jerseys all autographed of course. 

It’s fun to stand outside the tunnel and see the players coming in and out. 

Hi Cam and good luck! 

We had great seats for the game and they won! Cam had 3 catches and no injuries so of course we were happy about that. 

Our group on the field pregame. 

We ate at a couple of good restaurants but I did a bad job of photographing the events. My brother Phil and sister-in-law Pat are down in Tampa for all the games so they made reservations at a couple of their favorite spots. First night was at Besito Mexican Restaurant. Everyone loved it. Great atmosphere and upscale mexican in a nice area. 

After dinner at Besito. 

Second night when we had dinner after the game with Cam we went to Bella’s Italian Cafe and again everyone loved it. Great job Phil and Pat! Thanks for organizing for the group.

Most of us stayed over for Monday and had planned to head to St Petersburg which is only about 30 minutes away. I had heard the Salvadore Dali Museum located there was excellent, so was able to convince (or coerce) the rest of the group to join me in a visit there. There was a little apprehension but after all was said and done everyone agreed that it was well worth the stop. We all learned a lot about the artist and have a new appreciation for his talent. He was actually ahead of his time and kind of a genius. There was also a very cool virtual reality exhibit that everyone did and really enjoyed. 

It’s in a very cool building also. 

Now for some time at the beach! First some food. We headed to a place right on the water where we were able to sit up on the deck overlooking the water outside and have some great grouper taco’s, shrimp skewers and various other delicious options along with some beers and special rum punch. 

We kept calling it Crabby Phil’s but Phil insisted he’s never crabby. 

Let’s watch the sunset on the beach and dig our toes in the sand! Yes!

My brothers and I - my mom used to say the rose between the thorns - but they are actually not thorny at all! And the fun ladies in the family - the sisters I never had.  

A fast but very fun trip to Tampa/St Pete. I would love to go again and spend more time. Florida in the cold weather is never a bad idea. 

One more big trip to finish out my year. Check back soon and wishing you all the best holiday ever! 

Artisans of India

This is my third and last post about India, but I was so impressed with the artisans we saw throughout our trip I wanted to make sure and give them their due. Each area or state in India is known for some kind of artistic handmade item and before seeing the amount of training, artistic ability and just plain old hard work that goes into it I didn’t have the right appreciation for it. Also the fact that these skills are passed down from generation to generation so it’s really a family affair. And in many cases we were able to meet the actual artisans that had made the items we purchased.

Delhi - 

Delhi is the closest big area to Kashmir which is best known for rug making. We went to a few stores that specialized in this item and learned about the process which is all done by hand. The patterns have been in families for generations so they could tell you about the families that made each design. Because the quality is so high the rugs literally last forever, and are very easy to clean and maintain with no wear and tear. Cindy was intending to purchase a rug for their new place and found one she loved. Luckily they ship to the US so she didn’t have to haul it around for the remainder of the trip. 

Every rug was gorgeous so it was hard to pick.

 Udaipur -

We went to an art school to see what Udaipur is best known for which is miniature paintings. The paintings are colorful, opulent and very detailed. The training to be an artist takes many years and we got to meet a few of the painters and learn more about it. Originally the final works were all painted on ivory but since that’s not possible now they have switched to camel bone. First the painting is done on silk, then thin paper and finally camel bone. The colorful paints all come from natural pigments and colors and are so vibrant. I don’t have a good example of the finished product as we weren’t allowed to take pictures of that but they were spectacular. And pricey!

Top right are examples of the pigments used for painting. Top left is one of the artists making me a quick sketch to take home of a Ganesh. He didn’t want the instructor to see him do it so I stuck it in my pocket quickly. So I actually have an original😊 

Jaipur - 

Jaipur is known for block printing on fabric but we ran out of time to go see how it’s done. Next time for sure. 

Ranthambore - 

This was where we did the safaris so it was very rural. One of the afternoons Ajay took us to a local women’s coop and it was my favorite shopping experience of the trip. They explained that many of the people in the area started as nomads and moved around as they owned no property. Then the Indian government helped them to purchase a small piece of property to farm and live on, and then the woman made their handicrafts but had no way of selling them. So their handmade items were taken to large cities like Delhi to sell, but the locals got only a small percentage of the sales. In the 80’s with the development of the credit card machine they were able to open the coop and sell locally thereby helping them sell directly to the customers and keeping a higher percentage of the profits. So now 60% of the money goes to the creator, 30% to the coop which is divided between everyone, 6% to the Tiger Reserve and the remainder for parties for the entire community - a great example of how they help each other and their local community. The people we met there were so proud of their work and it was really beautiful.

Incredible paintings and beautiful hand pieced quilts, table runners, pillows etc. 

I bought this beautiful mini quilt to lay on my couch. It is of my favorite figure - the elephant or Ganesh  and looks amazing in my place.

This beautiful woman made it and was so happy I loved it! 

We also got to see a demonstration of sari tying and I volunteered to be the model. And henna tattoos too! 

A sari is one very long piece of fabric. I think I could do it now! 

Agra -  

Agra as you may recall is the home of the Taj Mahal so they are best know for marble mosaic art. It’s what covers the Taj but there is a lot of technique and artistry along with tedious hand grinding of each stone to make the beautiful artwork. This artisan craft is again passed down through generations and children are exposed to it through their families. The designs are first painstakingly carved into the marble and then the stones are ground by hand to fit into the carvings to make the design. They design all kinds of items in lots of sizes big and small. The stones fit so perfectly that you can’t feel them at all when you run your finger over the design. 

I bought the small container pictured middle right and the bottom right is me with the man who made it. He is a master and has been perfecting his skill over 20 years. That little container has 496 stones fit into the design, and of course I had to get a Ganesh! 

Khajuraho - 

Gems! That’s what we saw in Khajuraho. And it’s good luck to wear your birthstone so one of mine is the Star of India so I bought earrings. I don’t have a picture of them but quite a few of the ladies got rings!

Varanasi - 

Handwoven silks and brocades in Varanasi - gorgeous! Again made by families utilizing multiple generations of members. The pictures don’t do them justice, they were amazing and some made with pure gold thread. I couldn’t afford one of those but Cindy and I did treat ourselves to beautiful handwoven silk scarfs - pictured here with the gentleman that made them. Love the colors!

When we were in Agra Ajay took us on what he called a “Shop Hop.” Doesn’t that just sound like fun? He took us to 4 unique shops that the locals frequent. The one I will never forget was an art and jewelry store called Kohinoor Jewelers and you needed to call ahead and basically ask permission to come. They had no visible storefront just a big gate with armed guards. The first floor is called the Kohinoor Museum and showcases their private collection of needle and thread, three dimensional handcrafted embroidery and precious artifacts. We weren’t allowed to take pictures and I can’t even begin to describe how extraordinary the pieces were. They were all created by Padmashri Shams who passed away in 1999. Shams is the originator of this art form where he embroidered his artwork in cotton thread over and over till he got the required thickness and movement. They are also laden with precious stones and the end result is magnificent. They have been offered millions of dollars for each piece but will not sell. We were so lucky to see it. The upstairs is an incredible jewelry store - making Tiffany look like Target. (No offense to Target - that’s more my speed - Target not Tiffany!) They showed us jewelry that was mind blowing - none more than these pieces with emeralds that belonged to Mumtaz Mahal who lies in the Taj Mahal. 

Cindy tried on an 11 carat emerald ring! She decided no one would think it was real - but yes it is!

A few last memories I wanted to share. We saw this beautiful flower art all over India. So time consuming but so pretty.  Petals floating in water - big and little containers everywhere.

In Khajuraho we had the opportunity to see traditional dancing. The costumes were so colorful and through dance they told the history of India. 

We were heading to the airport in Varanasi to fly back to Delhi and catch our respective flights home and didn’t anticipate what an exciting finish we would have to our trip. An Indian diplomat made an unexpected visit to Varanasi causing the main road to the airport to be totally shut down so what should normally have taken us 20 minutes by bus took us 2 and a half hours on a deeply rutted extremely narrow dirt road through a rural village. Every vehicle going to or from the airport was trying to get there on this road which at best had enough width for one small vehicle. So it was like a traffic rubix cube to negotiate passage. At one point when our bus was straddling a train track someone on our bus noticed that a train was coming straight at us at which point Ajay jumped up and yelled “Get Off The Bus! Leave everything behind and get off!” So as the bus was still trying to inch ahead we were all jumping off the bus and running. One of the villagers hung a red piece of cloth across the track to signal the train to stop and luckily it did - just feet from our bus. Somehow the bus driver inched his way backwards enough to get off the track and the train proceeded. Just another day in India! We all missed our flights to Delhi but everyone stayed really calm. We have learned patience in India😊

Our group off the bus. 

The comparison has been made that I am doing my version of the book “Eat, Pray, Love” and in many ways that’s the way it feels to me. My month in Europe in the spring was definitely Eat and India can qualify as Pray. My last trip to finish out my Gap Year is to places I truly Love, so check back and read about that. My time in India was very special and weirdly I find myself still dreaming about it every night - Cindy said she is doing the same thing. I wake up and still feel like I am there. I can’t think of an explanation other than that I think my brain is still processing the experience. So often I hear Ajay’s voice saying “I have everything I need - food, shelter, clothing, family and friends.” That is the message I brought back with me from India. Counting my blessings today and everyday.

Thank you India for sharing your amazing country with me. Incredible India is for real! Namaste🙏🏻 

Adventures in India

We spent 16 days in India and went to 9 different areas. Did I mention that India is a very large country? The 7th largest country in the world and a population of more than 1.7 billion! We started in the northern part in the capitol city of Delhi and then went west, central and east. We didn’t get into the south which we were told is another whole trip that hopefully someday I will return to see. We took 3 flights, 2 trains and numerous bus rides to get to these areas after arriving in Delhi, and saw more than I could cover in an entire book let alone a blog. So this post might be a two cup of coffee long post or better yet a large glass of wine! Thanks for coming along!

A common question I have been asked is how long a flight is it to India - so let me start there. It’s LONG! I flew first to Chicago and spent the night. Then we boarded an Emirates flight from Chicago to Dubai - that was 12 and a half hours long getting there and 14 and a half on the return. Then from Dubai to Delhi is 3 hours going and 4 hours on the return. The good news is that  Emirates is an excellent airline - this was my first time to fly with them and it was impressive. Even in economy the seats are bigger and there is more leg room. The food is good and it seems they are offering you something frequently. In fact they give you a little zipper clutch that has comfy socks, a sleep mask, toothbrush and toothpaste and a set of stickers to put on your seat to instruct them if you would like to be woken for food or just left to sleep. A nice option on such a long flight. We just spent a few hours in Dubai on our layover and didn’t leave the airport but the airport is very fancy. Lots of great places to eat and beautiful restrooms and lounge areas. And definitely great people watching!

Our super fun flight attendant Jay! Do Cindy and I look excited? We are! 

So here goes! Going to do my best to cover our itinerary and hit the highlights of each spot. 

Delhi -  

Delhi is the capital of India and its big. We got there very early in the morning and instead of going to bed we hired a driver and headed out to see a few sites. First up the Lotus Temple.

A marvel in white marble built in the shape of a lotus flower. Surrounded by 9 pools of water. 

Next Humayun’s Tomb. Built in 1565 for the Mughal Emperor it is now a UNESCO Heritage site. 

It was a large property with multiple tomb’s and beautiful gardens. 

 Qutub Minar which is a 5 story tower and surrounding area built in the 12th century. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

5 different styles in the tower. 

The iron pole in the bottom right picture is a mystery. Forged more than 1600 years ago and nearly 24 feet tall and weighing more than 6 tons, it should have fallen to dust and blown away long ago. It doesn’t even have any major traces of rust so scientists continue to debate its mystery. 

We also took a rickshaw ride to explore Old Delhi - the original Delhi which is over 400 years old. The traffic was total insanity and there are no cars or buses allowed. It was all motorbikes, rickshaws, carts, cows and people. All kinds of little shops and street vendors selling pineapple, kiwi, figs, live chickens, goats, clothing, shoes, tires, toys, ceramic pots etc. There were massive jumbles of electrical wires wound around telephone poles - clearly not up to code😂

One of the few McDonalds we saw but they of course don’t sell hamburgers. They sell veggie burgers, chicken wraps and fish. It seemed to be pretty popular.

 Udaipur -

We flew from Delhi to Udaipur which is located south and west of Delhi. Considered to be the gateway to Rajasthan which is an area (kind of like a state within India) known for its palaces and forts. There are 37 different “states” within India and they each have their own capital. Udaipur was beautiful! We stayed in an amazing hotel which was in a refurbished 107 year old palace overlooking a gorgeous lake.

The pictures don’t do it justice - it was incredible! 

We took a boat ride around Lake Pichola and saw numerous palaces and stopped at an island to explore one of the summer palaces of the royal family called Jagmandir.  

Greeted by a row of Ganesh elephants continuing to bring us good luck. Spectacular gardens and a perfect place to watch the sunset on the water. 

The next day we took a stroll through town to reach the City Palace which we had seen from the lake the night before.  

Too big to capture in one shot. 

So many spectacular details throughout the palace. Lots of jewels used to decorate the walls and courtyards.

Bottom right was the royal swing. Used according to folklore for some royal monkey business! 

Jaipur - 

We went by bus to Jaipur which is the capital city of Rajasthan. It is often referred to as The Pink City because the surrounding wall and all the buildings are a pink salmon color. The bus ride was interesting as it was very rural and we saw lots of locals working by hand in their fields, carrying water on their heads and children playing. There was lots to see in Jaipur. First up Hawa Mahal. Note the pink salmon color of the facade. Hawa Mahal was a palace built with 953 windows so all the ladies of the court could look out onto the street but not be seen. 

Hawa Mahal

Next up another City Palace. This place was huge and had three different main buildings to tour. 

Colorful outfits for the guards in pink. 

Amber Fort another UNESCO World Heritage Site and India’s former seat of power. People used to arrive on elephants and you can still do that if you had time. 

Below Amber Fort and heading up via a crazy Jeep ride. 

So much detail in the interior rooms with silver and gold. Multiple temples and courtyards. We were there for quite a few hours as there was so much to see. 

Another really unique place we toured was Jantar Mantar. It is an astronomical observatory built in 1726 by Sawai Jai Singh who was fascinated  by astronomy. 

Behind me is the largest ever sundial! That’s just half of it - the other half is on the left side of the giant staircase.  

We had a unique opportunity that night to have dinner with a local family in their home. Really a trip highlight for me. They were warm and welcoming to their beautiful home along with their darling daughters. They did a cooking demonstration for us and shared their traditions and culture. The girls did some traditional dancing for us and some of us even joined in to learn. 

Top right is a special Diwali dessert called Jalebi. Looked like a lot of work to me but it was very sweet and delicious. The bottom left is a little temple in their back yard where they meditate and do yoga. 

Ranthambore National Park - 

One of the many truly memorable parts of the trip was to Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. We’re hoping to spot a Royal Bengal tiger or two on our safaris - and our Ganesh brought us the luck we needed to accomplish this! We were staying at a place called Juna Mahal, and Ajay was very vague as to what kind of accommodations they would be. Cindy convinced me that we would be staying in glorified tents and I made up my mind to take whatever came right in stride. Much to all our surprise Juna Mahal was a palatial resort that just blew us away.

Top right is the door to our suite. Loved our massive lock and gorgeous pool!

We checked in, ate lunch and changed to head out on safari number one. Even if we didn’t see any tigers they promised us lots of other wildlife. We saw tons of monkeys, all different kinds of deer, alligators and too many exotic birds to count. And yes we saw a huge tiger! There is a great preservation effort happening in India to protect the tigers, so absolutely no hunting is allowed anywhere and if caught the penalty is severe. To say we were all excited is an understatement. It was truly a thrill. The next morning we were out early to try and see more animals and succeeded again in seeing a tiger. This one was a female so quite a bit smaller but she was on the move. Not running but just walking through the woods and so graceful.  

Top right is a canter which is like a large open Jeep. Bottom left Cindy and I right after we saw lion number 1 - otherwise known as Male 57. All the tigers in the reserve are catalogued by their size and features.  

Top 2 are Male 57 and bottom is the female named Arrowhead. The male had massive paws! Probably weighed about 800 pounds. 

In the afternoon Cindy and I took a walk back into the little village to take some pictures. The majority of people and children we encountered were friendly and didn’t mind us taking pictures.  The two pictures on the right side are a couple of locals cutting branches from a tree to feed the goat herd. 

Middle picture on the left is a dung hut.  

Agra - 

We left Ranthambore early the next morning and took the train to the closest town to Agra where our bus met us to take us the rest of the way. Agra is where the Taj Mahal is located, and we were all very excited to check that off our bucket list. The Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the modern world and in my opinion the ultimate symbol of love. It was built as a tomb and expression of love by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal in the 17th century. It took 22 years to build and 20,000 men. While it always looks magnificant in pictures they really don’t do it justice. Up close you see the intricate marble carvings all inset with precious stones. 

You do get to go inside to see her tomb, and the tomb of the King off to the left. They say during the monsoon the water drips from the ceiling onto her tomb and it has been impossible to correct this problem. It doesn’t drip anywhere else so I guess they really are tears. 

Every colored piece is a gemstone that was first carved into the marble and then hand cut to fit perfectly.  

Cindy and I from what is called the Lady Diana bench. Not created for Lady Diana but she was photographed sitting on it when she visited and has since become the Lady Diana bench. A perfect vantage point!

The Taj Mahal is not the only thing to see in Agra. There is also the huge Agra Fort which was the seat of the Mughal Empire. 

Entrance to Agra Fort. 

We took a tour and it was amazing. It’s also where the Emperor that had the Taj Mahal built was imprisoned the last 9 years of his life by his son that overthrew him. They could make a movie out of this story! But his son wasn’t totally heartless. The Emperor could stand on his balcony and see the Taj Mahal even though he couldn’t visit it. 

The bottom right picture is of the apartments that housed the women who lived behind each door specifically for the “entertainment” of the imprisoned Emperor. 

Orchha -  

We took another train from Agra to Orchha where a new bus met us. We stopped in the town of Orchha to see the ancient Cenotaphs. They are in the early stages of renovation because they are thousands of years old, and are basically tombs or monuments erected to honor people whose remains are buried elsewhere or have been moved. 

Cenotaphs

The best part of our stop in Orchha was seeing many of the locals at the river that runs through town bathing and washing their clothing in anticipation of Diwali. Diwali which is the Festival of Lights is a time of birth and renewal. Out with the old and in with the new. So everything must be cleaned and if possible painted and refurbished. No one in town has running water so the river is where the cleaning happens, and the people were friendly and willing to engage with us and have their pictures taken.  

We stopped at an old hunting lodge along the river for lunch and the people were so nice.  The gentleman in the top left greeted us by ringing the bell, a traditional greeting in that area. The woman in the middle was helping to build a patio along the river by carrying cement on her head. And the sweet man on the left showed us proudly to the river after lunch and picked each of the ladies some beautiful local flowers. 

Bundelkhand Riverside Lodge

Khajuraho - 

After a crazy 4 hour bus ride we made it to Khajuraho - another UNESCO World Heritage Site because of it’s group of ancient temples.  The temples are often referred to as the “erotic” temples because of some of the carvings, but the guide was quick to point out they are only 2 to 3% of the total amount of carvings. The temples are thousands of years old and the quality is incredible!

Lakshmana Temple

Going to just let these next pictures speak for themselves! No comment! 

The amount of carvings on each temple is mind blowing. You could spend weeks examining each one in detail. I just thought this next picture turned out cool. 

Inside one of the temples - an ancient ladder. 

Varanasi - 

Heading to our last spot - but such an important one in the Hindu religion. We flew from Khajuraho to Varanasi which is located on the eastern side of India. It is the most sacred Hindu city, like the Vatican to Christians and Mecca to Muslims. The River Ganges flows through it, and is known for the Ghats - the banks of the river where people ritually cleanse themselves of their sins and burn the bodies of the deceased. We had two opportunities to experience these very moving rituals - evening and sunrise. Every single night of the year a ceremony occurs that is attended by thousands of people called Ganga Aarti. It is a spiritually uplifting ceremony to honor the River Goddess Ganga and fire and smoke and chanting all occur to name just a few. 

We watched it from a boat out on the river. 

It goes on for quite awhile and you can purchase these small votives to light and send out to float on the river. You do it in honor of a loved one that has passed and you can also make a wish. 

Our votives all floating on the river. 

We did go to the area on the river where they burn the bodies and that was really an experience I’ll never forget. In the Hindu religion the bodies must be cremated within 48 hours of passing, and there is a lot of rituals as to how the body is prepared and who lights the fire and can be present. For obvious reasons they ask that no photos be taken and I of course obliged. 

We were up early the next morning which was actually Diwali to see the sunrise on the Ganges, again from a boat.  We got another opportunity to light votives and how cute is this little guy selling them? 

There were lots of people bathing in the river to spiritually cleanse their sins. 

When I say there is always something interesting to see in India I am not kidding! Here are pictures of two Sadhus - people that shun all comforts in life and cover themselves in ash. The man on the right in the middle is kind of like a priest that will bless you and pray over you, and the bottom picture of the woman selling sticks is to use as toothbrushes - and we saw people using them! Incredible India!

Sarnath - 

Lastly we made a trip to Sarnath which is a town right by Varanasi where Buddha gave his first sermon to his first 5 disciples. There is a beautiful temple there now along with statues to commemorate this sermon under the tree.  

Whew! This took me almost as much time to put together as taking the trip! But it helped me relive every incredible moment. I have one more post I want to write about the Artisans of India that we were fortunate enough to visit - so check back soon for that if you are interested. 

Namaste🙏🏻 

Incredible India!

We all have events in our lives that change us. Having children, running a marathon, losing loved ones and now visiting India are a few of the big ones for me. India was everything and more that I expected. It is overwhelming and awesome. It’s people and noise and smells and history and chaos and something to see every minute of every day. I want to capture it all and remember it forever and do it justice so I’m feeling a little overwhelmed. I’m also dealing with a 10 and a half hour time change so that might be why I’m feeling overwhelmed! So I think I’ll just dive in and see where this goes.

First off a general framework of the trip. My dear and adventurous friend Cindy and I decided after much input from friends that had been to India that going as part of a group was the best idea. That was reinforced to us just about every day of our trip. I’m very comfortable going most places on my own but India is a different situation. Just getting from place to place could be overwhelming and as two women traveling safety was important to us. So we joined a tour put together by Collette and it was wonderful. Their groups tend to be smaller and that gives you a lot more flexibility to do some things that a larger group couldn’t do. Our group was a total of 12 people and a guide, which was pretty much perfect. 

 Let me introduce you to our new travel friends!

Starting at the top left and going clockwise: Sylvia & Howard (Raj) from Wales, Vince & Donna from Florida, Annie & Vic from Florida, Maureen & Bruce from Michigan, and Claire & Gary from New Jersey.

A great group of very seasoned travelers! They have been everywhere and then some. When we asked how this trip compared to their others the most common response was that India would be the most challenging to explain to people, and that makes total sense to me now, but I’ll try my best.

We had a great guide. Our fearless and amazing leader Ajay! He gave 200% everyday to make sure things went as well and smoothly as possible. He was unbelievably knowledgeable and did his best to not only give us so much information, but to help us understand the culture and history too. He has a deep love and respect for his country and admiration for what they have accomplished in the short span of 70 years of being a democracy. And now I do too!

Ajay! Smart, funny, energetic and organized. We couldn’t ask for a better leader. 

And last but far from least is my amazing travel companion, fellow adventurer and dear friend Cindy. I can’t think of a better person to have had this adventure with!

Traffic -  

In a nutshell it’s insanity. They drive on the left side - somewhat. Usually it seems they drive down the middle of the road except where it’s super congested which is most of the time and then everyone just drives anywhere they want honking their horn the entire time. And when I say traffic that includes cars, buses, motorbikes, trucks, rickshaws, tuk tuks, bikes, donkey carts, camel carts, horse carts, people with hand carts, cows, goats, dogs, pigs and people walking. Even in the largest cities I don’t recall ever seeing a traffic light or even a stop sign. At times it’s total grid lock but the most amazing thing is that no one ever gets angry or yells at anyone. No road rage. And even though there is a constant sound of horns it’s not in anger. It’s more of just letting you know they are next to you or behind you. I’ll never forget one four hour bus ride we were on between cities where our driver was driving down the middle of the road with vehicles coming right at us and vehicles passing us on the right and cows sitting in the middle of the road and he was honking his horn the entire time. We were hanging on with both hands and I remember thinking it was like being on the Indiana Jones ride at Disney for 4 hours! Exciting! And more than a little terrifying!

Top right is a tuk tuk. Bottom left is a family of 4 on a motorbike. The record was a family of 5 on a bike! Bottom right is Cindy and I in a rickshaw.

Animals - 

 Are there really animals wandering all over India? Actually yes there are! The first couple of days I was mesmerized by every cow I saw, but then I just got used to it. Upon returning to the states I kind of miss it. Not only cows everywhere, but goats, pigs, dogs, donkeys, camels, monkeys and quite a few rats😳 We asked Ajay about why cows in particular are so revered, and he explained that cows are really essential to the existence of the people. Not so much as a god but more as a mother, so they are really protected and given free rein of the land. They seemed to love sitting either right on the road or very close to it and he told us that a study was done as to why that is, and they determined that the cows get high off the fumes, so they are basically stoned😂 That explains why they are so mellow.

The school kids all wear uniforms. And yes we even saw elephants! 

Food - 

Normally when I travel I write and post about a lot of food that I’m eating. Well that will not be the case this time. I expected to be eating a lot of Indian food - cause I’m in India! But the reality of eating Indian food morning noon and night was more than I could take. I like Indian food in moderation but not for three meals a day! I’m sure it’s my fault and my palate is just not sophisticated enough to discern the subtle differences of curry dishes - because it all tasted the same to me. And it all looked the same to me. I thought about posting the same picture ten times but that would be disrespectful. You can pretty much count on getting Naan bread, rice, lentils which is called dal, either chicken, mutton or goat in a curry sauce, and maybe some potatoes.  That’s for breakfast too, although luckily we were staying at very nice hotels and they would make us eggs for breakfast if we wanted. I wanted! 

We went to lots of really pretty restaurants, many of them in beautiful outdoor gardens. And we ate Indian food there😊 

We went to a Tandori restaurant and had food on skewers. That was different and tasty! 

Our last night in Varanasi where we were learning about Buddhism we went to a beautiful restaurant that served a satvik menu. Satvik means pure and is food without onion, garlic or meat. Buddhists try to live with moderation in everything so this diet is meant to not cause anger (from onions) or garlic which is an aphrodisiac. Lots of vegetables so I really liked it. Plus it was so cool how they served it in separate little dishes.

I can’t begin to tell you what everything was but I liked at least 70% of it.  

We discovered one of our hotels had pizza - it was like a lottery win! It tasted like the best pizza ever. Claire who was in our group never travels without Lipton cup of soup and she was nice enough to share with Cindy and I. That was delicious, and now I’ll never travel without it either. Cindy brought Halloween candy and I will confess to eating a Reese’s peanut butter cup for dinner on more than one occasion. I didn’t go to India thinking it was going to be a great culinary experience so it was really all fine. But in that respect at least I’m glad to be back home eating salads! The good news is that we didn’t get sick. Delhy belly is pretty common but we were very careful eating only cooked food and drinking bottled water. Success!

Yumm! 

 People -

They were incredible! Almost everyone we met was so nice and really went out of their way to do what they could for us. When I was in Europe recently I wrote about how many times we had been told NO. India was the exact opposite. Anything you asked them the answer was always Why Not? And they tried to make it happen. They were warm and welcoming. When we asked if we could take their pictures they always said yes with a smile. I love how they wear such colorful clothing. They said it makes them happy. It made me happy too. The children especially are so beautiful and sweet. They are all very family oriented - living usually with multiple generations in one home.

I felt like a Martian with my blond hair. People asked to take pictures with me often, and I said Why Not? 

Me with 30 of my new friends! 

Of all the amazing things I saw in India I think what I will remember most is the gentleness and sweetness of the people. 

Religion - 

 I learned a lot about religion - mainly Hinduism and Buddhism. Yoga too. That’s kind of a religion in India - literally everyone does it as part of their day. Maybe that’s why they are all so patient and calm. We got to take a yoga class early one morning with a great teacher outside overlooking a beautiful lake. Cindy and I were the only ones that showed up for it so it was really a private class - amazing!

I learned a lot about the gods in Hinduism - Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, Shiva the transformer and my favorite Ganesh, the god of good fortune and remover of obstacles.  

Ganesh - always symbolized by the elephant.  

We also went to were Buddhism began in Sarnath. The site where Buddha gave his first sermon. 

And we got to be there for Diwali- the Festival of Lights. It would be the equivalent of our Christmas with the exchange of gifts and everything strung with lights, and lots of fireworks - or as they call them - crackers. Ajay bought a bunch of crackers for us to shoot off that night so we could be a part of the celebration - he was so great about extra things to make the experience great.  When we were riding the train a few days before Diwali everyone we talked to was heading home to be with their family.  

Beautiful flower arrangements made with all petals. These guys worked on this at our hotel for hours! 

Another post coming soon where I’m planning to share some of the highlights of each place we visited. Each was so unique - from Royal Bengal tiger sightings to the Taj Mahal. Check back soon for more about incredible India!